Building Name
1 East 60th Street - Metropolitan Club Building
Architect
McKim Mead and White
Year(s) Built
1892-94
Designation
Upper East Side Historic District
Project Information:
A neo-Italian Renaissance style club building designed by McKim, Mead & White Architects and built in 1892-94, with alterations in 1912 by Ogden Codman Jr. Application is to request that the Landmarks Preservation Commission issue a favorable report to the City Planning Commission regarding the continuing maintenance program for the landmark in connection with a transfer of development rights pursuant to Section 75-42 of the Zoning Resolution.
CB8 Hearing: 9/15/25 (Disapproved)
LPC Hearing: 9/30/25 (Approved)
FRIENDS' Testimony:
FRIENDS Preservation Committee supports all efforts to maintain and improve this distinguished landmark building through the proposed Continuing Maintenance Plan and Capital Improvement projects. However, the Committee expresses serious concerns regarding the proposed transfer of air rights. Under previous zoning regulations, FRIENDS would have had no objection to a transfer limited to adjacent lots, and we would likely have issued favorable testimony. However, the City of Yes zoning changes have dramatically altered the context. The receiving site for this transfer is located on Madison Avenue, and, critically, the public review process—specifically ULURP, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure—has been eliminated. FRIENDS is alarmed by the lack of transparency surrounding this process, particularly given the scale of what is being proposed.
This transfer would enable the construction of yet another supertall tower at 655 Madison Avenue, directly adjacent to 520 Park Avenue (completed in 2018, much to FRIENDS’ dismay at the time). We are especially concerned about the overwhelming height of the proposed development and the impact it will have on neighboring buildings, including the partial obstruction of windows in the existing supertall at 520 Park.
The apparent absence of a meaningful public forum deprives preservation organizations like FRIENDS, and the wider community, of the opportunity to comment on changes that drastically reshape historic districts like ours. We are deeply concerned about the precedent this sets, especially in the case of landmark air rights transfers now moving forward without adequate public oversight.
LPC Hearing: September 30, 2025