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Commission approves masonry openings and louvers at 1185 Park Avenue despite neighborhood objections
Summary
The commission approved LPC 26‑05841 for modifications at 1185 Park Avenue including door‑to‑window conversion, new louvers and a courtyard opening. Neighborhood groups argued the 94th Street louver is highly visible and inappropriate; the commission cited precedent and the master plan in approving the application.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved an application (LPC 26‑05841) for masonry modifications, new windows and louvers at 1185 Park Avenue in the expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District after hearing opposing testimony from local preservation groups.
Doug Simpson of Panorama Windows and project architect Julia Fishman explained a three‑part proposal: (1) convert an existing doctor's entrance door on 94th Street into a window, (2) convert an existing 1‑over‑1 window on 94th Street to a full‑width, full‑height louver with an applied 8‑over‑8 muntin grid to accommodate HVAC, and (3) create a new louver opening in a recessed courtyard wall. Simpson and Fishman pointed to precedent approvals elsewhere on the building and described the courtyard opening as minimally visible.
Zainab Turan, speaking for Friends of the Upper East Side, urged denial, calling the proposed 94th Street changes "highly visible and inappropriate" and arguing the louver and a new punched opening would disrupt the established fenestration pattern and remove historic fabric; she also raised concern about heat‑exhaust equipment behind the louvers. Lo Vandervoek, for Carnegie Hill Neighbors, approved the door‑to‑window conversion and the courtyard opening but opposed the 94th Street louver, suggesting alternatives such as routing HVAC to basement connections.
The applicant team responded that an existing louver currently serving HVAC closer to Park Avenue would be removed and replaced with a new louver located farther from the avenue and higher above the street, which the architect described as a "more benign location." Commissioners reviewed precedent, noted the large scale of the building can support full‑window louvers and found the proposed courtyard opening unobtrusive. The motion to approve cited consistency with the commission‑approved master plan and matched dimensions to adjacent openings; the commission voted in favor and the motion passed.
