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Historic District Expansion Effort Update

In the Winter 2011 Civic News:

• Southern History: a look at what could be preserved in the South Slope
• Pushing for Northern Expansion

Historic District Expansion Is On Its Way

Jackie Gleason was as well known for his signature line “How sweet it is” as he was for his role of Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners. Those immortal words, coming from a native son of Brooklyn, perhaps best sum up the latest news on the expansion of the Park Slope Historic District. After years of advocacy and outreach by the Civic Council, the South Slope is well on its way to final approval as part of a larger historic district.

Read more in the November Civic News ...

Public Hearings Set for October

Two public hearings are being held this month to help determine the expansion of the Park Slope Historic District.

The first will be conducted by Community Board 6 on Thursday, Oct. 14, 6 p.m., at the Old First Reformed Church, 729 Carroll St. (at Seventh Ave.). The board's Landmarks/Land Use Committee will convene directly following the hearing to formulate its recommendation. (Download the CB6 advisory and map here.)

Then, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1:10 p.m., the Landmarks Preservation will have a meeting that could move the expansion even further (see the update below). This hearing will be held at LPC's headquarters in the Municipal Building, 1 Centre St. (at Chambers St.), Ninth Floor, Manhattan.

It's critical that both the CB6 Land Use Committee and especially the LPC know the community wants the district to preserve more of Park Slope. Please attend the public hearings and consider giving one- to two-minute-long testimony on expansion. If you cannot be there, you can also mail letters to the LPC up until Oct. 26. You can mail those statements to: Robert B. Tierney, Chairman, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Municipal Building, 1 Centre St., 9th Fl., New York, NY 10007.

September 2010

Despite the torpor of this summer’s heat and humidity, the expansion of the Park Slope Historic District moved forward at a brisk pace over the past few months. The result: Final approval of the expansion, the first since the district’s initial designation in July 1973, could come as soon as next year.

The first major event took place in late June, when the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission sponsored a meeting for owners of nearly 600 South Slope buildings. Some 200 owners attended the meeting, where LPC staff briefly reviewed Park Slope’s development and answered questions on the permitting process, the type of exterior changes that can be made without a permit, and the steps involved with the landmarking process.

The area under consideration covers some eight square blocks between Seventh and 14th Streets and between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It also would include buildings on the both sides of Seventh Avenue between Seventh and 14th Streets. The LPC also incorporated the western half of Bartel Pritchard Square, which it considers a formal entry portal into Park Slope. (Click here for a detailed map from the LPC’s website.) 

By August, the LPC put the expansion on its calendar. This action provides some measure of protection against demolition prior to designation. Of greater importance, it means the commission will schedule a public hearing, which the Civic Council expects to occur before the end of 2010.

Following that public hearing, LPC staff will research the condition of 600 buildings within the expansion area. This designation report, which will take six to eight months to complete, is an important part of the commission’s approval process for expansion. Action by the LPC would therefore be expected before the end of 2011.

The Civic Council's Historic District Committee has employed consultants to research buildings in the South Slope (the Phase 1 expansion area) and more structures in the North Slope (Phase 2). This arduous process requires unearthing primary documents in the Department of Buildings’ dusty basement and making this material available to the LPC so that we can help move the designation process.

In the Phase 2 expansion area, 600 buildings in the North Slope have been preliminarily surveyed by the LPC as the first step in considering further expansion there. The LPC's action stems from the master plan submitted by the Park Slope Civic Council in May 2009 that outlined four expansion phases encompassing nearly 3,000 buildings.

The Civic Council's ultimate objective is to extend the historic district to many blocks east of Fifth Avenue and between 15th Street and Flatbush Avenue. The result would be the largest historic district in New York City in a neighborhood with the city's largest collection of 19th-century residential properties. Once expansion is complete, the district would comprise an area with a consistent historical and architectural quality, and preserve the remarkable streetscapes that define Park Slope and make it a truly special place.

March 2010:

Good news first:

On February 23, representatives of the Park Slope Civic Council  -- Ken Freeman, president, Peter Bray, chair of the Historic District Committee and Kyle Johnson, architect and PSCC Trustee -- met with Kate Daly, Executive Director of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  Peter presented hundreds of signed petitions and postcards from property owners within the first proposed expansion area.

What we learned at the meeting was the following timeline leading, we hope, to historic district designation:

Now:  the LPC has completed its study of the roughly 800 buildings within the first expansion phase of the Historic District.  A maximum of 800 buildings at a time seems to be the LPC's limit, due to staff constraints.  The LPC committed to studying additional blocks of Park Slope for the second expansion phase.

March:  the LPC commissioners will do a "walk-through" to review the buildings that comprise this proposed first expansion area.  Here is a rough outline. After that, the LPC will finalize the exact boundaries, which will likely be somewhat different than what we have proposed.

June or July:  The LPC will send invitations to a public meeting to all affected property owners.  The meeting will be held in Park Slope and hosted by the LPC.  At the meeting, owners will have an opportunity to ask questions and hear responses from LPC staff and see a detailed map of the proposed expansion area.

We were advised by the LPC that a majority of property owners at the public meeting need to be in support of the expansion for the process to move forward.

How we will need your help:  show up as a supporter at that public meeting!  We will keep you posted.  Please also check the Historic District page for information and other ways you can help.

Spring 2011: Assuming the public meeting goes well, there will be a public hearing next spring before the LPC Commissioners, followed by a vote to designate the expansion area.  Ms. Daly was unable to predict when the actual designation might take place due to the backlog before the Commission. The City Council will then subsequently vote on this designation.  We have already secured the support of our two new Council Members for this expansion, so would expect to have no difficulty at the City Council.

Thank you for your support, and please share this news with neighbors who are also in agreement that historic district designation is a vital protection for our neighborhood. Please remember that it is crucial for property owners to show up at the public meeting and hearing to tell the LPC that they want to be included in an expanded historic district.

Send comments or questions to the Historic District Committee.

-Stephanie Doba, Chair, Outreach Subcommittee
 

February, 2010:

We are buoyed by recent activities by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) indicative of progress towards expansion of the Park Slope Historic District. LPC has completed its survey of some 800 buildings in the proposed first phase of expansion, mostly along 7th Avenue and in blocks south of the current district. The data collected will determine the boundaries of the expansion area, and we will meet with LPC staff in late February to get our first look at these boundaries.

Also, LPC has notified elected officials that the survey is complete and, later this year, LPC will invite property owners within the proposed area to an informational meeting—an important step toward expansion.

Lest we become overconfident, however, only neighborhoods that demonstrate strong support from homeowners, tenants, merchants, civic organizations and other stakeholders achieve designation. Success is by no means assured. 

We are asking everyone who cares about preserving Park Slope’s history, architecture, small scale and sense of place to write LPC Chair Robert Tierney (1 Centre St., 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007). Tell the LPC what Park Slope means to you and ask for quick action on behalf of our neighborhood. (Here's a sample letter for you to look at.) Please send copies of your letter to our City Council Members: Brad Lander (456 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215) and Stephen Levin (114 Court St., 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201). 

The Historic District Committee is committed to continue working through however many phases it takes to extend the historic district throughout Park Slope. This process might take many years, but with organization and sustained community support, we can make Park Slope the largest historic district in New York City, bar none.
-Peter Bray, Chair, Historic District Committee

September, 2009:
In response to efforts led by the Civic Council, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has begun a review of more than 700 buildings in the South and Central Slope that would extend the existing district to below 7th Avenue. Their review is being aided by an intern funded by City Council Members Bill de Blasio and David Yassky. The LPC study will lead to proposed boundaries for this initial extension, which it will review with the community.  At the same time, the Civic Council has begun extensive research on the commercial buildings along 7th Avenue in order to get them placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which would provide owners with significant tax credits for undertaking qualified historic rehabilitations of their properties.