A rendering of the church after conversion by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects, via Curbed.
On their third try, developers won approval to turn the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist on 96th street and Central Park West into condos.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission relented after the architects removed windows from the Central Park West and 96th street sides.
The architects will be allowed to remove the religious-themed stained glass window facing Central Park West, although they’ll have to add some sort of appropriate “textured” window, wrote Evan Bindelglass at Curbed. The removal of that window remained controversial, though, and resulted in a 7-3 vote in favor of approval.
Extra windows will be added to the West and North sides of the building, which are much less visible as they face other buildings. But losing six windows facing the park could make it harder to sell the location’s awesome park views.
That sad, living in a former church could be pretty cool. Check out this apartment in an old Fort Greene church.
For more photos and analysis of this project, check out Curbed.
The image below shows the church as it is now, as it looked in the architects’ previous proposal and as it looked in the most recent proposal. Click to enlarge.
finally, some use for a church!
#lessgod #morehumanity
The “religious-themed” windows are precisely what the LPC should be protecting!
My friends and I were commenting how great it would be to have one of those huge stained-glass windows in our apt, but I think from a developer’s point of view, it would limit the potential pool of buyers.
At least this beautiful shell of a building will have a new life. I’m surprised the developers were willing to fore-go the south and east windows. Those will be some very dark apartments.
Sad commentary on our values, or lack of them.
Quasimodo will never be the same.
I agree with Nathan and Dirk. In my opinion those beautiful stained glass windows were a draw to the project, not a liability. And the East-facing windows would not have compromised the historic facade in the least bit. Overall I’m very happy that it’s been approved but the resolution on these two points came in completely backwards!
I once stayed at a church that was converted into a bed and breakfast on Block Island, it was pretty cool but having a life size stained glass window of Jesus above the bed in bedroom was a bit weird.
Did the Community Board give approval to the Clergy staying on as Doormen and Super of the renovated space? Will they remain in their vestments?
The LPC is supposed to protect our cultural heritage not allow developers to destroy it for profit. It is clear that there were and are alternative designs that would have allowed the stained glass to be maintained but the LPC sees it self not as the protector of our landmarks but rather an enabler of their destruction.
The next time a regular human goes to the LPC to protect their air and light and the Chair shuts them down because air and light isn’t in their purview refer the Chair to her spirited defense if the removal of the stained glass so that the developer would have more air and light. Two sets of laws one for us and one for developers.
The church in Fort Greene is certainly cool, and nothing like this one. The interior of the Christ Scientist Church has been GUTTED. Little to nothing of the original amazing detail which would draw a buyer to living in a church remains. And it was the developer’s and his paid “preservation” architects who wished to remove all the stained glass windows entirely, as they could not even see that this was their money shot! Who wouldn’t want those windows, as is, in their space? Those are the things people who can buy anywhere, want! Real swift development team.
It is only because of the preservationists in the community who have fought energetically that some part of those windows will remain. A figment of them, but something. The Landmarks Preservation Commission, with the exception of some brave commissioners unafraid to speak up, has done this City and this Community a great injustice by taking one of the city’s most significant landmarks, pretending it wasn’t, and turning it into a developer’s plaything. It is a sign of things to come, and a city soon devoid of its history and its civic pride.
Agreed!
LPC exist to keep historic and old buildings in their original state. Perhaps they were paid off to ignore their purpose.
There will be upcoming meetings with the Board of Standards and Appeals where the public can come and speak, and should. How can someone take a nearly windowless building and blast it full of holes-and then think they’ve protected a landmark? And still there will be lack of light and air.
When it comes to the Landmarks Commission, the boundaries have been blurred for sometime. What’s for sure is that they are not protecting the landmarks or the public who pays their salaries-and it’s hard to imagine that is not by design.