The Long, Slow Battle to Landmark Dumbo
When Dumbo made it on to the National Register of Historic Places back in 2000, it was a nice pat on the back to the scenic neighborhood defined by its cobblestone streets, brick warehouses and, of course, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. What the designation did not do, however, was place limitations on what could…
When Dumbo made it on to the National Register of Historic Places back in 2000, it was a nice pat on the back to the scenic neighborhood defined by its cobblestone streets, brick warehouses and, of course, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. What the designation did not do, however, was place limitations on what could be torn down and put up in the neighborhood. As a result, a number of historic buildings have been razed in the past ten years and a number of new buildings erected (including the completely out-of-scale J Condo and Beacon towers). For most of this time, the DNA has been trying to get the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the area a historic district, which would significantly limit the type of development that could occur. At this point, it seems likely that Landmarks will place the issue on its calendar within the next few months. Given the pace of development in the borough right now, though, lots of projects could slip under the wire in that time. Frankly, it’s pretty mind-boggling that it has LPC so long to get its act together. The map above is what DNA proposed to LPC. We know there’s a version that LPC has put together floating around out there but haven’t been able to get our hands on a copy yet. Can anyone email us a copy? Update: Thanks to DumboNYC for sending along the LPC map above.
Before the Cobblestones Vanish, a Push to Preserve [NY Times]
The second map marked ‘Draft’ is the LPC version, I promise. The nova clutch building is not in DUMBO, it is in Fulton Ferry Landing district, I believe.
The second map marked ‘Draft’ is the LPC version, I promise. The nova clutch building is not in DUMBO, it is in Fulton Ferry Landing district, I believe.
The second map marked ‘Draft’ is the LPC version, I promise. The nova clutch building is not in DUMBO, it is in Fulton Ferry Landing district, I believe.
The second map marked ‘Draft’ at the top is the LPC version, I promise. The nova clutch building is not in DUMBO, it is in Fulton Ferry Landing district, I believe.
I concur with 2:45. When LPC creates historic districts, it landmarks groups of buildings that support the designation. Since the commission draws its boundary around contiguous properties, there are sometimes buildings within a district that do not “contribute” (a state, not city, term) to the designation. The St. Ann’s Warehouse and Nova Clutch building are on the edge of the district and are arguably (Nova is old, but altered) not characteristic of DUMBO, so I am not surprised or made suspicious by their omission.
instead of assuming a conspiracy, how about considering the fact that those buildings – St. Ann’s and Nova Clutch are hideous and not of the same era as the other buildings in the district and they don’t deserve on their own merits to be in a historic district?
Note that the St. Ann’s warehouse / Nova Clutch compound that Walentas (obstensibly) wants to turn into a tower is outside the red zone. Some glad handing?