Historic district includes buildings from Brooklyn’s bygone industrial age. On January 30, 2008, the City Council voted to approve Landmarks’ designation of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, between West and Kent Streets along Greenpoint Avenue. The factory buildings serve as an example of the German Renaissance Revival style, with some buildings dating as far back as the 1880s. In 2005, the Department of Buildings issued permits for the demolition and alteration of some buildings within the district. One such permit was to facilitate the construction of a nine-story addition to, and interior demolition of, 58 Kent Street. 4 CityLand109 (Aug. 15, 2007). Notwithstanding the permits, Landmarks voted to preserve the Eberhard Faber buildings as a historic district in October 2007. 4 CityLand 159 (Oct. 15, 2007).

At the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses hearing on January 22, 2008, Diane Jackier, Director of External Affairs for Landmarks, testified in support of designation and noted the widespread support the agency received from preservationist groups during its public hearing. Council Member David Yassky, whose district includes Greenpoint, supported the designation as well and praised Landmarks for working to preserve historic sites beyond Manhattan. (more…)

Designations include Lord & Taylor store and Eberhard Faber Pencil Co. complex. On October 30, 2007, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate seven individual buildings and one new historic district.

In Manhattan, Landmarks designated the Lord & Taylor flagship store in Midtown, the Manhattan House in the Upper East Side, and two federal-era rowhouses in the Lower East Side. The Lord & Taylor store dates back to 1914 and is an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. 4 CityLand 111 (Aug. 15, 2007). At the hearing, Landmarks Chair Robert B. Tierney referred to it as “another landmark hidden in plain sight.” Commissioner Margery Perlmutter enthusiastically supported designation of the Manhattan House, a white-brick apartment building on East 66th Street, stating that the International-Style building set the standard for contemporary architecture. Landmarks also designated two federal-era rowhouses at 511 and 513 Grand Street in the Lower East Side. (more…)

Nearby demolition and development lent urgency to potential designation. On July 24, 2007, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District. The proposed historic district comprises five buildings dating from the 1880s to the 1920s relating to the former Eberhard Faber pencil factory. The company moved to this Brooklyn location after a fire at its Manhattan plant in 1872 and remained there until 1956. The buildings feature stone lintels and terra cotta reliefs in the shape of pencils and the company’s logo, a five-pointed star.

The Department of Buildings issued permits in 2005 permitting the demolition and alteration of some former Eberhard Faber buildings, including an alteration permit for 58 Kent Street within the potential historic district. Buildings’ BIS system describes the work proposed for 58 Kent Street as a nine-story addition and interior demolition. The owners have already demolished two other former factory buildings. (more…)

Affordable housing incentives, as well as height, massing and manufacturing zones, revised before approval. Over the disapproval votes of Commissioners Karen Phillips and Dolly Williams, the remaining members of the Planning Commission approved the rezoning of a two-mile area along the East River waterfront in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods after modifications were crafted to address public officials and residents’ comments.

The six linked applications, including text, map and City map amendments to create park land, will rezone 183 diverse blocks of two Brooklyn neighborhoods that have seen significant population growth, development and numerous illegal conversions over the past decade that have increased the disparity between the existing uses and the current zoning. (more…)