Owner seeks reinstatement of 2016 rooftop permit for 151 Grand Street; board members debate brick color

Preservation consultants representing the owner of 151 Grand Street asked Community Board 2 to recommend reinstatement of a Certificate of Appropriateness that expired after construction stalled during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Julie Rosen of the applicant team said the 2016 LPC approval covered a one-story setback rooftop addition, a rear-yard stair extension, windows and a comprehensive façade restoration. Rosen told the committee the new owner intends to “pick up from where it left off” and emphasized that the team is “not proposing any design changes” to the approved scheme.

The presentation noted that much of the rooftop framing and steel work was installed in 2019 before the project halted, and that the new ownership purchased the property earlier this year to complete the previously approved restoration. The team also presented a visibility study showing limited views of the rooftop addition from primary Lafayette and Grand Street facades.

Some neighbors and committee members pressed the team about the proposed brick cladding and the paint color for cast-iron elements. One public commenter said she found the gray brick “entirely inappropriate for Soho,” and committee members asked how the finish samples were obtained. Rosen said the finishes were set by a 2016 paint- and finishes-analysis and that the approved palette reflects historic sampling.

Next steps: the committee asked the applicant to submit clarified slide materials and the paint-sample documentation for staff review. No formal changes to the approved design were proposed during the hearing; the applicant said it was seeking reinstatement of the expired permit so the team can pull new Department of Buildings permits and resume the previously approved work.