Actor DeNiro Emotes To Save A Penthouse

Tough-guy actor Robert DeNiro may be making the Landmarks Preservation Commission an offer it can't refuse: requesting that it overlook an omission connected to his new TriBeCa boutique hotel.

The commission is now considering a compromise that would allow the actor to avoid tearing down a penthouse worth millions of dollars.

Mr. DeNiro issued an apology to the commission yesterday for failing to alert the city that a rooftop penthouse was to be built at the hotel. The now-completed penthouse was not part of the plans that were approved in 2004 by the commission as part of the approval process for the six-story hotel, which was built in the TriBeCa historic district.

"This was a labor of love and anything that would be offensive to the neighborhood would be offensive to me," Mr. DeNiro said in brief comments at a hearing held yesterday in Lower Manhattan. "If there are any mistakes, which may happen, may I offer my apologies."

The Greenwich Hotel, which opened last month, is on Greenwich Street near North Moore, and was built on a parking lot that DeNiro bought in 1991. The hotel has 75 rooms and 13 suites with rooms starting at $525 and running to at least $1,400 a night, according to the hotel's Web site.

Mr. DeNiro built the hotel with the help of $38.5 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bond financing.

The actor Edward Burns testified yesterday on behalf of Mr. DeNiro. Mr. Burns said he lives in an adjacent building and from his apartment can peer into the penthouse in question.

"There is nothing offensive about that penthouse," he said.

The commission decided to further study the issue and will resume discussion at the next hearing. Based on the comments made by the commissioners, it appeared that a compromise would likely be reached. No date has been set for the next hearing.