After years of criticism that rivaled the reviews of Godsend, Robert De Niro appeared in front of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to present revised renderings for a controversial two-story penthouse at the Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa. The Observer was on the scene, noting that when De Niro and son, a real estate broker, entered, "with preservation consultants, land-use attorneys and architects in tow, three paparazzi sprang into action, as well as half-a-dozen reporters with point-and-shoot cameras. It was a rare event for the ninth floor of One Centre Street."

De Niro and his team put a two-story penthouse with—gasp—a mansard roof above the hotel. The penthouse's design had been approved by the LPC, but not the mansard roof, which led to annoyed TriBeCa residents saying the penthouse should be torn down! But the revised design went over well today, with his architect explaining that the Japanese concept of Wabi was utilized, "It is about harmony and peace and tranquility. And balance." Here's a look at the before and after.

One LPC commissioner gushed, "I was somewhat skeptical, seeing some early sketches, that this wasn't perhaps the right building. But now I am totally convinced."