Crystal “crowns” historic Manhattan, NY restoration

QUEENS, NY — National manufacturer Crystal Window & Door Systems played a transformative role in the restoration and vertical expansion of a historic New York City building. Located at 650 First Ave. on Manhattan’s east side, the brick edifice built in 1894 now features a new four-story addition atop the original seven floors. Crystal’s Series W50i Window Wall System was used to completely encase the four new floors. In addition, Crystal supplied over 200 heavy-commercial replacement windows for the historic structure’s rehabilitation as the property was converted from a commercial building to a multifamily residential one.

The 650 First Ave. vertical expansion portion of the project called for over 11,000 s/f of glass façade. The window wall used for the building was Crystal’s new unitized Series W50i system. This state-of-the-art aluminum frame window wall system features a 5” deep European style frame with a polyamide insulating strut thermal break. The system is structurally rated at AW-PG55.

The renovation of the historic original building at 650 First Ave. also called for the installation of 238 high-end Crystal windows. The windows selected were in-swing casement and fixed picture styles of the architecturally rated aluminum Crystal Series 9200.

Ismael Leyva Architects, of New York, NY, provided the design services for the base building renovation and the glass enclosed 4-story rooftop vertical expansion. The developer is First and River, LLC, of Lake Success, NY, part of the Lalezerian Properties organization. Window wall installation and window replacements were handled by Façade Improvement of Brooklyn, NY.