Crown Heights North III HD. Image Credit: LPC.

Largely developed between 1870 and 1930, primarily residential neighborhood served as home to Shirley Chisholm and Richard Wright. On March 24, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Crown Heights North III Historic District. Landmarks previously designated the Crown Heights North and Crown Height North II districts in 2007 and 2011, respectively. The new district, composed of approximately 640 buildings, is contiguous with those previously designated, and possesses a similar development history as well as typologies of architecture. (read more…)

Rendering of entrance to Seaside Park & Community Arts Center theater. Image courtesy of: GKV Architects.

Former Childs Restaurant to be transformed into outdoor amphitheater, park, and restaurant. On December 19, 2013, the City Council approved the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center project in a vote of 50-1 with modifications, and referred the proposal back to the City Planning Commission for final action.  The New York City Economic Development Corporation and iStar Financial subsidiary Coney Island Holdings LLC will execute a $58 million plan to build an outdoor amphitheater and park along the boardwalk near West 21st Street and restore and reopen the landmarked Childs Restaurant as an eatery and catering facility (See past CityLand  coverage here). (read more…)

View from the Riegelmann Boardwalk of the former Childs Restaurant Building at 3052-3078 West 21st Street, Brooklyn, a designated landmark and currently vacant. Image Credit: GKV Architects PC.

Project to restore historic Childs Restaurant and build an amphitheater drew overwhelming support. On October 23, 2013, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center (Seaside Project), located in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The goal of the project is to continue the City’s efforts to reinvigorate Coney Island by introducing a recreational and entertainment destination on the boardwalk. The project, proposed by Coney Island Holdings LLC, includes the construction of a new, publicly accessible open space and amphitheater, and the restoration and adaptive reuse of the former Childs Restaurant building as an indoor entertainment, banquet, and restaurant facility.

The Seaside Project site is generally bounded by Surf Avenue to the north, Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south, West 21st Street to the east, West 23rd Street to the west, and as well as the beds of Highland View Avenue and a portion of West 22nd Street. The Seaside amphitheater would serve as a venue for a variety of concerts, community events, and public gatherings, such as the Seaside Summer Concert Series. The amphitheater would be owned by the City under the jurisdiction of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and operated by a nonprofit entity under a 10 year lease with the City. The adjacent Childs Restaurant located at 3052-3078 West 21st Street would be restored and adaptively reused as an indoor entertainment, banquet, and restaurant facility with outdoor seating for approximately 440 diners. The Childs Restaurant would be open year-round. A publicly accessible open space extending to West 23rd Street would provide passive recreational opportunities. (read 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).  (read more…)

New district would include 825 buildings primarily built at the turn of the 20th century. On August 2, 2011, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Bedford-Stuyvesant/ Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District in Brooklyn. The proposed district is generally bounded by Halsey and Macon Streets to the north, Fulton Street to the south, Malcolm X Boulevard to the east, and Tompkins Avenue to the west, and would surround the 1971-designated Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. The new district would encompass 825 buildings that were primarily developed between 1880 and 1910. The district is primarily characterized by rowhouses and small apartment buildings, with attendant commercial structures and institutional buildings. The buildings represent several architectural styles including Romanesque Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Neo Grec.

The earliest extant buildings in the neighborhood are wood-framed houses dating to the mid-19th century that are thought to have been occupied by freed slaves. Arrivals from New England, as well as German and Irish immigrants, moved to the area in the late 19th century. After the first World War, African Americans and ethnic groups facing discrimination in Manhattan began moving into Bedford- Stuyvesant. The neighborhood became a residential counterpoint to Harlem, the center of black cultural life in the City.

Landmarks initially considered the proposed district in the early 1990s. It held a public hearing in September 1993, but no action was taken.  (read more…)