Panel Approves Smaller Expansion of Upper East Side Building - On Tuesday (10/13/09), the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a scaled-back expansion to a 1949 Upper East Side building, more than two years after rejecting a controversial 30-story glass addition to the building.
The building — the six-story, Modernist former Parke-Bernet Galleries, at 980 Madison Avenue, between 76th and 77th Streets — had been the center of a pitched battle. Criticism — including a 2006 review by Nicolai Ouroussoff in The New York Times — centered on the scale and aesthetics of the proposed design by Norman Foster, the esteemed British architect. While the review generally praised the design for being daring, it triggered high-powered neighbors to mobilize against the landlord, Aby Rosen. Since the building is located in the Upper East Side Historic District, which is protected by landmark status, any significant changes to the building require approval by the commission.