We gave you the short version yesterday morning, but there’s more to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s vote yesterday to approve the Ocean on the Park Historic District in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. In addition to the obvious architectural merits, the row is notable for a couple of historic reasons: (1) the land it’s on was owned in the mid-17th century by Jan van der Bilt, the progenitor of the Vanderbilt family in America; (2) one of the buildings, 193 Ocean Avenue, was owned and occupied by Charles Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and developer of Ebbets Field. Those of you who’ve been following along know that the designation of the twelve 19th-century row houses was a rocky process, with two of the owners fighting the effort and one City Council Member initially blocking but then acquiescing to the landmarking. The final chapter played out yesterday at the LPC hearing, when the owner of 189 Ocean Avenue made a last-minute plea to be left out of the district. Most interestingly, the Commission held a separate vote to calendar the adjacent lot at 185 Ocean Avenue as a possible addition to the district; this is notable because a developer already tore down the beautiful old house there and started to build a new development only to run out of money in the process. As Brooklynista wrote in the comments of yesterday’s post, “Indeed, what the LPC did today was major because it signaled to preservationists and developers alike that the swinging of the wrecker’s ball may not necessarily mean the struggle to preserve a historic site has been forever lost.”
BREAKING: Ocean on the Park Houses Landmarked [Brownstoner]
Ocean on the Park: Crisis Narrowly Averted [Brownstoner]
Councilman Threatens Ocean on the Park Historic District [Brownstoner]
Big Day Coming Up for Brooklyn at Landmarks [Brownstoner]
LPC Moves Ahead With Two New Historic Districts [Brownstoner]
LPC to Consider Ocean Avenue Historic District [Brownstoner]