Landmarks takes first steps towards designation of historic district in Flatbush. On September 19, 2006, Landmarks voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the proposal to designate 250 single-family homes in Flatbush, Brooklyn as the Midwood Park – Fiske Terrace Historic District.
Fiske Terrace features single-family homes developed from 1905 to 1920 by Theodore B. Ackerson on a 30-acre, densely wooded estate purchased from George Fiske. In 1905, Ackerson cleared the land, set out streets, installed sewers and water lines, and developed over 150 single-family homes within 18 months. Ackerson built uniform three-story homes in series of ten, using stock plans, but allowed each owner to vary the exterior details.
John Corbin similarly developed the Midwood Park community, allowing home owners to choose from 30 distinct models that used the same materials and construction methods. Corbin cut all the needed beams, frames and trims at his East 56th Street factory on Jamaica Bay and shipped the materials to the construction site. Landmarks research staff noted that Corbin’s factory had the capacity to turn out 1,000 pre-fabricated homes a year. (more…)
- The fate of the last remaining horse mart in the city, pictured above, is in the hands of Landmarks after it held an emergency hearing on September 7. Photo: Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Emergency hearing held on East Village horse stable and auction house. On September 7, 2006, less than one month after calendaring, Landmarks held a hearing on the possible designation of the Van Kearney and Van Tassel Horse Auction Mart at 126 East 13th Street in the East Village. The 1903 Beaux-Arts building, which has also served as an automobile showroom, a women’s assembly-line training center during the second World War, and the studio of painter Frank Stella, was recently purchased by a developer who received a building permit to construct a seven-story building on the site, but had yet to receive demolition permits. In response to community petitioning, Landmarks calendared the building, which halted the issuance of demolition permits by Buildings. 3 CityLand 126 (Sept. 15, 2006).
Numerous public figures spoke in favor of designation or sent representatives to the hearing, including State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Council Member Rosie Mendez, and State Senator David Chang. Mendez spoke of her community’s recent struggles to protect P.S. 64 and St. Brigid’s Church, and asked that Landmarks work more closely with Buildings to avoid the destruction of important historic buildings. (more…)
Owners claim financial hardship. The full Council approved Landmarks’ designation of two Staten Island homes over the protest of the current owners. Landmarks had unanimously approved the designation of the 1850-built DeHart House in Tottenville at its May 16th meeting and later voted on June 13th to make the Mark W. Allen house, a 1920s Craftmans style bungalow in West New Brighton, an individual landmark. 3 CityLand 78 (June 15, 2006); 3 CityLand 96 (July 15, 2006).
Both owners opposed designation of their homes at the August 14th hearing before the City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Siting & Maritime Uses.
The owner of the Mark W. Allen House, Marie Busiello, alleged that her house was singled out for designation because Council Member Michael McMahon’s chief of staff lived next door and designation would stop her plan to sell the lot to a developer. (more…)
- Site of new 260,000-square-foot residential development at 88 Laight Street in North Tribeca. Photo: Shane Tattan.
A private developer sought to rezone four city blocks of Tribeca. Truffles, LLC applied for a zoning map amendment to rezone four waterfront blocks along the western edge of Manhattan’s North Tribeca neighborhood to enable construction of a 260,000-square-foot residential development at 88 Laight Street. Truffles also applied for a text amendment to increase the maximum streetwall and building height restrictions, and a special permit to replace an existing 43-space parking lot with a 180- space underground garage.
The area, bounded by Washington Street to the east, West Street to the west, Watts Street to the north, and Hubert Street to the south, is characterized by a mix of commercial, residential, automotive, and industrial uses. The two northern blocks comprise mainly low-rise and underdeveloped properties such as surface parking lots, automotive repair shops, warehouses, loft residences, and a restaurant, while the two southern blocks – both located within the Tribeca North Historic District – include 9- and 10-story residential buildings and an 11-story office building. (more…)
Council rebuffs request to alter designation report. On July 19, 2006, the City Council approved the Weehawken Street Historic District and the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension, which together extended the Landmarks Law’s protections to an additional 59 buildings in the West Village. Landmarks had unanimously designated both districts on May 2, 2006. 3 CityLand 78 (June 15, 2006).
At the public hearing before the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses, the resident and owner of 689 Washington Street, a house constructed in 1980 that emulates the neo-Georgian facades of surrounding historic homes, requested that her property be carved out of the district’s proposed boundaries. Alternatively, the owner asked that the designation report denote its modern construction date in order to allow Landmarks or other land use agencies some leeway in approving alterations. (more…)
