houseWe’re not sure if Evelyn Ortner ever read Brownstoner.com, but it’s doubtful the site would have ever come into being had the strong-willed preservationist not pioneered the revival of her Park Slope neighborhood back in the 1960s, leading the landmark drive, luring young couples from Manhattan and winning the support of bankers and gas company execs alike. Judging from the piece in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, she might not have appreciated some of the discussions that draw attentions to some of the problems that still face many brownstone nabes still undergoing a process of revitalization, but hopefully she would have taken pleasure in the pure concentration of people who, like her, have an obsession with these old houses and communities.
Mothering Brooklyn [NY Times]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. The Ortner’s sound like the kind of people one would be glad to have as neighbors, and certainly in a block association or community group. These, as illustrated in the article, are the people who have helped make all of brownstone Brooklyn the desired place it is. We all owe them a huge debt and thanks for making preservation an ongoing concern. Think of countless houses where the trim and detail have been removed inside and out, and vinyl and asbestos siding, and plain sheetrock rooms are de regueur, and then give much props and kudos to people like the Ortner’s, Charles Lockwood, Clem Labine (Old House Journal – also started in the Slope)and nameless, countless others who taught people to appreciate and preserve the beauty of New York’s rowhouses.

  2. I heard 5th Avenue was still bad even as recently as 5 years ago. It just proves you can’t write off a neighborhood or set of blocks simply because it’s a little gritty. When (if) change happens it can happen pretty quickly and dramatically.