Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves Buckley School expansion at 109—113 East 73rd Street despite housing concerns
Summary
The commission approved Buckley School's plan to combine 109 with 111—113 East 73rd Street, adjust floor levels, add a modest rear extension and raise the rear roof to create indoor play space and improved classroom layout; supporters cited programmatic need while Friends of the Upper East Side warned the project will eliminate 17 rent-stabilized units.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 7-0 on Jan. 13 to approve LPC 26-03028, a proposal by the Buckley School to modify floor levels, combine 109 with 111—113 East 73rd Street, replace entry doors and windows, construct modest rooftop bulkheads and a rear-yard extension to provide classroom, kitchen and indoor play space.
Greg O'Melia, Buckley's head of school, told commissioners the project would reunite the lower school, move kindergarten classrooms into the main campus, add a multipurpose rehearsal space and expand kitchen capacity without increasing enrollment. Preservation consultants described aligning floor slabs to match adjacent buildings, restoring historic window relationships and raising a rear portion of the roof by about five feet to create indoor play space. The design includes an elevator extension to provide rooftop accessibility.
Public testimony included support from alumni, parents and the Friends of the Upper East Side preservation committee, which praised the limited exterior visibility of proposed rooftop work while flagging a social impact: Zainab Turan said the institutional expansion would eliminate 17 rent-stabilized apartments, resulting in 17 evictions and neighborhood displacement. John Graham of the Victorian Society supported the rear and rooftop additions but criticized the proposed single-leaf entry at 109 as stylistically inappropriate and questioned whether the door change was necessary given the shared lobby with 111.
Commissioners found the overall approach approvable with some elements to be refined with staff, including the entry door design, the rooftop materials and minor adjustments to the rear extension. Commissioner Chiu read a motion with findings that the proposed entry and facade treatments are compatible, that the rooftop and rear additions are modest and setback appropriately, and that the work would not detract from the Upper East Side Historic District. The motion passed 7-0.
