Theatre Design & Technology - May 1970 - 10

BROADWAY REFASHIONED . ..

20000 of November 1, 1967. Under the
existing zoning, the City Planning Commission may, by special permit, approve modifications of the height and setback regulations in C6-7 Districts on lots having an
area of at least 40,000 square feet, and
may increase the permitted floor area ratio
for any new building in the Special Theatre
District which contains a legitimate theatre.
The application was the subject of a public
hearing duly held by the Commission on
April 10, 1968 (Cal. No.5), after adjournment from the duly advertised hearing of
April 9, 1968.
There were six appearances in favor of the
proposal and one in opposition, after which
the hearing was closed.
The matter was considered further at a meeting of the Commission held on April 17,
1968 (Cal. No. 12).
The office portion of the development will
face a plaza of approximately 13,700 square
feet fronting on Broadway and will rise 48
stories above grade plus mechanical penthouse.
An accessory garage to accommodate 225
cars will be located below grade with vehicular access and egress on West 50th Street
and West 51 st Street, with flow of traffic
to be determined by the City Planning Commission in consultation with the Department of Traffic.
The applicant plans to construct two legitimate theatres on the westerly portion of the
zoning lot. The larger theatre, to be located
above grade, will contain between 1,600 to
1,800 seats. A smaller experimental theatre,
with a seating capacity of between 350 and
650 seats, will be constructed below grade
under the larger theatre. It is anticipated that
the experimental theatre will have several
performances during the course of the day.
One-act plays or small revues maybestaged
during lunch hour, at about 5:30 P.M., with
performances of straight plays in the evening.
The theatre entrances and lobby will open
onto a 40-foot wide arcade running north and
south through the development and linking
two plazas which adjoin the office tower on
West 50th Street and West 51 st Street.
Stairways leading up and down to both theatreswill be located in the lobby. The arcade
will be bordered on its westerly perimeter
by a 30-foot lane for automobiles and taxis.
The plans also call for two sunken plazas
on the Broadway frontage with direct daylight from the plazas. A block-long underground concourse, to be built by the applicant at the City's request, will extend west
from the IRT station on Broadway to the
INDth Street station on Eighth Avenue. It
will be possible to enter the office tower or
theatres from either subway without going
out of doors. Restaurants, retail stores and
other consumer services will be provided on
the concourse and street levels of the de-

velopment.
In the report of November 1, 1 967 recommending the establishment of a Special Theatre District (CP-20000) it was stated that
"the Commission has already established
liaison with professional groups interested
in the area's future and is prepared to seek
the most authoritative advice available in resolving policy questions relating to the legitimate theatre and its supporting faciliti es." Intensive discussions have taken place
between the City Planning Department staff
and over one-hundred members of the theatrical community-producers, directors, actors, playwrights, theatre-owners, unions,
and commercial organizations-who have
reviewed the design, policy and planning
standards. On April 11, 1968, the Mayor
formalized this procedure by announcing
the appointment of two committees to advise the Commission: one on general policy
for the Theatre District, the other for work
on the development of individual projects.
The City Planning Commission will review, in
consultation with the theatre advisory boards,
the design of the legitimate theatres as their
plans are developed. Appropriate standards
for seat widths and spacing, standing and
circulation space, as well as checking, toilet
and elevator facilities, have been worked out
and are incorporated as conditions of approval of this application. At the request of
the Commission, Actor's Equity has prepared
a series of technical standards for stage and
backstage facilities which form the basis of
the conditions of approval of this application and are included in this report. Judging
from present plans and with the assurance
that they will be developed in accordance
with these standards it can be expected
that this theatre will represent a notable improvement over existing theatres in the area.
Safeguards insuring the construction, and the
continued use of both legitimate theatres in
the manner intended are incorporated as conditions of approval of this application. These
conditions further define the nature of legitimate theatre usage which is permitted.
In opposition to the applicant, a representative of the owners and operators of some
17 legitimate theatres submitted a brief
raising a number of objections. The Commission has considered these and has responded
to them in this report.
In connection with the specific contention
that Section 81-00 et seq. of the Zoning
Resolution which authorized a floor area
bonus for developers who include a legitimate theatre in their proposed structures,
was in effect special legislation limited in
its benefits to lots over 40,000 square feet.
It should be clear, however, that the bonus
benefits of Sections 81 -00 et seq. available within the Special Theatre District from
Sixth to Eighth Avenues, 40th to 57th
Streets in Manhattan, are not conditional
upon ownership of a minimum lot area.

The waiver of height, setback and tower regulations under Section 74-72 was authorized
several years prior to the creation of a Special Theatre District for lots of 40,000
square feet or over and may be sought by
developers of structures in certain commercial districts, without regard to inclusion
therein of a legitimate theatre. The Commission grants such applications where, in its
discretion, it finds an improved design resulting from such waivers without significant effect on surrounding light and air.
If a developer regards a lot of at least
40,000 square feet as desirable in order
to achieve his over-all design, he may wish
to assembl e such a plot. He is free to seek
the theatre district bonus, however, without
such assemblage.
The same individual, appearing in opposition to the application, argued that an open
space bonus was being considered by the
Commiss ion without relation to provision of
the requisite plaza area under Section 33-12.
its Section 81-06 bonus is granted for the
provision of appropriate related amenities
together with a legitimate theatre or theatres. Recognizing the special problems and
opportunities of the area, it was the judgment of the Commission and the Board of
Estimate that a number of alternatives to
Section 33-12 plazas existed which might
better serve the interests of the Special
Theatre District. Among these are: the theatres themselves, improved subwayconnections, concourses, off-street taxi and automobile lanes, protected pedestrian ways,
etc., etc.
The appl icant has requested the Commission
to authorize, pursuant to Section 81-06 of
the Zoning Resolution, an increase in the
permitted floor area ratio to 20.8.
The applicant has also requested the Commission for a special permit, under Section
74-72 of the Zoning Resolution, to modify
the height and setback regulations of Section 33-43 of the Zoning Resolution along
West 50 Street and West 51 Street, as
well as to modify the tower regulations of
Section 33-45 of the Zoning Resolution for
both the office and the theatre portions of
the development as shown on the plans
filed with the application. The office portion
of the development will constitute a tower
having a lot coverage of just under 47 per
cent.
In determining the precise extent of the increase of the floor area as well as of the
modification of the height, setback and tower
regulation, the Commission considered the
following factors:
a) That the legitimate theatres are of a size
and type which the Commission deems
appropriate under the circumstances pertaining at the time of the application, in
order to achieve a balance of facilities

THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

MAY, 1970

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