Crown Heights Could Become Brooklyn’s Largest Historic District
CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — The Brooklyn Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote on landmarking an additional 610 Crown Heights buildings in June. Another 630 buildings are expected to follow.
From a participant at the Crown Heights North Association’s town hall meeting on Wednesday night:
“Commissioner Robert Tierney announced that Phase 2 of the Crown Heights North Historic District, comprised of 610 buildings, will go to an LPC vote on June 28, 2011. The area was calendared in 2009. The LPC will also vote to calendar Phase 3, which is made up of 630 buildings. This announcement was met with much applause by the audience. There is also a Phase 4 in the future. When all phases are done, Crown Heights North will be the largest historic district in Brooklyn.”
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency that is responsible for identifying and designating the City’s landmarks and the buildings in the City’s historic districts. The Commission also regulates changes to designated buildings.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission was established in 1965 when Mayor Robert Wagner signed the local law creating the Commission and giving it its power. The Landmarks Law was enacted in response to New Yorkers’ growing concern that important physical elements of the City’s history were being lost despite the fact that these buildings could be reused.
The laws severely restrict the ability of developers to make changes to existing buildings in various parts of the city.
Things to Consider
While this will be a very nice thing, it will create many additional (often unnecessary) regulations for future construction.
not a good thing
why is this a good thing?
now if i want to do over my porch i will need to get approval
Theft
The only possible good things about it is there may be low interest loan money available to landmark status properties and it will help protect the neighborhood from greedy developers who care only about trying to make money. But otherwise, it’s like governmental theft on a grand scale – the government essentially deciding its owns your property and telling you what you can and can’t do with it.
Historic
Having your house or neighborhood deemed an Historic District or a Landmark means that there are more restrictions with gutting a house and doing it over or changing the facade of the house. If you think it was hard to get approved for whatever changes you did to a current house now…it will only get more difficult to do changes to a Historic house. I don’t know if it will benefit the Crown Heights community who Boruch Hashem have large families and possibly need to add on an extension….to have the neighborhood become Historic.
Praxis
Most of the people who own these historic buildings don’t want to see the kind of “modern” renovations and extensions the above comments refer to. Landmarking is a great thing, and I am very happy now that no one can tear down the brownstone next to me and build an ugly five story sliver condo building. Horrible buildings like the building at the corner of New York and St. John’s will never occur again, thank God!