Neighborhood adjacent to Atlantic Yards characterized by 19th Century rowhouses. On July 15, 2008, Landmarks moved to calendar 21 blocks in Prospect Heights, the first step in designating a new historic district. With 870 buildings, the proposed district would be Brooklyn’s largest. Bordering Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development, as well as Prospect Park, the area is characterized by residential 19th Century rowhouses, predominantly in Neo- Grec, Italianate, Second Empire, and Renaissance Revival styles.

Development of Prospect Heights began in the mid-19th Century, spurred by its proximity to downtown Brooklyn, the East River, and later, the Brooklyn Bridge. Prospect Heights experienced several waves of development, and, in addition to its characteristic brownstones, is home to neo-Classical apartment buildings, including the 1889 Prospect View apartments, as well as various institutional buildings.

Consideration of the proposed blocks stemmed in part from a request by the Municipal Art Society that Landmarks move to protect the area before development pressure spilled over from Forest City Ratner’s development.

Landmarks has not yet set a hearing date.

LPC: Prospect Heights Historic District, Brooklyn (LP-2314) (July 15, 2008).