DeNiro charm
Robert DeNiro, the man who broke the rules as cab driver Travis Bickle, was a little less conspicuous during last week’s Landmarks Committee meeting of Community Board 1.
Walking in and sitting down next to all of the meeting regulars, he blended in much like Bickle did in his taxi — until the actor stood up and spoke up for the penthouse addition to his Greenwich Hotel on Greenwich St.
“We took a lot of care and have total respect for the neighborhood,” DeNiro said.
During the Landmark’s Committee meeting, developer DeNiro and his partners sought legalization for a penthouse that was built on the roof of the hotel. The penthouse ended up being bigger than the one the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved four years ago. The plans that they approved earlier were for a non-functional, hip roof, not a flat penthouse one.
Taking it down now would cost over $1 million.
The C.B. 1 committee recommended approving the addition, after hearing DeNiro’s endorsement, but it expressed reservations about his group’s disregard for the rules, which it plans to note in its report. The consensus was the change to the roof’s structure did not cause the overall building to be materially different.
DeNiro went before a slightly more skeptical Landmarks Commission this week. He reportedly has the backing of one of the hotel’s neighbors, actor Edward Burns.
Otterness lions
Tom Otterness, whose distinctive whimsical brass sculptures adorn Rockefeller Park and other parts of the city, may soon have a new project on his plate.
Several parents want Otterness to design a pair of glass lions to guard the entrance of the new Battery Park City library, which will open in 2010.
Dennis Gault, outgoing P.T.A. president at P.S. 89, and Tom Goodkind, a C.B. 1 member, are pushing for the lions because local children have already fallen in love with Otterness’s sculptures in Rockefeller Park, outside of P.S. 234 and elsewhere in the city.
Otterness agreed to make the sculptures at cost, meaning they could be more affordable than the community would expect, Goodkind told UnderCover. Otterness is in touch with the architects designing the Riverhouse condo building where the library will sit, and he will make a presentation to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee July 1.
One group that didn’t jump on board is the P.S. 89 P.T.A., except for Gault. The rest of the P.T.A. preferred to reserve their efforts for fundraising that goes directly to the school, not to the library.
And while UnderCover would never look a gift lion in the mouth, we have to point out that some of Otterness’s past work is less savory than this feel-good project for school kids: Back in the ’70s, he adopted a stray dog, whom he killed on film, but the “artist” subsequently said he would never repeat such a heinous act again.
Nice sore thumb
Developer Bruce Ratner may still have mega-money problems but his Beekman St. condo tower is going up fast. After finally resuming construction from a hole in the ground two months ago, the building structure is now several stories high.
UnderCover ain’t seen nothing yet, a construction worker who appreciates the aesthetics of a sore thumb told us last week. “Once it hits 11 [floors], it’s going to go really fast,” he said. “It’s going to look nice — it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
Is Frank Gehry’s intricate design making it complicated to build? “That’s another thing,” the worker agreed.
Wils: No comment
Speculation never seems to die that Madelyn Wils, former Community Board 1 chairperson, might run for City Council next year, even though she seems focused on her economic development job with Mayor Mike Bloomberg and does not appear to be making the political rounds necessary for a run. We were expecting a denial when we asked about a possible run last week, but we got a “no comment” instead. Maybe the speculators know something we don’t.
