FRIENDS' Testimony:

Although we are sympathetic to the Neue Galerie’s need preserve their collection through temperature regulation, the Preservation Committee at FRIENDS believes that this proposed rooftop addition is far too large and visible from both the street and Central Park. The existing bulkhead is already an unsightly utilitarian addition, and the proposed enlargement of this bulkhead further detracts from this beautiful Carrere & Hastings work – one of the finest mansions along Fifth Avenue. The current mock-up atop the building shows that the extended length and mass of the addition will overwhelm the building’s distinctive mansard roof, and the gray louvered walls are ill-matched against the building’s traditional materials. The Preservation Committee at FRIENDS urges the Commission to deny this application.