Proposed Upper East Side Megamansion Gains Landmarks Approval

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A proposal to combine two Upper East Side townhouses located in the Carnegie Hill Historic District into a megamansion was unanimously approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday, a commission spokeswoman told Patch.

The LPC voted in favor of an application to merge 53 and 55 E. 92nd St. — located between Park and Madison avenues — and perform extensive renovations to both buildings. The building owners applied to transform the two existing five-story buildings into one six-story structure, according to a proposal submitted with the LPC. The renovation would also include extensive excavation work and a rear yard addition, according to the application.

Commissioners approved the project, but did rule that a proposal to re-do the rear facade would have to be modified "in a way that recalls the historic separation of the houses," an LPC spokeswoman told Patch. The original plans called for four stories of floor-to-ceiling windows topped by two garden terraces along the building's rear facade.

The approval means that one more ultra-luxurious megamansion has been green-lighted for the Upper East Side. Megamansions have already been built by neighborhood residents such as Madonna and Michael Bloomberg. Recently, three contiguous townhouses on East 1st Street were listed and marketed as a potential mansion site.

Photos courtesy Landmarks Preservation Commission