NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Project Identification Lead Agency
CEQR No. 18DCP100M City Planning Commission
ULURP Nos. N180184ZRM, N180185ZCM 120 Broadway, 31st Floor
SEQRA Classification: Type I New York, NY 10271
Contact: Robert Dobruskin
(212) 720-3423
Name, Description and Location of Proposal:
1568 Broadway
The Applicant, Times Square Hotel Owner, LLC, (the “Applicant”) proposes a Zoning Text Amendment to the Zoning Resolution (“ZR”) affecting signage (the “Proposed Action”). Specifically, a Text Amendment is proposed to amend ZR Section 81-732 (“Special Times Square signage requirements”) and Section 81-751 (“Special Street wall and setback regulations within the Theater Subdistrict Core”), affecting building signage in the Theater Subdistrict, located between 43rd Street and 50th Street, with street frontage on Seventh Avenue and/or Broadway in Times Square, Manhattan, Community District (CD) 5. The Proposed Action would facilitate a proposal by the Applicant to construct an 18,195 sf sign, with balconies and terraces behind it (the “Proposed Project”) in connection with an as-of-right (not subject to discretionary action) renovation to the building which houses the Palace Theatre, located at 1568 Broadway (Block 999, Lots 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004, the “Project Site”), on the corner of 7th Avenue and West 47th Street. The proposed renovation includes the restoration and elevation of the landmarked Palace Theatre, located within the interior of the building and subject to a separate NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Certificate of Appropriateness, granted on February 17, 2017.
The proposed Text Amendment would allow by Certification (a) the ability to modify the number of required signs on buildings containing listed theaters within 100 feet of Broadway or Seventh Avenue, and (b) the projection of certain signs within the Theater Subdistrict Core across the street line up to a height of 120 feet above curb level, as well as to permit the location of balconies and terraces behind such signs, provided that they are used for an entertainment-related use. In connection with the proposed Text Amendment, the Applicant is seeking a Chairperson’s Certification, a ministerial action not subject to Environmental Review, in order to incorporate the proposed modifications into the Proposed Project.
In addition to the Project Site, another listed theater within the Theater Subdistrict - the Lunt-Fontane Theater, located at 205 West 46th Street (Block 1018, Lot 20) - would be subject to the provisions of the proposed Text Amendment. However, the Lunt-Fontane Theater would not be expected to utilize these provisions because the current building is an individual landmark, subject to further LPC approvals, and development rights have already been transferred to an adjacent hotel located at 1567 Broadway.
Currently, the Project Site (Block 999, Lots 1001-1004) contains 21,758 square feet of lot area, and is occupied with a 45-story building with 469,955 gross square feet (gsf) of Use Group (UG) 5, 6, and 8 commercial uses, including the 32,719 gsf Palace Theatre. The Project Site contains signage along the 7th Avenue and West 47th Street portion of the existing building, in the form of discrete, individual signs, expected to be removed in order to construct the Applicant’s Proposed Project. As noted above, the Project Site contains a designated landmark – the Palace Theatre.
The Project Site is located within a C6-7T district, with a small portion within a C6-5.5 district, and it is entirely within the Theater Subdistrict Core of the Special Midtown District. C6-7T zoning districts are a subset of C6 commercial districts permitting high-bulk uses in central locations and which do not require off-street parking. The Special Midtown District, established in 1982 to guide development within the Midtown central business district, establishes varying bulk and density limits for avenue frontages and midblocks. The Theatre Subdistrict Core incorporates special use and signage requirements in accordance with the character of Times Square and the Theater District as a whole. Large illuminated signs must be incorporated into the façades of new buildings within the Theater Subdistrict. C6-5.5 commercial districts, like the C6-7T district of the project site, are a subgroup of C6 zoning districts featuring similar characteristics.
Under the Proposed Action, the Applicant seeks to modify ZR Sections 81-732 and 81-751, affecting sign number and area regulations, as well as streetwall and setback regulations, respectively. Pursuant to the modification of ZR Section 81-732, the Applicant is proposing to construct a larger single sign, rather than multiple signs, and pursuant to the modification of ZR Section 81-751, the Applicant is proposing to construct a sign with no setbacks, reaching a height of 120 feet, rather than 60 feet with a setback as currently permitted. The proposed signage would include one illuminated, curved, LED sign structure. In addition, the Applicant seeks to amend ZR Section 81-751 to permit balconies and terraces, to be located behind the proposed signage. The Applicant intends to operate a portion of such balconies and terraces in connection with new entertainment-related uses within the building and to make the balconies and terraces accessible to the public. Approximately 20,000 gsf of floor area would be added as a result of the Proposed Project. This would come from the addition of new balconies and terraces (19,895 gsf) on the third through ninth floors of the building, and from an increment of 105 sf for the proposed sign (18,195 gsf) when compared with the No-Action signage (18,090 gsf).
Absent the Proposed Action, the Applicant would proceed with the as-of-right renovation to the building and the Palace Theatre, and would construct a series of discrete signs with a setback at 60 feet before reaching a maximum height of 120 feet. The No-Action signage would not contain the proposed balconies and terraces.
The Proposed Project is anticipated to add four months to the construction of the No-Action project, which is expected to take 24 months. This would result in a total of 28 months for construction and a planned completion date of 2021.