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Committee challenges proposed Bleecker Street storefront redesign and sidewalk ramps; objects to large marquees
Summary
The Manhattan Community Board 2 Landmarks Committee asked the applicant for 43 Bleecker Street to revise its storefront and sidewalk-ramp proposals and to scale back oversized marquees after members said the current design would crowd a narrow, subway-adjacent sidewalk.
Manhattan Community Board 2—s Landmarks Committee reviewed a multi-part application for 43 Bleecker Street that includes storefront replacement, two illuminated entrance marquees, new ADA ramps accessing retail and residential entrances, restoration or replication of historic wrought-iron bulkhead grills, and a rooftop bulkhead containing two elevator overrides and mechanical screening.
Presenters said the building dates to 1896 and the work would restore lost storefront configuration: two larger show windows with transoms and four entry bays, and that existing non-historic infill and roll-down gates would be removed. The design calls for aluminum infill for storefront glazing, restored or replicated wrought-iron bulkhead grills and two projecting marquees with internally illuminated raised-letter addresses on the underside.
Committee concerns focused on multiple elements. Members said the proposed marquees are oversized and inappropriate for the narrow, heavily trafficked Bleecker Street sidewalk adjacent to a subway stair. Several members and a public commenter who stood at the sidewalk said the larger marquee projections and wide diamond-plate ADA rampes would crowd the sidewalk and create hazards for pedestrians and subway users; one nearby resident and two committee members urged moving the longer ramp inside the building if feasible. Committee members also asked that the proposed infill more closely match historic proportions shown in archival photographs: in particular they urged restoring the historic relationship between transom height and door proportions rather than raising the storefront elevation relative to the public sidewalk.
On rooftop work, presenters said they will remove several smaller bulkheads, install brick-clad parapet bulkheads, and add mechanical screening and two elevator overrides. Reviewers found the rooftop work acceptable in principle but asked for clearer drawings showing how the cornice and restored elements will read from the street and recommended reducing the perceived bulk of the marquees and the width/visual weight of the solid transom elements above the doors.
The committee requested revisions that preserve historic storefront proportions, relocate or reduce the public-side ADA ramping where possible (and consider interior ramps), reduce marquee scale and illumination intensity, and refine the storefront transom treatment to be lighter and more historically consistent. The committee will forward those comments to LPC staff and the applicant for further refinement.
