Proposed Harrison Street Historic District. Credit: LPC.

Local residents and landmark activists testified for and against designation for a block-long, 19th-century residential enclave. On January 15, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the potential designation of the Harrison Street Historic District in Stapleton, Staten Island. The district primarily lies along Harrison Street, between Quinn and Brownell Streets, and also includes the corner of Brownell and Tompkins Streets.

The proposed district encompasses 43 one and two-family residential properties and the former First Presbyterian Church. The origin of the neighborhood dates to 1835 and the area’s development took place in the period between the 1840s and the early 1900s. The area’s frame and masonry structures display a variety of styles, including Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Neo-Grec. The neighborhood’s origins lie in Stapleton’s era as a significant transportation and business hub and as one of the most populous towns on Staten Island. (read more…)

Advocacy group selects areas in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island as meriting preservation attention in 2013. The Historic Districts Council announced its “Six to Celebrate” list of preservation priorities on January 3, 2013. The areas identified by HDC consist of the Bronx Parks System, Manhattan’s East Village/Lower East Side and Tribeca neighborhoods, Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Sunset Park neighborhoods, and Harrison Street in Staten Island.

The six areas were chosen from applications submitted by neighborhood groups around the city. The selected preservation targets will be commemorated at an event held by HDC on January 29, 2013. (read more…)