The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is set to review a proposal for renovation work on 426 Clermont Avenue, a three-story, four-unit brick townhouse in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Assembled by Tinmouth Chang Architects, materials outline a proposed rear yard addition and rooftop modifications for the historic property, which is located between Greene Avenue and Fulton Street.
Historical photograph of 426 Clermont Avenue, via LPC proposal.
According to submitted plans, the scope of work will include the demolition of a one-story rear extension and the construction of a new three-story rear addition. If approved, the new structure will feature brick cladding to match the existing materials, aluminum-clad wood windows, and a steel deck and stair connecting the garden level to the rear yard. At the roof level, the proposal includes the installation of a new stair bulkhead and HVAC equipment, all set back to reduce visibility from the public thoroughfare.
Rendering of existing conditions at 426 Clermont Avenue, via LPC proposal.
Rendering of proposed changes at 426 Clermont Avenue, via LPC proposal.
The project team has also proposed window replacements at the front façade to match the historic configuration, along with repairs to the brownstone base and front stoop. All new interventions are designed to be compatible with the existing building’s scale and materiality.
Rendering of proposed changes at 426 and 428 Clermont Avenue, via LPC proposal.
The LPC is also set to review similar rear modifications to 428 Clermont Avenue at the same upcoming meeting.
The closest subways from 426 Clermont Avenue are the C train at the Clinton–Washington Avenues station and the G train at the Fulton Street station.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
LPC hard at work making sure the rear of a building visible to a half dozen neighbors is historically appropriate… Meanwhile burdensome and uncompromising Local Law 11 (FISP) is leading to the mutilation of thousands of historic façades across the city with stylish and charming early 20th century apartment houses in the Bronx being affected particularly hard. How about we move a couple LPC experts over to DOB and find a solution that benefits building owners and the public alike.
I agree with you completely in this matter, but there’s the fact to consider that historic preservation isn’t the highest concern of the majority of property owners, especially if terra cotta (a “failed material” according to the DOB) is involved. At that point, present and future liability is more important to these owners, many of whom are coops and do not want to raise their living expenses by shelling out more money to restore their buildings in a historically appropriate manner 🙁
Many afflicted buildings don’t have terra cotta as the issue but instead a decorative brick parapet that thanks to years of freeze/thaw and lack of masonry maintenance is deemed by an engineer to be a liability. And unfortunately the buikding owner will often choose to have all the historic decorative brick element removed with the parapet and not recreated, or simplified with brick that matches on a lucky day or doesn’t if it’s not.
I will say it a thousand times… The DOB needs to step up with a preservation initiative here that has some sort of cost sharing, potentially through temp tax abatement, to help cash strapped (or sometimes just greedy) owners to restore failing facade elements – including the most often affected by LL11 parapet – instead of stripping them. The damage that’s being done is heartbreaking and architectural character is being vandalized at a staggering rate.
My 1950s building had to replace its parapet about 15 years ago. It cost about a $ million for each of our two buildings. Fortunately in this case, the buildings are plain brick boxes of no architectural distinction. It is sad to see some Art Deco building from the #7 line stripped of their decorative parapets.