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Commission pushes back on controversial Waverly Avenue infill, asks for major redesigns
Summary
A pair of proposed four‑story townhouses on Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill drew sustained opposition from neighbors and preservation groups; commissioners declined to vote and asked the applicant to return with reduced massing, revised ground‑floor relationships, and refined materials.
Landmarks commissioners questioned and ultimately declined to approve two proposed infill townhouses on Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill after hearing extensive public opposition and detailed commissioner critique on Dec. 17.
StudioSC presented two side‑by‑side proposals for narrow 20‑foot lots that use terracotta and brick cladding and a row‑house typology. The applicants said they had revised the base design following staff and community input. Neighbors and preservation groups — including the Victorian Society, Citizens for Responsible Neighborhood Planning and the Historic Districts Council — urged the commission to reject or substantially revise the designs, citing excessive height and bulk, out‑of‑scale window proportions, visible stair bulkheads and incongruous material choices for a block of carriage houses and low‑scale structures.
Commissioners delivered a sustained critique: several members said the pair reads as a single mass that overwhelms the block, recommended breaking the composition into more differentiated parts (color, material or cornice changes), lowering or reworking the bulkhead, and improving the ground‑floor composition so entrances do not “slam into the ground.” Vice Chair Bland, Commissioner Goldblum and others urged the applicants to explore modest setbacks, change the base treatment, or introduce subtle color/material shifts to reduce the perceived bulk.
The commission did not vote and instead asked the applicant to work with staff and neighbors and to return with a revised proposal addressing massing, first‑floor design and material articulation.
