Landmarks panel okays museum expansion

In a blow to the many Upper West Siders who have been fighting the plans for the past year, the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday unanimously approved the American Museum of Natural History’s application to expand its campus with a new building.

Unlike most of the numerous public meetings that have taken place since the museum’s plans were announced in late 2014, the landmarks hearing was orderly – and extremely positive about the proposed Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.

“I think this is completely arresting,” commissioner Wellington Chen said. “Very seldom do you a see design that’s soaring, that’s inspiring. I wish I were a kid again.”

The other commissioners’ comments were similarly glowing. They described the Gilder Center, which was designed by architect Jeanne Gang, as exciting and innovative – a perfect place to get its youngest visitors interested in science. Commissioner Kim Vauss credited the design with creating a sense of wonder that will draw in youngsters.

“It’s really about the experience that children are going to have … and my sense from the renderings is that they’re going to have a ball,” she said.

Community Board 7, which approved the design at a meeting on Oct. 5, was also generally appreciative of the design. The board’s audience on the Upper West Side, however, derided everything from the design to the environmental impact to the proposed building materials of the Gilder Center. The central cause of concern for residents has been Theodore Roosevelt Park, which surrounds the museum and is a popular spot for play and respite for the community.

The Gilder Center will intrude into the park by a quarter-acre and will require the relocation of seven trees. But in response to the outcry from their neighbors, the museum has worked with a group of area residents to redesign a section of the park so that the feeling of a safe, intimate space remains.

The preservation commission did have some reservations about allowing the Gilder Center to consume 11,000 square feet of park land, but not nearly enough to reject the project.

“A quarter-acre somewhere else on this campus perhaps would be unthinkable, but … it’s hardly, truly a park experience in there now,” commissioner Fred Bland said. “So we’re not taking that away. And what we’re adding in terms of additional trees and much improved landscaping to me is certainly worth that quarter of an acre.”

During the public comment section of yesterday’s hearing, too, there were more supporters than opponents.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Helen Rosenthal’s office and Jay Adolf, co-chair of the CB 7 preservation committee, all spoke in favor of the Gilder Center.

But certain criticisms were aired as well. Kate Wood, president of Landmark West!, cautioned against the precedent the commission might set by allowing the museum to encroach on Theodore Roosevelt park. “This is a big deal,” she said. “Roosevelt Park is a public asset under the jurisdiction of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and worthy of preservation. … The very presence of the park surrounding the museum is a significant part of the community experience of the individual landmark and the [Upper West Side] historic district.”

The hearing concluded the first round of hurdles the museum needs to clear in order to begin construction, as they hope to, during the second half of 2017. Sometime in January an Environmental Impact Statement for the project will be completed and will then undergo similar scrutiny by the community and the corresponding city agencies.

In a statement, Museum President Ellen Futter said she appreciated the “careful consideration of the Landmarks Preservation Commission” and looks forward to the next steps in the process.

Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com