In what is pretty much the classic Neighborhood Beef, two Carrere and Hastings buildings on the Upper East Side are fighting over the plans of one to build an addition that would block the light and views of the other. Residents of co-op building Dunham House at 35 East 68th Street are rallying against the proposed two-story rear extension to neighboring retail building 819 Madison Avenue. which would result in co-op owners' views being obscured by a brick wall.
819 Madison, which houses Donna Karan's flagship store, was purchased by Friedland Properties earlier this year. Since their plans for the building became public, the Dunham House neighbors, including the editor-in-chief of Interior Design magazine, have united, influencing the local community board's Landmarks Committee to rule against the expansion unanimously at a meeting last week. However, since the changes appear to be only to be back of the building and the building is only landmarked as part of a historic district (rather than being an individual landmark) it is unclear whether or not the Landmarks Commission will get a chance to weigh in and actually stop the addition from being built. If they do, though, it should be a fun hearing. The Dunham House residents are also trying to cover all their bases by claiming that the courtyard that would be filled by the addition is an integral part of their building, despite the fact that it's only accessible from 819 Madison.
· Neighbors Fight Plan to Expand Landmarked Madison Ave. Building [DNAinfo]
· Neighborhood Beefs [Curbed]
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