search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

HGTV’s “Mr. Flip It” gets four years in jail for $10M fraudHGTV’s “Mr. Flip It” gets four years in jail for $10M fraudTrump accused of making false statements about $50M Chicago tower loanTrump accused of making false statements about $50M Chicago tower loanLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aMacerich faces “imminent” default on $300M Santa Monica Place loanMacerich faces “imminent” default on $300M Santa Monica Place loan
New York

Owner of Underground Railroad house loses appeal for fifth-floor addition

339 West 29th Street at center
339 West 29th Street at center

Tony Mamounas, the owner of the historic Hopper Gibbons House at 339 West 29th Street, lost his appeal to keep an allegedly illegally-constructed addition atop his property, DNAinfo reported. The Board of Standards and Appeals voted to have Mamounas appear before the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which will determine whether the fifth-floor addition can stay.

The building was previously a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves to make their way north to Canada. The LPC designated the property a landmark in 2010 — five years after Mamounas began construction on the fifth floor.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The city Department of Buildings reportedly allowed the fifth-floor construction by accident. As previously reported, Mamounas was ordered to remove the addition in November 2010, but has not yet done so.

Local preservationists, residents and politicians for years have wanted the property to return to its original height in order to stay in line with the rest of the block. [DNAinfo] —Zachary Kussin