E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

May 2007, Volume 4 Number 5

Crown Heights North Becomes New York’s Newest Historic District; Sunnyside Gardens On Its Way
On April 24th New York City got its 86th historic district – Crown Heights North, Brooklyn. It is also the first district to be designated in that borough in a decade. The district’s 472 buildings date mainly from the 1860s to the 1930s. As the Lefferts family began selling off their farm in the 1850s, large wood-framed houses such as the recent individually landmarked Elkins house on Dean Street were built. Major development came with the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, and finely detailed masonry rowhouses in various revival styles including Romanesque, Queen Anne, Georgian and Renaissance were constructed along with churches and other institutions. With the extension of the subway into the neighborhood in 1920, new apartment buildings rose up in Tudor Revival, Mediterranean and Art Deco styles. This designation is (hopefully) the first of several phases of landmarking for 1,400 buildings in the area.

The designation of another historic district, Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, is also in the works. On April 17th, LPC held a public hearing for the neighborhood, one of the most significant planned residential communities in the city. Borough President Helen Marshall and State Assemblywoman Margaret Markey sent letters supporting landmarking, while City Councilman Eric Gioia remained steadfastly on the fence. By HDC’s count, 135 names are on record at the hearing in favor (Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance smartly organized speakers to read short quotes from letters from neighbors not able to attend the meeting) and 51 against (including a list of 27 names read out loud.) One highlight was the eloquent testimony of 13-year-old Fiona Lowenstein, great-great-great granddaughter of Sunnyside Gardens architect Henry Wright. Although Queens is physically the city’s largest borough, it only has six city historic districts (two of which are each only one block long and another is on government-owned land). The designation of Sunnyside Gardens would increase the number of city landmarked properties in Queens by over 30% and could boost the likelihood of more. The public record will remain open until May 1st, so be sure to email the Landmarks Commission at comments@lpc.nyc.gov today!

Both districts have been fortunate enough to have very active community groups advocating for their designation. The Crown Heights North Association and Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance have worked so hard that some might say they deserve an award. Well, we think so too, both are among HDC’s 2007 Grassroots Preservation Awards winners! Join the party on May 10th and help us honor their efforts and achievements.

Join us for the 17th Annual Preservation Party, featuring the 8th Annual Grassroots Preservation Awards
It’s almost here! The neighborhood preservation event of the year, HDC’s 17th Annual Preservation Party is fast approaching! The party is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate grassroots preservation and is an excellent chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

Tickets will be available at the door and co-sponsorships for this event from individuals, community groups and businesses are still available, beginning at $100. For more information on supporting the event, please email ftolbert@hdc.org or call 212.614.9107 for more information.

This year’s celebration on Thursday, May 10th, will honor organizations, activists, elected officials and members of the press who fight to preserve, protect and improve their neighborhoods. The 2007 honorees represent a diverse range of areas in New York, including:

GRASSROOTS PRESERVATION AWARDS
Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association
Crown Heights North Association
East Village Community Coalition
Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance

FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES AWARD
Assembly Member Deborah Glick
New York State Assembly, 66th Assembly District

FRIEND FROM THE MEDIA AWARD
Curbed

MICKEY MURPHY AWARD
Chan Graham

We hope you will join the Historic Districts Council in congratulating each of the above awardees and look forward to seeing you there.

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 6:00pm
St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
Garden and Parish Hall
East 10th Street & Second Avenue
$25/person $15/Friends of HDC
E-mail lbelfer@hdc.org or call 212.614.9107 for more information.

Help the Landmarks Preservation Commission the Funds It Needs to Preserve Our City
Last year, the City Council, led by Council members Tony Avella, Jessica Lappin and Diana Reyna, allocated $250,000 additional funds to Landmarks Preservation Commission’s budget, allowing the agency to hire 5 new full-time staff researchers to aid in their designation efforts. This small grant (0.0000004% of the $59 Billion Dollar Annual Budget) allowed the LPC to move forward with needed designations throughout the five boroughs; including Crown Heights North, Sunnyside Gardens, First Avenue Estates, the WPA pools and numerous 19th-century houses on Staten Island.

Thanks to this increase, the Commission is on track to designate more than 1,000 historic buildings this year, a more than 2,000% increase of the number since FY 2005. Unfortunately, the budget increase was only for last year and will not carry over to 2008. Without the added staff, there is no way that the LPC can continue its preservation activities at its current level.

HDC, together with a coalition of over 40 preservation groups, is seeking a $1 million increase to the LPC’s FY 2008 budget. This would allow the LPC to restore staffing to its 1991 level and to effectively protect New York’s valuable historic buildings and neighborhoods.

Call Your Council Member And Ask Them to Support the $1 Million Increase.
Go to http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/index.cfm to find your Council Member.

Join us on City Hall steps at 12pm on Wednesday, May 9th to support
More Money for New York’s Landmarks! HDC will be joining other preservation groups on May 9 along with City Council Members to speak out on the need for more LPC funding.

The LPC protects our city’s historic fabric by regulating alterations to designated landmarks and designating unprotected buildings and districts. At its current staffing levels, the commission cannot adequately do both. With development booming, the LPC is inundated with permit applications and must devote more and more of its scarce resources and staff time to the regulation of existing landmarks—at the cost of new landmark and historic district designations. Furthermore, it is critical that the LPC be able to issue permits efficiently, which requires adequate preservation staff. The Commission therefore needs a $1 million budget increase to hire a larger staff.

In relation to the City’s budget, the LPC’s budget is almost infinitesimal ($4,300,000 of $59,000,000,000 in FY 2008). Even with a $1 million increase, the LPC’s budget will remain less than one one-hundredth of one percent of the City’s expenditures. Because of inadequate funding, the LPC’s staff is overburdened. Although applications for permits have more than doubled since 1990, the LPC staff has been cut by almost one third. As a result, the commission’s regulatory workload has skyrocketed. Please help us get this funding!

Become a Friend of HDC
HDC’s Friends and supporters make all our programs possible. If you’re not one already, please take this opportunity to become a Friend of HDC and receive benefits such as free events, special admission offers, access to technical and moral support and advance notice of preservation issues. Learn more about the benefits of being a Friend, check out the updated sections of our website or join our mailing list to receive an information packet in the mail.

To unsubscribe from the email list please email hdc@hdc.org and write "Unsubscribe" in the subject heading. We’ll miss you!

The Advocate for New York City’s Historic Neighborhoods
232 East 11th Street New York NY 10003
tel: 212-614-9107 fax: 212-614-9127 email: hdc@hdc.org