Angel Guardian Home, Main Building Image Credit: Brooklyn CB10

Angel Guardian Home would be first landmark designation in the Dyker Heights neighborhood. On June 30, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar the designation of the Angel Guardian Home, located at 6301 12th Avenue in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.  The former orphanage, which encompasses the entire 12th avenue frontage between 63rd and 64th Streets, is composed of four original, completely intact buildings: a central administration building, a nursery building, a reception and intake building, and a laundry building. The designation is sought only for a partial portion of the block, specifically the main building.

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Example of an enlargement pursuant to a BSA-approved special permit in Brooklyn Community District 10 (original residence shown on the left). Click Photo to enlarge. Image credit: Brooklyn Community Board 10

Special Permit was meant to allow growing families to expand their familial residences, but Brooklyn Community Board 10 argues that its usage has been abused. On June 20, 2016, a proposal was presented to the City Planning Commission to amend the New York City zoning text relating to the Board of Standards and Appeals Special Permit provisions under Section 73-622, which provides for the enlargement of one- and two-family detached and semi-detached residences. Currently, Section 73-622 only applies to four Community Districts, and it permits additions to the perimeter wall height, and extensions into the requisite rear yards and side yards of the residences located within those Community Districts.

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Council Member Gentile sent letter in support of developer’s appeal. On July 12, 2007, the Department of Buildings issued the owner of 1270 Bay Ridge Parkway, located between 12th and 13th Avenues, a permit to construct a three-story building that would include space for residential, commercial and community facility use. Less than two weeks later, on July 25, 2007, the City Council voted to rezone the Dyker Heights neighborhood, putting the proposed development out of compliance with the new zoning’s restrictions on residential density, permitted uses, and front and side yards. 4 City- Land 104 (Aug. 15, 2007). The owner then filed an appeal with BSA, arguing that it had obtained a vested right to complete the proposed development.

The owner argued that before the rezoning went into effect, it had completed the site preparation for the development and nearly all of the excavation work and shoring of adjacent properties. The owner’s contractor and architect agreed, both stating that 90 percent of the excavation work and all site clearance and shoring activities were completed before the rezoning. The owner also argued that it already had contracts for work and materials with its construction manager and outstanding fees related to the project. Lastly, the owner argued that a re-design of the site to comply with the new zoning would result in a significant economic loss. (more…)

Residents sought to end the replacement of single-family homes with large out-of-character apartment buildings. On July 25, 2007, the City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of 159 blocks of the Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Located at the base of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the rezoned area is generally bound by a LIRR rightof- way, Poly Place, 14th Avenue and the Gowanus Expressway. The rezoning commenced at the request of local residents who hoped to prevent further development of large multi-family apartments which were beginning to proliferate in both neighborhoods. The area currently features one- and two-family detached and semi-detached homes with lawns and gardens, well maintained row houses, and a local retail corridor.

The Council’s vote rezoned a 15-block section, which currently contains smaller homes, to R3A and R3X, thereby restricting development to one- and two-family detached homes with a maximum floor area of .5 times the size of the development lot. In a 65-block section, where row houses predominate, a new R5B zoning limits the size of residential development to a floor area of 1.35 times the lot size. The plan also rezoned 44 blocks to allow both detached and semidetached, one- and two-family homes with a maximum floor area ratio of 0.9 (R4A, R4B, R4-1). On the neighborhoods’ main commercial corridors along Fort Hamilton Parkway, 11th Avenue and 13th Avenue, the plan modified the existing commercial overlays and reduced their depth to limit encroachment of commercial uses onto adjacent residential blocks. (more…)

Angel Guardian Home, Main Building

The landmark highlights the history of social services in Brooklyn. On November 10, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Angel Guardian Home as an individual landmark. The Angel Guardian Home, located at 6301 12th Avenue in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, is a former orphanage operated by the Sisters of Mercy. It is the first individual landmark in Dyker Heights. (more…)