Homeowners claimed house was wrongly described in Historic District report. In December 2004, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Douglaston Hill Historic District in Queens. The Mosleys, who had purchased a home in the District in October 2004, sued Landmarks, seeking to do away with the Historic District altogether or alternatively, remove their home from the District. The Mosleys claimed that the designation of the District was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission had denied designation only one year earlier.

With respect to their home, the Mosleys claimed that it was erroneously classified as historically significant because Landmarks had relied on incorrect and incomplete information included in the Douglaston Hill Designation Report. The Report listed the Mosley home under the early development section and indicated that it was built in the 1870s. It stated that the home dated back to the railroad’s arrival, appeared in the 1873 Beers Atlas, and described the home as largely intact.

The Mosleys introduced a 1919 survey showing a house that was different from both the 1873 house and their house. They also demonstrated that their house was a different size, shape and location from the house in the Beers Atlas, and presented an affidavit from an architect who determined that their house was built in the first quarter of the 20th Century. The Mosleys alleged they had made several attempts to contact Landmarks to present the newly discovered documents and information, but were told the status of their home would not be reconsidered. Finally, the Mosleys claimed they were unaware the house was to be landmarked when they purchased it. (more…)

Planned 1909 Bronx suburb designated. At a January 10, 2006 Landmarks meeting, the Commission unanimously voted to designate the Fieldston community in the Bronx as a historic district. Fieldston is an example of an early twentieth-century planned community that evolved to incorporate modern design as well as Medieval, English, Tudor, Dutch, and Mediterranean architecture. Landmarks Chair Robert Tierney hailed the designation as part of the Commission’s “goal to designate landmarks and historic districts throughout the city,” especially outside of Manhattan. Commissioner Stephen Byrns stated that he had long supported the project as an important preservation for both the city and the nation.

The Fieldston district was originally conceived by developers in 1909 as “a private park devoted exclusively to country homes,” and was landscaped in the romantic style, featuring winding roads following the natural topography. The houses were built in an eclectic blend of styles, drawn from a list of approved architects, including Frank J. Forster and Julius Gregory. In the 1950s, Fieldston’s property owners’ association relaxed its guidelines, allowing a number of architecturally significant modern homes to be built. At the designation vote, Commissioner Joan Gerner pointed out that the city has few districts with single-family homes. (more…)

Landmarks designates northeastern Queens suburb a historic district. On December 14, 2004, Landmarks designated the Douglaston Hill Historic District in Queens, a residential park-like community developed between 1890 and 1930, to preserve the special historical and aesthetic values of early twentieth-century architectural styles within the area. The new district consists of 31 freestanding, wooden, single-family homes of Queen Anne, Colonial and Tudor Revival style. Douglaston Hill became one of the first commuter suburbs that marked Queens’ transformation away from small farms and colonial villages. It was also the home of many prominent New Yorkers, including the O’Leary, Stuart and Hamilton families.

At the August 3, 2004 public hearing, Council Member Tony Avella and other public officials spoke in favor of designating the district to preserve styles which are becoming increasingly rare due to over-development or inappropriate alterations throughout Queens. Landmarks noted that the newly created historic district protects the turn-of-century picturesque architectural styles of the rapidly disappearing era of suburban development. (more…)