BREAKING: 70 Lefferts Place Landmarked!

We just got word that the Landmark Preservation Commission voted unanimously this morning to designate 70 Lefferts Place. Here’s a detailed account from the comments of yesterday’s post:

LPC unanimously approved designating 70 Lefferts Place a NYC individula landmark today. The developer even said, at the public hearing, that he was willing to work within the existing structure to develop condominiums in an adaptive reuse manner. That made it easier for the LPC, I’m sure, but don’t think it was the dispositive factor in their decision. They held that it was architecturally significant, historically significant due to the heritage of owners such as father divine, and in a good state of repair considering its age.

The turnout was large: Lefferts Place Civic Associatoin representatives spoke in favor of designation, CB2 representatives supported the designation, as did Tish James, another gov’t representative whose name I missed, the Clinton Hill Society, and numerous residents of the street and nearby areas, old and new, spoke to the history and significance of the home historically and personally

The LPC commended the developer’s (Chris Morris) statement that he is willing to work with the community and stated that once his work is finished within the LPC guidelines, he should be held up as an example of a good developer who worked with the desires of the community and with LPC in preserving the heritage of the area while helping to provide more housing.

The Clinton Hill Society representative noted that next quarter the change in zoning of residential blocks such as Lefferts Place, in both Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, from R6 to R6B is on the calendar. This would prevent towers from being built on residential brownstone blocks. The logical correlation (or compromise) to that is that commercial streets such as Fulton and Myrtle could be built more densely (read taller), thereby providing more residential density above businesses on those commercial streets, while preserving the attractive historic residential blocks.

Additionally, next year, the Clinton Hill Society (and Fort Greene Association) will be presenting its application to expand the landmark district to those blocks (such as Lefferts Place and other blocks between Fulton and Atlantic) that were not designated landmarks 20 years. From what I’ve heard, the lack of designation years ago was rather arbitrarily based on the fact that Fulton Street is a commercial street that divided those blocks from the rest of FG/CH. That’s ironic since some of the non-designated blocks have older homes than the designated ones and are almost fully intact.

In any event, now developers are fully aware of the issues, and future plans of the neighborhood and can plan accordingly and prevent unnecessary headaches when looking at opportunities.

All in all, a good deal for Lefferts Place and Clinton Hill. I’m sure Chris Morris is not thrilled, but the goodwill he will generate if he plays this correctly may go a long way not just with this property, but with the other 3 or 4 properties he said he bought (recent NYT article) in neighborhoods in the vicinity of the proposed AY project.