Community Education Council Meeting

You you can do so, please attend this meeting.  The proposed plans for PS 199 and PS 191 will be on the agenda.

Overcrowding & Space Utilization Committee

Monday, April 15th at 6pm

Community Educational Council District 3

JOA Room 204, 154 W. 93rd St.

P.S. 199 and 191 are the top agenda

Noah Gotbaum Campaign Kick-off at PS 199 this Saturday

Campaign Kickoff

Saturday, April 06, 2013 at 12:00 PM

PS 199 in New York, NY

Join Noah, his children, former Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, parents, community members, and Chubby the English mastiff, for Noah’s Campaign Kickoff.

Note:  This is not an endorsement but it is an opportunity to show support for the opposition of the PS 199 proposal and to hand out flyers!

The Architecture of PS199

Public School 199

270 West 70^th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenue
Edward Durell Stone 1963

PS 199, officially named the Jesse Isador Straus School, stands stoutly at three stories high in the shadow of the Lincoln Towers Complex.  The school was built in a Title One redevelopment area, which included Lincoln Center and the Lincoln Towers.  The Board of Education commissioned well-known architect, Edward Durell Stone, to design PS 199.  Stone’s first major commission was in 1937 for the Museum of Modern Art, which he designed with Philip L. Goodwin.  

Then, beginning in the 1950s, Stone’s architectural aesthetic changed.  In a “move toward elegance,” Stone broke with the International Style and started designing sleek buildings with classical aspects.  The U.S. embassy in New Delhi was Stone’s first major work after this transformation and it is one of his most intricate and memorable designs.  PS 199, although not quite as elaborate as the embassy, is representative of Stone’s new aesthetic.  The school’s 166 thin, glazed white brick piers are faithful to Stone’s love of repetitive columns and are evocative of a grand colonnade.  

Classical patterning is illustrated in the concentric squares inscribed beneath the roof’s overhang.  Keeping in mind that people would be looking down at the top of the school from the surrounding apartment buildings, Stone tried to make the roof clean and aesthetically pleasing.  He cut out the center of the roof creating an open-air play space on the third floor of the school.  The building’s materials are simple: brick, glass, and metal.  However, the combination of shiny glass, dark brick, and white glazed piers create a striking contrast.  PS 199 has undoubtedly increased in significance because of the fate of 2 Columbus Circle.  

Stone’s 1964 design for the Gallery of Modern Art at 2 Columbus Circle was radical and innovative for the time and unfortunately has been lost.  PS 199 continues the neoclassical spirit of Stone’s unique form of Modernism on the Upper West Side and should be preserved in its own right and in memory of 2 Columbus Circle. 

Thanks to Landmark West for providing this description. 

How Tall will the Tower Be?

The sample drawings in the RFEI show a tower of 402 feet for a 38 floor building.  To put this in context, this is taller than 8 of the 11 towers in the Trump Complex along Riverside Boulevard.  A 50 story building example was also given that would be over 500 ft. high.

The RFEI states that the height can even be larger than the 50 story sample, "The developers should note that taller towers could be built than shown if smaller floor plates are utilized." (p. 62 of the RFEI)

For example, according to the Wall Street Journal, the tower to be built above P.S. 59/H.S. for Art and Design (the ECF's last project) is slated to be 715 ft. high

To see the drawing click here.

To see the height of neighborhood buildings click here.

Neighborhood Facts - Density and Growth

Here are a few highlights from our research, see the full report here:

1.The overall population increased (Census Track 155) was 49.5% while NYC as a whole increased 2.1% and Manhattan increased 3.2%.

2. For the entire Lincoln Square area, the population change from the year 2000 to 2010 was 11.3% while NYC as a whole increased 2.1% and Manhattan increased 3.2%.

3. The 72nd Street Subway is the 14th busiest in Manhattan and of the busiest subways in Manhattan, the 72nd Street Subway had the largest percent usage increase from 2007 to 2011 at 11% increased utilization and the largest single year percent usage increase from 2010 to 2011 at 5.3% increased utilization.