WHEREAS, Abruzzo Docg, Inc., has submitted an application for an unenclosed sidewalk café for 9 tables 18 seats located 873 Broadway; and

WHEREAS, The placement of the unenclosed sidewalk café at this location will not impede pedestrian flow; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the application for by Abruzzo Docg, Inc. for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 30 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, 54th Street Bakery, LLC, d/b/a Café Metro has submitted an application for an unenclosed sidewalk café for 6 tables and 12 seats located at 839 Seventh Avenue; and

WHEREAS, The Consents & Variances Committee of Community Board Five has visited the site for the unenclosed sidewalk café and found that there will be no problem with pedestrian flow; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the application by 54th Street Bakery, LLC d/b/a Café Metro for an unenclosed sidewalk café.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 30 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, Porto Restaurant Inc., has submitted an application for an unenclosed sidewalk café for 11 tables and 25 seats at 574 Sixth Avenue; and

WHEREAS, After visiting the site, the Board has concerns that the size of the unenclosed sidewalk café will impede the flow of pedestrians; and

WHEREAS, The applicant has agreed to amend the application to address the Board’s concerns regarding the above condition from 11 tables and 25 seats to 9 tables and 20 seats; and

WHEREAS, The applicant will submit revised plans reflecting said revisions to the Department of Consumer Affairs; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the amended application by Porto Restaurant, Inc., for an unenclosed sidewalk café at 574 Sixth Avenue for 9 tables and 20 seats only.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 31 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, SAPA, Inc. has filed an application for an unenclosed sidewalk café for 16 tables and 20 seats at 43 West 24th Street; and

WHEREAS, After visiting the site of the proposed unenclosed sidewalk café, the Board has concerns that the size of the café will impede the flow of pedestrians; and

WHEREAS, The applicant has agreed to amend the application to address the Board’s concerns regarding the above condition from 16 tables and 20 seats to 10 tables and 20 seats; and

WHEREAS, The applicant will submit revised plans reflecting said revisions to the Department of Consumer Affairs; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the amended application by SAPA, Inc., for an unenclosed sidewalk café at 43 West 24th Street for 10 tables and 20 seats only.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 31 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, The Pakistan Parade and Fair Committee has applied for a Street Activity permit for Sunday August 27, 2006 on Madison Avenue, between East 23rd and East 26th Streets, and

WHEREAS, In February 2006, the applicant was invited to attend the Consents and Variances Committee meeting and failed to show, which resulted an automatic recommendation for denial; and

WHEREAS, The applicant requested to re-appear before the Board in April 2006 to address the concerns of the Board and was seen on April 11, 2006; and

WHEREAS, This event is expected to draw 10,000 people to the immediate Madison Square area; and

WHEREAS, Due to the unparalleled number of street activities within the Madison Square area, the applicant’s event has far outgrown the area capacity; and

WHEREAS, The applicant remains aware of the continuing concerns of the residential community about noise, liter, property damage, and security as they relate to large-scale special events; and

WHEREAS, The applicant has agreed to comply with Community Board Five guidelines, including that participation in the events will not be denied to any group on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or religion; and

WHEREAS, Street Activity set-up will commence no earlier than 9 AM, and the strike of the event will be completed no later than 8 PM, which the applicant has agreed to (Please see attached); and

WHEREAS, Amplification will not be for more than 4 ½ hours, and no amplification will be allowed before noon or after 7 PM; and

WHEREAS, In past years, the applicant has failed to provide adequate crowd control resulting in the need for NYPD assistance; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five continues to encourage the Police Department to monitor the sound level at events around the Madison Square area; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the application by the Pakistan Parade and Fair Committee for Sunday, August 27, 2006 and urge the city to work with the applicant to find future alternative parade route.

The resolution passed with a vote of 18 in favor, 12 opposed, 2 abstentions.  

WHEREAS, New Yorkers for Parks has submitted an application to hold an event on Sunday, April 23, 2006; and

WHEREAS, This is a new applicant; and

WHEREAS, The event will be held at Union Square Park West Parking Lot, between 15th and 16th Street; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application by New Yorkers for Parks to hold an event at the above location.

The resolution passed with a vote of 31 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has proposed a redesign of the northern end of Union Square Park; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five approved the redesign at a public meeting on February 9, 2006 with the exception of the design of the bathroom structure; and

WHEREAS, The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has presented the design for the bathroom structure to the Community Board Five Parks Committee; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five has made the following findings:

• The design of the bathroom structure is acceptable and consistent with the overall redesign of the northern end of Union Square,

• Community Board Five is concerned with the lighting and signage plan for the overall redesign and requests the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to submit the signage and lighting plan and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has agreed to do so; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the design of the bathroom structure as presented.

WHEREAS, The former Lambs’ Club is a handsome brick and marble neo-Georgian structure, opened in 1905 as a clubhouse for actors and theatre people and is enlivened by graceful loggias and fine decorative detail, and was designed by the world famous architect, Stanford White; and

WHEREAS, It is owned by Hampshire Hotels with the Church of the Nazarenes as a tenant; and

WHEREAS, McKim, Mead and White were all members of the Club, originally founded in 1874 and named after the Lambs’ Club in London; and

WHEREAS, George A. Freeman’s 1915 extension matched White’s façade and doubled the width of the building; and

WHEREAS, The application is for a certificate of appropriateness to make changes to the exterior façade and convert the building into a hotel and restaurant; and

WHEREAS, Many alterations and additions are proposed among them; attaching a canopy across the entire façade;  retaining the existing flagpole bracket on the façade and adding a new flagpole with the Lambs Club Hotel banner;  removing one riser from each of the two entrances – leaving two – so the doors can open out; replacing original wood doors with decorative metal doors; increasing the height of the doors; attaching three new nickel wall plaques; and remove existing access door to basement; and

WHEREAS, The proposed canopy, made of stainless steel and glass 55’10” by 11’10” is totally inappropriate and unharmonious to the façade of this distinguished and beautiful landmark and will be over-powering, detracting from the simplicity and grace of this famous building; and

WHEREAS, Removing the original doors and replacing them with ultra-modern metal doors with grill inserts would not be appropriate and instead, Community Board Five would prefer the simple original doors be replicated so as to retain the same look of the entry that White designed; and

WHEREAS, Alternate designs should be explored which wouldallow for accessibility without creating the proposed unbalanced façade; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five is reluctant to encourage such significant alterations and additions to a building designed by an important and significant architect; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial for a certificate of appropriateness to make changes to the exterior façade and convert the building into a hotel andrestaurant, and would not like to see such inappropriate changes made to the façade of a Stanford White Building.

Tthe resolution passed with a vote of  20 in favor, 8 opposed, 4 abstentions. 

WHEREAS, The building located at 14 West 23rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues is currently a five-story commercial building (the birthplace of Edith Wharton); built circa 1857, with a cast iron façade designed by George H. Billings in 1892, and is situated in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District; and

WHEREAS,  The building has recently been purchased and after such purchase was to have been found in violation due to metal windows installed on the second floor façade prior to purchase; and

WHEREAS, The owner of the building previously submitted an application to the Landmarks’ Preservation Commission to replace the metal windows with widows that are more in keeping with the original construction made of wood and glass; and

WHEREAS, Once construction and installation had been completed, an LPC inspection found a discrepancy between the submitted drawings and the actual installation, and as such LPC issued a violation for the new windows; and

WHEREAS, The LPC Staff suggested placing wooden moldings around the existing new windows; and

WHEREAS, The owner and architect’s representative presented the Landmarks Committee of Community Board Five drawings of said addition with a complete explanation of the error; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five believes the owner of the building has done his best to provide a viable solution that is compatible with the designs of similar windows in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application to legalize the installation of windows in non-compliance with permit for minor work on the second floor of the building at 14 West 23rd Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District.

The resolution passed with a vote of  31 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, The Martin Beck Theater (also known as the A1 Hirshfeld Theater), located at 302 West 45th Street, in Community Board Four, is a legitimate theater listed in ZR §81-742 and is permitted by the term of ZR §81-744 to transfer unused air rights to a development site within the Theater Subdistrict; and

WHEREAS, ZR §81-744 permits the transfer of unused air rights without a public hearing by the Community Board or the City Planning Commission provided that:

• the amount of floor area to be transferred increases the amount of floor area allowed on the receiving site by no more than 20%;

• the allowable floor area of the granting site is reduced by the amount of floor area transferred;

• the owner of the granting site agrees to continue the use of the granting site a legitimate theater for so long as the building constructed by using the transferred development rights is in existence; and

• an amount of money equal to ten dollars for each square floor of developments rights transferred is contributed to the Theater Subdistrict fund.

WHEREAS, The Applicants have applied for a Certification with regard to the transfer of 29,104 square feet of development rights from the Martin Beck Theater to a receiving site at 750 Eighth Avenue, within Community Board Five, thereby permitting construction of a building of about 257,360 square feet, including 195 residential units and about 6, 354 square feet of ground floor retail use; and

WHEREAS, The Applicants intend to file additional applications:

• to amend the Zoning Resolution to transfer a portion of the Martin Beck Theater from Clinton Special District to the Theater Special District, thereby increasing the floor area available to be transferred,

• for an authorization to transfer additional development rights, and

• to apply for a Special Permit for additional parking on the receiving site; and

WHEREAS, The Applicants declined a request by the Land Use Committees of Community Board Four and Five to withdraw their application so it could be considered at the same time as other applications; and

WHEREAS, This is the first application to transfer development rights pursuant to ZR §81-744 and is the first opportunity for Community Board Five to review all its provisions to ensure it will serve to "preserve and protect the character of the Theater Subdistrict as a cultural, theatrical and entertainment showcase" (ZR §81-71); and

WHEREAS, A Theater Subdistrict Council was to have been created, comprising the Mayor, two representatives appointed by the Mayor from the performing arts and related industries, the Director of the Department of City Planning, the designee of the Speaker of the City Council and the Manhattan Borough President, to receive, manage and disburse funds paid to the Theater Subdistrict Fund and neither the Council nor the Fund have been created; and

WHEREAS, The mission of the Council to utilize the Theater Subdistrict Fund to preserve and enhance the Theater District is of vital importance to Community Board Five, but no plan exists for the disbursement of the $291,040 to be placed in an escrow fund in anticipation of this transfer, nor for money paid in conjunction with future transfers; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five's extensive concerns with the Theater Subdistrict Council and the Theater Subdistrict Fund are best addressed through a letter to the Chair of the City Planning Commission and extensive conversations with the staff of the Department of City Planning; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five takes no action with regard to the application for a certification by the City Planning Commission pursuant to ZR §81-744(a), permittingthe transfer of air rights from The Martin Beck Theater to 750 Eighth Avenue; and be it further

RESOLVED, Community Board Five will be forwarding a letter to City Planning with additional details outlining our concerns regarding this application.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 24 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention.

WHEREAS, 1515 Broadway was built in 1971 and issued a Certificate of Occupancy for 225 accessory parking spaces, however, it now houses approximately 386 parking spaces used for both accessory and public parking uses; and

WHEREAS, The owner

• acquired 1515 Broadway in 2002,

• became aware of the non-conforming parking garage during exploration of alternative uses of the ground floor area in the winter of 2003-2004,

• initiated an application to legalize the pre-existing use in early 2004 and pursued several revision of the application with the Department of City Planning until early 2005,

• filed a Environmental Assessment Study in March 2005,

• filed a ULURP application in June 2005, and

• received a certification of the application in March 2006; and

WHEREAS, Approval of the Special Permit will not

• change the existing use of the garage

• add any additional parking spaces to the garage

• nor increase vehicular traffic in the area and further parting in the Theater District during business and theater hours is needed; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five has received a letter from the Times Square Alliance supporting the application; and

WHEREAS, Although the Community Board has frequently disapproved applications to legalize existing illegal uses, because the owner did not create the illegal use and has attempted in good faith to rectify it, and because issuance of a Special Permit will not change the actual use of the garage nor add to vehicular congestion in the area; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the special permit to allow 386 parking spaces at 1515 Broadway.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 25 in favor, 0 opposed, 3 abstentions.

WHEREAS, Credit Suisse has requested a taxi stand on the south side of 24th Street just west of Park Avenue South from 7:00 p.m. to 12 midnight from Monday through Friday; and

WHEREAS, This area is currently a “No Standing -Loading and Unloading” zone of approximately 75 feet (3-4 car lengths) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; and

WHEREAS, There would be no additional spaces taken away and the addition of the stand would simply extend the hours of restricted parking; and

WHEREAS, 24th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South is primarily defined by Credit Suisse’s two office buildings; and

WHEREAS, They have hundreds of employees exiting their offices in the evenings and are concerned about their safety; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five posted signs for the change and no residents expressed concern and the 13th Police Precinct and the Taxi and Limousine Commission have given their approval; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five will review consideration for expansion of the taxi stand after six months; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application for a taxi stand of approximately 75 feet on the South Side of 24th Street just west of Park Avenue.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 26 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention. 

WHEREAS, ESM Construction is constructing two separate buildings one on 18th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues and the other on 17th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues on back to back lots; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation has granted both sites the customary curb lane of traffic for a construction staging area; and

WHEREAS, The builder has requested an additional lane of traffic for approximately 4 months for a crane at each site help build the structures; and

WHEREAS, The additional lane of traffic has already been granted for the 18th Street site; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Transportation has informed Community Board Five that the 18th Street site has been done in a neighborhood friendly manner and has not generated complaints; and

WHEREAS, ESM Construction requested a similar lane closure on 17th Street for approximately 4 months; and

WHEREAS, The cranes necessary to construct the building have insufficient room to swing and maneuver into the construction site without the extra lane of traffic; and

WHEREAS, The structure to the west of the construction site is leaning slightly into it and the structural integrity of this building will be improved by the new structure; and

WHEREAS, The Flatiron Alliance has expressed opposition to the lane closures citing concerns regarding the impact of the lane closures on vehicular traffic; and

WHEREAS, A number of other construction sites in Community Board Five have been granted this extra lane on a temporary basis; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends that ESM Construction be granted an extra lane on 17th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in front of the construction site for a maximum of four months and that no parking be permitted in the curb lane on the South side of the street until the lane is re-opened for traffic.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 20 in favor, 6 opposed, 1 abstention.