New historic district will be Brooklyn’s largest. On June 23, 2009, Landmarks voted to designate 21 blocks in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn as a historic district. Developed in the mid and late 19th century, the area is largely characterized by rowhouses spanning a variety of styles, including Italianate, Romanesque, Renaissance Revival, and Second Empire. The eastern portion of the district along Flatbush Avenue includes larger scale, mixed-use structures. At the hearing, community residents expressed support for designation, and spoke of the need for protection from the encroachment of out-of-character development into the area. 5 CityLand 172 (Dec. 15, 2008). (read more…)

Community believes that unprotected rowhouse neighborhood faces development pressure. On October 28, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposed historic district encompassing about 870 buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The area is generally bounded by Grand Army Plaza, Flatbush Avenue, Pacific Street, and Washington Avenue. If designated, the historic district would be Brooklyn’s largest. The neighborhood includes significant structures, such as the 1887 Duryea Presbyterian Church, but its historic character lies in its residential rowhouses, spanning a variety of styles and built throughout the latter half of the 19th century. 5 CityLand 107 (Aug. 15, 2008).

Residents generally expressed support for Landmarking. Many testified that inappropriate rear yard additions, blocking neighbors’ views and light, had proliferated in recent years. Gib Veconi, Chair of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, claimed that “the character and scale of Prospect Heights is threatened today by development seeking to maximize the amount of floor area available,” and that under the current zoning, many of the area’s lots were 25 percent underbuilt, and some as much as 75 percent. (read more…)

Neighborhood adjacent to Atlantic Yards characterized by 19th Century rowhouses. On July 15, 2008, Landmarks moved to calendar 21 blocks in Prospect Heights, the first step in designating a new historic district. With 870 buildings, the proposed district would be Brooklyn’s largest. Bordering Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development, as well as Prospect Park, the area is characterized by residential 19th Century rowhouses, predominantly in Neo- Grec, Italianate, Second Empire, and Renaissance Revival styles.

Development of Prospect Heights began in the mid-19th Century, spurred by its proximity to downtown Brooklyn, the East River, and later, the Brooklyn Bridge. Prospect Heights experienced several waves of development, and, in addition to its characteristic brownstones, is home to neo-Classical apartment buildings, including the 1889 Prospect View apartments, as well as various institutional buildings. (read more…)