Artists’ rendering of one of the proposed houses for 4680 Fieldston Road. Image credit: CityLand
Applicants sought to subdivide lot with existing home to construct to new buildings, and also build another dwelling on adjoining site. On February 17, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to develop three new free-standing homes in the Fieldston Historic District. The site is composed of two lots at 4680 Fieldston Road, with one lot, to be subdivided, currently occupied by a 1918 one-family home. According to the New York Times, the properties are owned by brothers Matthew, Edward, and Marshall Bloomfield. Fieldston was designated as a historic district in 2006.
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Council finds no support for discrimination allegation. The full Council approved Landmark’s designation of the Fieldston Historic District in the Bronx on April 26, 2006 after members of the Land Use Committee rejected allegations of discrimination surrounding the designation. 3 CityLand 12 (Feb. 15, 2006).
At the April 11th vote of the Land Use Committee, Council Member Simcha Felder stated that during the designation process some opponents claimed that the designation was “being used to prevent people from moving into the neighborhood, and in this case Orthodox Jewish families.” Felder went on to say that numerous times he asked the opponents to prove the discrimination existed and added “there was not one occasion where anyone was able to come to me and prove to me that this was the case.” Felder noted that the allegation of anti-Semitism was being frivolously used and he found it extremely offensive. (read more…)
Many in community testified in opposition to landmarking of Bronx neighborhood. On March 28, 2006, the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee held a hearing on the designation of the Fieldston Historic District, located in the northwestern portion of the Bronx. The 97-year-old community’s historic significance lies in its winding roads and eclectic mix of Medieval, English, Tudor, Dutch, and Mediterranean architecture. Fieldston was unanimously designated by Landmarks in January, 2006, despite strong opposition from many property owners. 3 CityLand 12 (Feb. 15, 2006).
At the hearing, Bronx Council Member Oliver Koppell spoke in favor of the designation. Residents argued in opposition that designation would take control away from property owners and dissuade young families from moving into the neighborhood. The Subcommittee is scheduled to vote on the designation on April 7, 2006. If approved, the Council’s Land Use Subcommittee could vote on April 11, 2006. (read 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. (read more…)
