Fear of demolition triggered hearing on six-story building within proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. On January 4, 2011, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of the Franklin Building at 186 Remsen Street as an individual City landmark. The vacant building is within the proposed boundaries of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, but was calendared separately on December 7, 2010 due to “threat of demolition” after the building owner filed a demolition permit application with Buildings. Chair Robert B. Tierney explained that Landmarks was concerned that the owner would demolish or alter the building before final deliberations on the proposed historic district had taken place.

The Parfitt Brothers designed and built the Queen Anne-style Franklin Building in 1887. The six-story building is clad in red brick with stone trim and terra cotta ornament, and its sandstone base features a large arched entranceway. The building lost its original roof around 1950 when the top one-and-a- half stories were removed and replaced with a simple brick parapet. (more…)

Rendering of proposed 20-story building at 200 Montague Street, Brooklyn. Image Credit: Beyer Blinder Belle/LPC.

The Commission’s approval to demolish the existing building was primarily based on the collapse and replacement of the building’s original curtain wall in 2006. On May 21, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and voted to approve revised plans to demolish an existing four-story building and construct a new 20-story building at 200 Montague Street in the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in Brooklyn. Designed by Philip Birnbaum, the existing four-story Modern-style building was initially constructed to two stories in 1959. Two additional stories were added in 1967-68. The building was used as a bank and had a drive through until the 1990s. In 2006, the building’s curtain wall collapsed from water and air infiltration and was replaced with a kalwall façade designed by FacadesMD. Landmarks classified the building as Altered Modern in its 2011 designation report on the historic district. (more…)

People’s Trust Company Building. Image Credit: LPC.

Elected officials and local residents urge Landmarks to designate 20th century financial-services-industry structures. On November 29, 2016, Landmarks held hearings on the possible individual landmark designations of two buildings built as banks in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The People’s Trust Company Building, at 181 Montague Street, and the adjacent National Title Guaranty Company Building, at 185 Montague Street, are both part of Brooklyn’s “Bank Row.”  Historic banking structures on the south side of Montague are protected as part of the 2011 Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. (more…)

Opposition claimed that costs associated with designation would be too burdensome. The City Council approved Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in Brooklyn. The district includes 21 buildings along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets.

Business groups and property owners, including the owners of 186 Remsen Street and the residents of 75 Livingston Street, opposed the district. At Landmarks’ public hearing in February 2011, they argued that some buildings in the district lacked architectural significance, and expressed concern about the financial impact of land-marking. Local Council Member Stephen Levin and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz supported the district, but asked Landmarks to consider removing 75 Livingston from its boundaries. In September 2011, Landmarks designated the district as originally proposed. 8 CityLand 142 (Oct. 15, 2011).  (more…)

Questions raised about Planning Commission’s authority when reviewing landmark designations. On November 16, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in downtown Brooklyn. The district comprises 21 buildings along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets, and is within the boundaries of the Special Downtown Brooklyn District established by the City in 2001.

At Landmarks’ public hearing on the proposed district in February 2011, residents of a co-op building at 75 Livingston Street and representatives from the Real Estate Board of New York and the Court-Livingston- Schermerhorn Business Improvement District testified in opposition. They argued that the historic district would have a negative financial impact on the neighborhood and included buildings unworthy of Landmarks’ protection. Elected officials including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and local Council Member Stephen Levin supported the historic district’s establishment, but asked Landmarks to remove 75 Livingston Street. In September 2011, Landmarks unanimously approved the historic district with its original boundaries. 8 CityLand 142 (Oct. 15, 2011).  (more…)