De Niro's Greenwich Hotel Keeps Make-over

Back in 2004 the Greenwich Hotel, owned by veteran actor Robert Di Nero, was given a re-design go-ahead. To achieve a grander appearance Di Nero injected a inordinate dose of Benjamins into his co-owned TriBeCA penthouse. Though four years down the track New York’s Landmark Preservation Commission caught sight of something unwieldily. 


It seems amidst the sky scrappers of the Big Apple there was one particular design violation tracing back to the actor/property developer. As a result the Taxi star was instructed to modify the structure whose scale was drastically larger than the initially agreed measurements. Channeling the all-to-cliche actor-diva syndrome the veteran actor refused to rescale the roof citing architectural ‘mistakes’. 


Fortunately even the ‘big movie stars’ can’t escape a big slap from the stern hand of the law. In a meeting with the city commission, on 16 November, De Nero’s camp unveiled plans of re-structure which included the removal of angled roofing to reveal underlying brick walls. The shaded garden features would be decorated in greenery.


According to the New York Times the court hearing saw Di Nero’s architect, Axel Vervoordt, give a glowing argument laced in industry jargon and ingratiating statements. Though the court could have instructed a complete building removal it seems all plans have been approved; though no deadline date has been set. Another victory for the celebrat?