| E-BULLETIN
OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
July 2007, Volume 4 Number 7
Sunnyside Gardens Designation
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously
voted to landmark Sunnyside Gardens on June 26th. With 624 architecturally
and culturally distinctive residential buildings, Sunnyside Gardens
is the largest historic district in Queens. Its designation pushes
the number of properties landmarked by the Commission during fiscal
year 2007 over 1,000 (1,160 to be exact – the highest number
in two decades)
Built between 1924-1928, Sunnyside Gardens consists of a series
of nine “courts” or rows of townhouses and nine small
apartment buildings (four to six stories tall), a total of more
than 600 buildings. This huge complex is one of the most significant
planned residential communities in New York City and has achieved
international recognition for its low-rise, low density housing
arranged around landscaped open courtyards. The first development
created according to the ideas espoused by the Regional Planning
Association of America, the program behind Sunnyside Gardens led
to new state and national planning and housing policies and laws
that encouraged greater equity in housing production, location and
design.
At Sunnyside Gardens, the first American adaptation of Ebenezer
Howard’s Garden City, the buildings covered only 28%
of the land, allowing for a particularly large amount of open space
to integrate elements of rural and urban living. The houses were
built in rows, usually near the perimeter of the block, allowing
for central open courts for recreation and community use. They were
designed in a simplified Colonial Revival or Art Deco style with
a variety of rooflines and arrangements for visual interest. The
physical arrangement and amenities as well as the community organizational
system fostered the developers’ goal of creating a neighborhood
that would meet the social as well as physical needs of its residents.
In addition to the buildings, many elements of the original landscape,
including large street trees and some courtyard plantings are still
extant.
Long-time resident Lewis
Mumford called Sunnyside Gardens “an exceptional community
laid out by people who were deeply human and who gave the place
a permanent expression of that humanness.” The district will
still have to pass through City Planning and City Council where
there will be more public hearings, so please continue to write
letters of support to your local elected officials.
Domino Public Hearing
On the same day, LPC heard public testimony on three structures
that make up the main refinery of the Domino Sugar Factory (the
Filter, Pan and Finishing Houses). Owners Community Preservation
Corporation Resources (CPCR) and Isaac Katan, who plan to develop
some 2,200 housing units on the factory site, spoke in favor of
designating the three buildings, while stressing the great expense
and effort a successful adaptive reuse will take. Members of Churches
United, a faith-based coalition dedicated to neighborhood concerns,
also supported landmarking as long at least 660 units of affordable
housing are included. The Pratt Center for Community Development
spoke on the need for housing and the retention of neighborhood
character through preservation. Preservation groups including HDC,
Waterfront Preservation Alliance, Society for Industrial Archaeology,
Society for the Architecture of the City, Metropolitan Art Society,
Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society of America, and Landmarks
Conservancy urged landmarking not only these three buildings, but
other buildings in the complex as well.
The Domino Sugar Factory is one of the most impressive and significant
manufacturing establishments along the Brooklyn waterfront. The
Havemeyer and Elder sugar refinery started here in 1856 and, at
the time, was the largest sugar refinery in the world. With approximately
thirty buildings, some dating to 1882, the factory employed over
5,000 people at its peak. The earliest buildings in the complex
were built in 1882 after a massive fire destroyed the original factory.
They are in the Rundbogenstil, or round arch style, that originated
in Germany in the 1840’s and came to America with German émigrés
in the last half of the 19th century. Other buildings’ construction
in the complex date from the 1920’s into the 1960’s.
The factory closed in 2004. Its 148 continuous years of sugar refining
makes the area the longest operating industrial site in Brooklyn.
Update on 23 and 25 Park Place
Thanks to everyone for their e-mails and letters of support for
the designation of 23 and 25 Park Place in Manhattan. Chair Jessica
Lappin and the Landmarks Subcommittee voted unanimously last week
to approve the designation of these buildings, which were designated
by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in March 2007. Both of
these buildings were the former home of the Daily News and two of
the "Tribeca 22" – important individual buildings
left out of the original Tribeca historic districts. According to
the best information, the Douglaston Hill House on 240th Street
will be considered by the Subcommittee at its next scheduled meeting
on July 23rd. CM Tony Avella is a strong supporter of the designation
which also has a great deal of community support, so we are hopeful
that the Council will affirm this.
Landmarks Preservation Commission Receives Budget Increase
In May, HDC and a citywide coalition of groups held the first annual
Preservation Lobby Day where we advocated for an increase the Landmarks
Commission's Fiscal Year 2008 budget by $1 million. This increase
would have restored the LPC's budget to its 1991 levels and allowed
the agency to increase new landmark designations while providing
better enforcement of existing landmarked properties. Unfortunately,
after going through budget negotiations, the LPC’s final allocation
from the City Council was an additional $300,000 over what the Mayor
put into the budget, which while much needed was still short of
our goal. We would like to thank everyone who participated in this
effort especially by writing letters and emails and making phone
calls. We would also like to thank all the Council members who supported
our efforts and a special, huge thank you to Council Member Lappin
who was a major supporter and partner throughout the process. Our
goal next year is to have the Mayor permanently increase the LPC
budget to ensure the survey team remains intact and the preservation
staff has enough resources to deal with the added work. Stay tuned
and thanks again for all your support.
HDC Summer Lecture Series
Make sure to join us for this informative series created to keep
up up-to-date on some of HDC’s current projects and recent
goings-on at LPC.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Learning about a Legacy: New York City’s Carnegie
Libraries
Join HDC board member Jeffrey Kroessler and HDC Preservation Associate
Nadezhda Williams as they detail HDC’s newest advocacy endeavor:
to promote the landmark designation of the Carnegie Libraries. Dr.
Kroessler will focus on the development of the Carnegie Library
system, while Ms. Williams will discuss the architectural merits
of the individual structures throughout the five boroughs.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Our Latest Landmarks: Recent New York City Historic Districts
HDC’s Executive Director Simeon Bankoff will present an overview
of recently designated and calendared historic districts throughout
New York City. His lecture will be augmented by a question and answer
session featuring some of the city’s most hard-working preservation
activists, including Fred Baer of the Fiske
Terrace Association, Denise Brown of the Crown
Heights North Association, Laura Heim of the Sunnyside
Gardens Preservation Alliance and Andrew Berman of the Greenwich
Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Lectures are free of charge, but reservations are required. Reception
to follow.
All events take place at 6:00pm at the Neighborhood Preservation
Center, 232 East 11th Street, Manhattan. RSVP at 212-614-9107 or
lbelfer@hdc.org
HDC Friends Summer Reception
On Thursday, July 12th, HDC is hosting an evening
cocktail reception to be held at the Club Room of the landmark Octagon
Building on Roosevelt Island. Designed by architect Alexander
Jackson Davis, this recently restored landmark was a former mental
hospital that fell victim to years of disrepair. Join HDC’s
Directors
and Advisers for an exclusive visit to enjoy the beauty
of this historic structure.
This complimentary event is open only to Friends of
HDC, in recognition of their continued support of HDC and its preservation
efforts. Space is limited and reservations are required. To inquire
as to your current membership status, make a donation or reserve
a place at this event, please email lbelfer@hdc.org,
or call 212.614.9107 no later than Friday, July 6th.
HDC Web site updates
Be sure to visit www.hdc.org
regularly for updates on HDC's current projects and new developments
in the preservation world. Just a few of our recent Web site improvements
include the inclusion of the proposed South
Village Historic District on our Neighborhoods
at Risk page and the ability for site visitors to enlarge
the photos of our lovely Board
Members in our About
HDC section. Many more improvements to come!
And, as always, be sure to check out our
blog for the latest breaking news in the preservation community.
Become a Friend of HDC
To become a Friend of HDC and receive benefits such as free events,
access to technical and advocacy support and advance notice of preservation
issues, please visit our website here.
You can also find out the latest
preservation news or join our mailing
list to receive an informational packet in the mail. HDC’s
Friends and supporters make all our programs possible!
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
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