The Department of Buildings issued a stop work order today for 350 Amsterdam Avenue, when Landmarks West!, a civic organization on the Upper West Side, reported that workers had begun "ripping out the building's original, delicately arched wooden windows last night."
The civic organization has advocated the landmark designation of the building, which is known as the Dakota Stable, for about two decades and Tuesday the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to "calendar" a hearing on the 5-story building, which is on the southwest corner at 77th Street.
The Related Companies have commissioned Robert A. M. Stern and Ismael Levya to design a mid-rise, residential condominium building to replace the attractive, red-and-brown-brick building and another mid-block low-rise building just to the south.
The new building would have an Equinox store adjacent to new retail space and its residential entrance would be on 76th Street.
A rendering that appeared on the websites of two retail real estate companies, Robert K. Futterman & Associates and Winick Realty Group, indicated that the new building would be ready for occupancy in late 2008 and have four large ground floor arches along the avenue and a setback above the 8th and 9th floors and that some of the upper floors would have angled corners.
CityRealty.com called Alicia Goldstone, director of communications for Related, for information about the stop-work order and the calendaring of the building by the landmarks commission and about details of the proposed development, but the call was returned today.
An e-mail from Landmark West! today maintained that "glass crashed down onto the sidewalk and 77th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, unimpeded by the still-under-construction sidewalk shed (permits to erect the shed were obtained on Tuesday, within hours of the LPC decision to calendar the building for a hearing."
The e-mail said that "Landmark West! Staff rushed to the scene, and a Department of Buildings inspector promptly issued a Stop Work Order for 'failure to carry out demolition in a safe manner.'"
Robert A. M. Stern is the architect of the new development now under construction at 15 Central Park West and his firm's high-rise apartment projects in Manhattan include the Chatham at 181 East 65th Street, the Seville at 300 East 77th Street, the Westminster at 180 West 20th Street and TriBeCa Park (400 Chambers Street) at Battery Park City.
The civic organization has advocated the landmark designation of the building, which is known as the Dakota Stable, for about two decades and Tuesday the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to "calendar" a hearing on the 5-story building, which is on the southwest corner at 77th Street.
The Related Companies have commissioned Robert A. M. Stern and Ismael Levya to design a mid-rise, residential condominium building to replace the attractive, red-and-brown-brick building and another mid-block low-rise building just to the south.
The new building would have an Equinox store adjacent to new retail space and its residential entrance would be on 76th Street.
A rendering that appeared on the websites of two retail real estate companies, Robert K. Futterman & Associates and Winick Realty Group, indicated that the new building would be ready for occupancy in late 2008 and have four large ground floor arches along the avenue and a setback above the 8th and 9th floors and that some of the upper floors would have angled corners.
CityRealty.com called Alicia Goldstone, director of communications for Related, for information about the stop-work order and the calendaring of the building by the landmarks commission and about details of the proposed development, but the call was returned today.
An e-mail from Landmark West! today maintained that "glass crashed down onto the sidewalk and 77th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, unimpeded by the still-under-construction sidewalk shed (permits to erect the shed were obtained on Tuesday, within hours of the LPC decision to calendar the building for a hearing."
The e-mail said that "Landmark West! Staff rushed to the scene, and a Department of Buildings inspector promptly issued a Stop Work Order for 'failure to carry out demolition in a safe manner.'"
Robert A. M. Stern is the architect of the new development now under construction at 15 Central Park West and his firm's high-rise apartment projects in Manhattan include the Chatham at 181 East 65th Street, the Seville at 300 East 77th Street, the Westminster at 180 West 20th Street and TriBeCa Park (400 Chambers Street) at Battery Park City.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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