FRIENDS' Testimony:

The proposed window master plan at the First Avenue Estate is inappropriate. Because this is a master plan, FRIENDS believes that the plan should pertain to the entire landmarked block, not just a portion of it. The piecemeal treatment of this landmark is what led to the defacing of the buildings along York Avenue, and the Commission should not continue to treat these buildings individually – this is one whole landmark, and thus should be treated uniformly.

In the Commission’s decision on the hardship application for the two buildings along York Avenue, the Commission stated that all of the lots on the block should be included as part of the application, and that all of the buildings were “stylistically, and remain physically, related to the rest of the buildings on the block in terms of height, massing, and general layout.” FRIENDS, which has had a long-standing involvement with this applicant for years, commends the Commission on its decision, which the New York State Supreme Court has upheld. We hope that the Commission’s statement on the treatment of the block as a whole will carry over to this application.

Allowing the owner to replace the historic wooden windows with aluminum windows would reward years of the owner’s negligence. With proper care, wood windows can last just as long as aluminum windows. In addition, the Commission’s rules states that for individual landmarks when existing windows cannot be repaired, “a wood historic window shall be replaced in wood.” This site deserves to be treated with the same standards as other individual landmarks.

FRIENDS urges the Commission to deny this application as proposed. Should window improvements be made, the owner should be required to repair the existing windows where appropriate and replace deteriorated windows with new wood ones. Historic wood windows have aesthetic and material attributes that cannot be replicated by modern aluminum windows.