Brooklyn Heights, bounded by the East River, Fulton Street, Atlantic Avenue, and Court Street, is an old, low-rise residential neighborhood of tree-lined streets and an abundance of brick, brownstone, and even wood houses. With the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, Brooklyn Heights became both conveniently linked to Manhattan and New York’s first suburb. In 1965, it also became the city’s first Historic District in an effort to preserve the facades of its buildings from aesthetically inappropriate change.
On the corner of Hicks and Remsen Street, within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, is a ten-story, brown and beige brick building. Erected as a rental in 1955, the property at 60 Remsen Street was converted to a cooperative of approximately 75 apartments in the late 1970’s.
In the mid-90’s, the building’s Board of Directors sought to conscientiously document buildings conditions in order to assess the need for present and future capital improvements. RAND Engineering, P.C. was called upon to do an initial survey on the building’s windows by Larry Malitzky of Galster Management, managing agent for 60 Remsen Street for the past 15 years.
RAND’s conclusions were that time and the environment had significantly deteriorated the original steel casement windows, which were rusted and showed signs of water penetration, such that the most appropriate alternative was complete replacement.
“RAND was highly recommended by Galster, and we had successfully worked with them on small projects,” said Fran Buchinsky, vice president of 60 Remsen Street’s Board of Directors. “Though the windows were clearly obsolete, in a building of our relatively small size, capital improvements of this magnitude are very serious undertakings so we asked RAND to provide information about their experience and credentials, particularly with regard to window replacements in landmark districts.”
Expert Guidance
The Board of 60 Remsen Street did their homework over a period of time, collecting in-depth information from Stephen Varone, director of operations for RAND, and John Mahler, RAND’s project architect, both of whom attended numerous Board meetings. RAND issued a report detailing the pros and cons of replacement versus repair and provided budgets for various alternatives to address the existing window problems.
“They shepherded us through the project, said Ms. Buchinsky. “ As a Board member, you read a report but you’re still a lay person. RAND provided the expert guidance we needed to really understand the process. The secret of success was to plan it through and ask all the right questions. We took some time, but it was time well spent.”
In 1998, the actual window replacement work began. One of the project’s challenges was that the new windows had to meet with the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission while also meeting safety, cost, acoustical, and strength requirements as well as other performance conditions.
“We were not required to replicate materials because of the height and size of the building, but we had to replicate the look,” explained Mr. Varone.
The Board obtained bids from a variety of window contractors and ultimately awarded the job to Skyline Windows, a division of S. Kraus Inc., a family-owned business founded in 1941. In addition to representing many well-known and respected national manufacturers of aluminum and wood windows, Skyline also does specialty design-build work, manufacturing its own line of double hung, casement, tilt and turn windows and doors.
The original steel casement
windows were rusted and
leaking, so complete
replacement was
the best option.
“We look upon RAND as being a very significant engineering firm in New York,” said Nelson Baumer of Skyline. “We had done some smaller projects with RAND and were looking forward to the challenge of 60 Remsen Street.”
The Board and RAND selected a Skyline-manufactured aluminum casement window to replace the deteriorated steel. Aluminum windows were the preferred choice for numerous reasons: they don’t rust like steel; they are thermally broken (meaning that cold or heat doesn’t transfer all the way through); and they are cost competitive.
From Single to Double Panes
The original windows had single panes. The new windows had double paned, insulated glass, which provides significant improvement in heat and air conditioning retention (ultimately decreasing utilities bills).
For windows on the south and west facades of the building, which face the East River, a special heat-reflecting film (rather like a piece of invisible Mylar) was used to reduce heat gain during the summer months and reduce glare throughout the year.
“RAND did an excellent job in selecting these windows in terms of aesthetics, strength, and performance,” said Mr. Baumer. “They were designed for landmark-type buildings and have an extended life expectancy. They’ve been used, for example, in many historic buildings in South Beach, Florida and have passed Dade County’s hurricane testing. While you don’t expect a major hurricane to hit Brooklyn Heights, it’s nice to know the windows can withstand extreme weather conditions given the building’s proximity to New York Harbor.”
Smooth Approval at LPC
The approval process at the Landmarks Preservation Commission went smoothly. As per the Commission’s guidelines, the windows were black on the outside (to preserve the original look) but, to soften the appearance, a different color was used inside.
The aluminum replacement windows were designed for landmark-type buildings and have an extended life expectancy.
“The two-tone window was a refined upgrade,” said Mr. Mahler. “Black or pure white are commonly used in interiors, but they are both very stark. We showed the Board a variety of interior color choices, and they overwhelmingly preferred a soft putty gray.”
The next challenge was installation of window guards (required by law for apartments with children under the age of 11) that met the approval of the Health Department Window Falls Program but did not aesthetically detract from the building.
“The window guard was one of the details that came up in the middle of the project,” said Ms. Buchinsky. “We have picture windows with casements which would have needed window guards that looked like prison bars. We hated the idea but knew that we could only use guards that were officially approved by the Health Department.”
Innovative Window Stops
The solution was a win for everyone. At the time of the project, Skyline Windows had a proposal pending with the Health Department for a window stop that previously could only be used through the issuance of a variance. Skyline was able to accelerate the approval process for use of the innovative stop—actually a series of stops within the hardware of the window—as a standard device.
“We achieved our safety goals while preserving the attractiveness of the building,” said Ms. Buchinsky.
Starting in late spring, with the active involvement of the Board and Galster Management, 60 Remsen Street’s windows were replaced from inside, beginning from the top and working floor by floor. Slate sills were replaced from outside via scaffold. Some masonry work, such as parapets that needed replacement, was done at the same time.
By early fall, 60 Remsen Street’s window replacement was completed with both Landmarks Preservation Committee and Health Department approval.
“You do a job like this once in a lifetime when you live in a building and, for a Board, it is a huge responsibility,” said Ms. Buchinsky. “RAND not only had the in-depth expertise to have the job done right but also the willingness to invest their time to educate the Board and address our many questions and concerns.”
From Real Estate Weekly, July 19, 2000.