Did Your Favorite Make the List? HDC Releases List of Buildings Voted Most in Need of Preservation

The votes have been tallied, and 12 buildings and three potential historic districts in Brooklyn have been identified by New Yorkers as worthy of preservation or in need of a bit of attention. The preservation nonprofit Historic Districts Council invited building lovers to fill out their online survey in 2021, Buildings We Love, and last week released the results.

Ultimately just 100 votes were cast for buildings across the five boroughs, with endangered landmarks, potential individual landmarks and districts, and neighborhood favorites among the 116 entries. Two city-wide categories, historic ships and neighborhood banks, made the list as well. The Brooklyn list, with buildings scattered from Sea Gate to Greenpoint, includes some properties that have long been on the advocacy radar and a couple of surprises.

Not surprising to see on the list is 99 Ryerson, Walt Whitman’s home in Wallabout, which preservationists have been attempting to landmark without success for years. Two Bed Stuy properties were included, the 19th Regiment Sumner Armory at 357 Marcus Garvey Boulevard and the Joseph Dangler House at 441 Willoughby Avenue, whose concerned neighbors launched a petition to urge its designation. Perhaps one of the more unusual inclusions is the Sugar Cube prefabricated steel house at 5100 Ocean View Avenue in Sea Gate, which was completed in 1942, according to the certificate of occupancy.

The proposed districts include a Park Slope district extension, a Sunset Park Northwest district and a Downtown Brooklyn district. There have already been some losses amidst the addresses submitted for Downtown Brooklyn. Suggestions include buildings stretching along Fulton Street from Flatbush Avenue Extension to Gallatin Place and, on Livingston Street, two former Abraham & Straus buildings.

Much of the block of Fulton Street between Dekalb Avenue and Flatbush Avenue Extension was demolished last year. The former Woolworth’s at 408 Fulton Street is still standing but recently lost its Art Deco facade.

HDC will highlight the architectural and social history behind some of the entries throughout 2022. You can read the full Buildings We Love list here. What would you add to the Brooklyn list?

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

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