22 Jane Street - Village Preservation

APPROVED on 12/15/2009

Greenwich Village Historic District
Between West 4th Street & Greenwich Avenue

Application:
A Romanesque-Revival style stable designed by Charles H. Demarest and constructed in 1868. Application is to reconstruct the front façade.

This application is closed. Application approved on December 15, 2009.

Status:
A public hearing on this application was held at the Landmarks Preservation Commission on December 15, 2009. The application was approved. A copy of the permit is included at the bottom of the “read more” section below.

Background: In February 2009, the LPC issued the applicant a Certificate of No Effect permit to reconstruct the door of the façade and fill-in damaged brick (this was done at staff level, so it was not shown to the larger Commission and thus did not go through the public hearing process). At that time, the applicant was NOT given approval to begin work, but WAS given approval to begin sourcing materials (thus the Commission never approved the choice of brick). The applicant moved ahead with reconstruction illegally and discovered that the brick was crumbling and the entire façade was unstable and needed to be demolished, though the cornice and stone were retained.

Upon discovering this, the applicant made made an emergency decision to demolish the facade.

Though the application was approved at the December 15, 2009 public heating, all Commissioners expressed their unhappiness with the process that led to this hearing. That said, they approved continued work and stated that the brick should closely match its original color, which will be determined on-site and at staff level. The Commissioners also asked that staff examine the mortar joints to see that they match the original brick. They also revisited the design of the old carriage door that had previously been approved at staff level. Some Commissioners wished to see the design resemble the tax photo of a carriage door, while others felt that this would be unnecessary considering the building no longer functions for horses but rather for an artist. One Commissioner opined that Greenwich Village buildings have a history of bringing in more light for artists, and therefore the current design is entirely appropriate. Chair Tierney asked that Landmarks staff look into the possibility of the door as a reconstructed carriage-door, provided that the door would comply with light and air standards.