The Word on the Windows
In pursuit of the truth about the windows at 400 State Street, the 200-year-old (this year) Hudson Almshouse, Gossips spoke with code enforcement officer Craig Haigh this morning.
Haigh told me that the project had come before him for review last Tuesday. What was proposed was simply repairing the existing windows, but if it was impossible to repair the windows, they would be replaced with windows that replicated in design and materials the original windows. This presumably is what has been done. Haigh assured me the work will be inspected by code enforcement to determine if what had been approved is what was done.
It seems miraculous that the three windows in the east wing could have been removed, repaired, repainted, and reinstalled in a single day. What seems more likely is that three new windows--made of wood with the same two over two configuration as the originals--had been already acquired and were ready for installation when the project was presented to Haigh, but I could be wrong.
COPYRIGHT 2018 CAROLE OSTERINK
Carole, this is not something we should be guessing about. The owner of such a historic building, by City Code 169-5, obligates the owner to obtain "a certificate of appropriateness [from the Historic Preservation Committee]... to carry out any exterior alteration, additions, restoration, reconstruction, demolition, new construction, or moving of a landmark or property within an historic district, or to make any material change in the appearance of such a property or its windows, or install or move a satellite dish. This certificate is to be obtained prior to obtaining a building permit. A certificate of appropriateness must be obtained even if a building permit is not required. Noncontributing properties within an historic district must also follow the same procedure." We should not have to guess about what's going on in that building; nor wait on Code Enforcement Officer.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone questioning these window repairs ever actually restored an original old window frame or sash?
ReplyDeleteI have Leonardo. It's hard work. But the question remains: does Galvan have a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC to do the work?
DeleteI might be hard work for someone not in the trade. It's actually pretty simple with these old windows. Some glazing compound and some paint and a refit. Who at HPC has any hands on experience or wants to write a performance specification for how to specifically do it. Do you want the job of site supervision to that end,Peter? You're globalizing a simple task.
DeletePersonally, I was happy to see the repairs made (compliant or non-compliant). To see the building with its eyes "poked" out was sad and unsettling and frankly, a little creepy. One of Hudson's treasures for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly not the wish of the Historic Preservation law or the committee to keep historic buildings intact to amke them "unsettling" or "creepy." But owners of these building, especially Galvan, who owns dozens of them, certainly knows the drill: you need a certificate of appropriateness before you work on a historic building.
DeleteI've noticed lately several people stating that the Code Enforcement officer is the "gatekeeper" for the HPC's consideration of a building's need for a certificate of appropriateness, which is a misreading of the city's preservation law (see https://ecode360.com/5080173) In fact, the code says quite explicitly that such work, including windows, must obtain a certificate "even if a building permit is not required."
DeleteThese are existing windows, are they not? So HPC,a committee is going to pass judgement on something they have no familiarity with? Who on that committee has ever rebuilt one of these crude old windows? As long as it looks good from the street view is all they care about.
DeleteIs the building on upper Columbia St going to look as it did before.
ReplyDeleteIf you mean 886 Columbia Street, originally the Dinehart mansion and most recently McDonald's funeral home, the answer is no. The building is not in a historic district, so there is nothing to prevent it from being changed. The most dramatic change will be the re-glazing of the brick, turning it from "ugly yellow" to blue-gray. Check out this post I did on the topic when the project got site plan approval from the Planning Board: https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2017/03/other-matters-before-planning-board.html
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