Upper East Side Art Gallery Wants Rezoning For Expansion

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — For the second time in two years, an Upper East Side building owner is asking for a zoning change in order to enlarge its home — though the latest proposal looks very different from the recent Blood Center battle.

Salon 94, the art gallery founded in 2003 in Carnegie Hill, is hoping to expand its new headquarters in a converted mansion on East 89th Street near Fifth Avenue, which it moved into last year. The plans center on a new sixth-floor penthouse that would serve as an artists' residence, as well as changes in use to allow for commercial art gallery space.

Much like the New York Blood Center recently did, Salon 94 must persuade the city to change the R8B zoning that covers its block to allow for a taller building height, among other changes. To kick off the monthslong review process known as ULURP, gallery representatives presented their plans Wednesday to Community Board 8 — encountering some support, as well as some resistance.

Salon 94 bought the mansion for $22 million in 2019. "From the moment I saw the 3 East 89th St. building, my dream has been to give it new life as a hub for all of my art and gallery operations," gallery owner Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn told CB8.

Having already renovated the building's interior and facade, Greenberg Rohatyn has now enlisted the architect Rafael Viñoly — famed for designing the supertall 432 Park Ave. skyscraper — to handle the expansion.

Features will include restored galleries, a "world-class" art library, and the residence for visiting artists, which Greenberg Rohatyn called a "first-of-its-kind" endeavor.

In all, the work will add about 5,400 square feet to the 13,600-square-foot building, raising its height from 79 to 94 feet — above the zoning district's 75-foot limit.

Renderings shown by the gallery suggest the additions will be barely visible from the street. Shadows cast by the penthouse will not reach Central Park, and will have no significant impact on the stained-glass windows of nearby Church of Heavenly Rest, according to presenter Stuart Becker.

Still, some expressed wariness about the addition, including Lo van der Valk, president of Carnegie Hill Neighbors, who noted that Salon 94's current plans are a revision of its bulkier proposal unveiled in 2019, which was voted down by CB8.

"The addition proposed should not lead to a diminishment of light and air to neighboring structures," van der Valk said, vowing to watch closely once the proposal reaches the scrutinizing eyes of the City Planning Commission.

More outwardly hostile testimony came from Michael Weinsier, speaking on behalf of residents of the next-door co-op at 1080 Fifth Ave. Weinsier said those neighbors "vehemently objected" to the scale of the 2019 proposal, especially the sixth-floor penthouse — "and maintain those objections today."

Supporters, meanwhile, said the renovations would help boost the Upper East Side's cultural offerings, noting that the free-of-charge gallery is accessible to all comers.

"If we disapprove this type of use, what is the message we’re sending? Should we move these projects to downtown, to out of New York City?" neighbor Richard Mack said. "I don’t think we should let NIMBYism stand in our way.”

The board took no votes on the proposal Wednesday, deferring any action to a future meeting. Once it issues a recommendation by the March 14 deadline, the proposal will head to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's office, with the City Council getting a final say sometime this summer.

Related coverage: Upper East Side Art Gallery Opens Expansive New Headquarters