Renderings of the proposed development on 39th Avenue and 50th Street. Image Credit: Campani & Schwarting Architects.

Owners said construction of a new residential development would help fund the maintenance of the 1931 prototype for mass-produced housing. On October 15, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposed new development from Norcor Management Group for a vacant lot at the corner of 39th Avenue and 50th Street in Queens’ Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. (See CityLand’s past coverage here.) The application would include the installation of the Aluminaire House, a conceptual prototype of inexpensive, reproducible housing built for the 1931 Architectural and Allied Arts Exhibition by Architects A. Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey. The house is currently dismantled and in storage. An L-shaped contemporary residential building would also be built on the lot, surrounding the Aluminaire House on two sides, and facing both 39th Avenue and 50th Street. (read more…)

The new historic district becomes the largest in Queens. On October 29, 2007, the City Council approved Landmarks’ proposal to designate Sunnyside Gardens, making it the seventh largest historic district in the city.

In June, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens despite it being zoned as a Special Planned Community Preservation District, which requires local homeowners to apply to the Planning Commisssion for a special permit before altering their building or landscaping. 4 CityLand 92 (July 15, 2007). Two months later, City Planning proposed a rezoning that would eliminate the special permit requirement and make Landmarks solely responsible for reviewing any plans that impact the area’s unique character. 4 CityLand 121 (Sept. 15, 2007). City Planning’s proposal has not yet reached the Council.

On October 9, 2007, the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses heard testimony regarding the designation. A small number of homeowners testified against it, arguing that complying with Landmarks’ rules would be too difficult, burdensome, and costly. Also testifying against designation, Ira Greenberg, Counsel for “Preserve Sunnyside Gardens,” cited his group’s concern that Landmarks would focus its efforts on Sunnyside Gardens’ buildings, not its open spaces and courtyard areas.

Landmarks Chair Robert B. Tierney, however, testified that Landmarks did not propose to designate Sunnyside Gardens solely because of its buildings’ architecture. Rather, Chair Tierney told the Council that the neighborhood’s history and “small, private courtyards and gardens,” combined with the “human-scale buildings,” compelled designation.

Landmarks also addressed concerns over preservation costs, testifying that it would work with the community to devise low-cost preservation methods. Landmarks further testified that the not-for-profit New York Landmarks Conservancy would provide homeowners with professional advice, and, in some cases, help secure grants and low-interest loans for preservation work. Chair Tierney also announced that Landmarks would hold regular “office hours” near Sunnyside Gardens so that residents could speak directly with Landmarks representatives.

Council Member Eric Gioia, whose district includes Sunnyside Gardens, read a statement in favor of designation, praising Landmarks for its commitment to preserving the area while accommodating the community’s concerns. Representatives from the American Institute of Architects, the Municipal Art Society and the Historic Districts Council, as well as a large number of residents, also testified in support.

The subcommittee’s chair, Council Member Jessica Lappin, acknowledged Landmarks’ efforts to make compliance more user-friendly for local residents. The subcommittee, and later the full Council, voted unanimously to approve designation.

Council: Sunnyside Gardens Historic District, Queens (Oct. 29, 2007).

Landmarks unanimously designated despite community controversy. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens, Sunnyside, Queens, as a historic district. A planned community designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in the 1920s to house working class families, Sunnyside Gardens’ distinctive characteristics include its large landscaped courtyards and its mixture of single- and multi-family buildings. It was one of the first planned communities built by a private limited-dividend corporation, and, as a non-car dependant suburb, boasted accessible public transportation and commercial establishments within walking distance. 4 CityLand 44 (April 15, 2007).

At the designation hearing, residents voiced strong opinions both in support and in opposition to landmarking. Some alleged that the controversy had led to spying and harassment between members of the community. Many residents argued that the City already adequately protected the buildings and landscaping by its zoning as a Special Planning Community Preservation District, while others argued that the zoning imposed an unnecessary burden, or did not sufficiently protect the community. 4 CityLand 59 (May 15, 2007). (read more…)

Opposing sides report neighborhood friction, allegations of spying and harassment. On April 17, 2007, in front of an audience exceeding the hearing room’s capacity, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of a Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community built between 1924 and 1928, features a mixture of single-, double-, and multi-family dwellings arranged around large, landscaped open courtyards. Funded by a limited dividend company, the development provided high-quality housing for the working class. 4 CityLand 44 (April 15, 2007).

The area’s buildings and landscaping are currently protected by its status as a Special Planning Community Preservation District under the City’s zoning resolution. Under the text, any demolition, construction or enlargement of a structure within Sunnyside Gardens or any change to the landscaping requires a special permit from the Planning Commission, and triggers the full ULURP review process. (read more…)

Idealistic planned suburban housing to be considered as historic district. On March 6, 2007, Landmarks voted to consider the potential designation of Sunnyside Gardens, a 600-building complex of one- and two-family homes and multi-family apartment buildings built between 1924 and 1928 in Sunnyside, Queens. Covering almost 16 blocks, only 28 percent of the site contains buildings, and much of the housing is built around large landscaped courtyards. Landmarks also included Sunnyside Park and the Phipps Garden Apartment buildings, added in the early 1930s, within the district’s boundaries.

Designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright and developed by the City Housing Corporation, Sunnyside Gardens was the first development to incorporate the planning theories of the Residential Planning Association of America, a progressive planning organization formed by Stein to respond to the nation’s housing crisis and the lack of quality low-income housing. An RPAA member, Alexander Bing, formed the City Housing Corporation as a limited dividend corporation to show that quality lowincome housing could be built while providing a guaranteed six percent return to investors. As one of the first low-density housing projects constructed around significant landscaped open space and designed for the working class, Sunnyside Gardens influenced regional planning throughout the United States. (read more…)