March 5, 2003
Statement of the Historic Districts Council
before the City Planning Commission
In support of the Park Slope Rezoning
The Historic Districts Council is the city-wide
organization that speaks on behalf of designated neighborhoods
and communities deserving preservation. In this role it is with
great pleasure that we commend and support the proposed rezoning
of the greater part of Park Slope that is before the Commission
today. The principle of extending protective contextual zoning
not merely over the designated portion of a historic community
but also over the surrounding area that also deserves protection
is one that the Council has long supported and we commend the
Department, its Chair, the Brooklyn Office, and its head Regina
Meyer on this proposal.
R6, which is mapped in large parts of row-house
Brooklyn and as well as in other boroughs was originally seen
as protective zoning for such areas, but changed circumstances
have instead made this zoning a very inadequate shield against
the invasion by inappropriate development that threatens the built
character of a communities and lowers the quality of life as well
as of architecture there. The extension of R6B southward from
Union Street to the 15th Street southern boundary of the community
recognizes and supports the integrity of the community. The Historic
Districts Council sees this as a model for similar action in wider
sections of Brooklyn and elsewhere and hopes this action is a
precedent that will be soon and widely followed.
Indeed we hope that it will be followed by parallel
action by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to extend the
protection of the existing Historic District westward towards
Fifth Avenue, thus including the handsome architectural core of
the neighborhood in a tighter protection, while the appropriate
zoning we are urging the Commission to approve maintains the scale
and general character of the larger community. Such an extension
would in particular help preserve the visual character of Seventh
Avenue in the south, where inappropriate changes may be a real
threat even under the R6A proposed for the avenue. The Council
believes that establishing some kind of coordination between the
actions of this commission and the Landmarks Commission should
be a long-term goal that would reinforce the activity of both
Commissions and allow appropriate preservation of significant
buildings and areas while allowing and encouraging desirable change
and development.
Park Slope has been shown to be a slippery slope
before. The extension of appropriate contextual zoning to entire
communities often arouses concerns about touchy edges. The extension
of higher streetwalls to a large part of Fourth Avenue is in itself
a good thing and will improve the visual character of the avenue
while allowing new development and housing in an area that needs
it. But preservation of community character is not just about
preserving the built environment but further about such things
as the traditional ethnic and economic mix, as has been shown
in the Clinton Special Preservation District next to midtown Manhattan.
When an up-zoning occurs in a sensitive area, especially where
the fear of gentrification is a reality, it may be both wise and
prudent to step back and review if such actions as provisions
for affordable housing and other protections may be advisable.
Such a situation may exist here, where a rise to the 120-foot
streetwalls of R8A is a significant change but may also make provisions
for affordable housing feasible.
It is essential that this proposal go forward
for Park Slope and for a wider community. The precedent must not
be lost. But the Historic Districts Council asks if some provisions
within scope might be reviewed, in a minor modification or a side
letter that could respond to the concerns of a significant portion
of this community and their representatives
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