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Landmarks approves rooftop addition at Waverly Place townhouse with conditions on visibility and rear work
Summary
The commission approved a rooftop addition, reconstruction of the rear facade and a redesigned stoop gate at 156 Waverly Place, requiring the rooftop railing be set back and the bulkhead interior clear height to be reviewed and limited to about 8 feet, and directing staff to try to retain rear brick masonry where feasible.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission on March 25 approved a modified rooftop addition and related work at 156 Waverly Place in the Greenwich Village Historic District, subject to conditions intended to reduce visibility and to preserve historic rear masonry where possible.
Preservation staff said the applicants revised the rooftop design to slope the new roof away from the Waverly facade, and replaced an originally proposed glass guardrail with cable railings. The plan also retains the fourth-floor window openings, while modifying third-floor openings and reconstructing portions of the rear facade. "The additions have been modified to address visibility, specifically sloping the roof away from the Waverly Place facade," staff said in its presentation.
The commission's approval requires the applicant to work with staff on several items: to ensure the rooftop addition's interior clear height is no more than 8 feet where practicable, to set the front railing back to minimize public visibility, and to examine the viability of retaining and repairing the historic rear brick masonry rather than reconstructing it. Commissioner Ginsburg suggested an interior clear height of about 8 feet and Commissioner Goldblum urged setting the railing back from the front facade to reduce visibility. The approval language asks that the applicant "work with the staff to examine the height of the rooftop addition to ensure that it is no more than 8 foot high clear on the interior, to set the railing of the rooftop addition back from the front facade, to reduce visibility to the extent that is possible and to explore with the staff the viability of the rear facade brick masonry and to take all efforts to retain it, if at all possible."
Applicant representatives said the Department of Buildings had recently issued a violation relating to cracking at the rear where the terrace transitions to upper stories, and that an engineer's report supplied to staff supported the need for reconstruction in the areas shown. The commission approved the application with those staff conditions; a recorded vote shows 9 in favor and none opposed.
Votes at a glance - LPC 25-03477 (156 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village Historic District): Construct rooftop addition; modify/reconstruct rear facade; excavate cellar and rear yard; install stoop gate. Approval with modifications to minimize visibility, retain historic rear masonry when feasible, and limit interior clear height to ~8 feet. Seconded by Commissioner Jefferson; tally 9-0 in favor.
