By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — A preservationist group is clashing with Community Board 7 over a fifth floor that was illegally added to a landmarked Upper West Side apartment building several years ago.
The Parks and Preservation Committee of CB7 voted unanimously to approve alterations last Thursday that the owners of 12 West 68th Street are hoping will legalize the fifth floor addition, but preservationist group Landmark West wants the entire floor removed.
"The community has a real stake in making sure that the city enforces its own laws," said Kate Wood, executive director of Landmark West, in an email. "A whole floor was illegally added to this landmark, and the only way to make it legal is to take it down."
Any alterations to the building, located in the Upper West Side Historic District, should have been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission before they were made. The commission takes into account the recommendations of community boards for any decisions it makes.
But the previous owners went ahead with the addition without getting permission, and now the new owner, who could not be reached for comment, is hoping that with the approved alterations, CB7 and the Landmarks Preservation Commission will finally deem the fifth floor legal.
When the committee approved the alterations to the fifth floor last Thursday night, they concluded that the addition was "reasonably appropriate" to the rest of the building. The committee also said they would have approved the addition had they been presented with the plans before construction.
The committee's recommendations will be voted on by a full board with CB7 on March 2 before going before the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
