Landmarks Greenlights Vertical Addition for Historic Greenpoint Wood-Frame House

The Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday approved a vertical addition to a pre-Civil War wood-frame house in the Greenpoint Historic District, a move that could potentially pave the way for the eventual transformation of the block.

Building owner Roei Paz had previously sought to raze the building at 111 Noble Street and replace it with a modern apartment building. The commission did not agree demolition was necessary and suggested the developer explore alternatives such as an addition.

The commission approved new plans that nods towards what the house looked like in a 1939 tax photo, re-creating the house’s historic wood clapboard facade, cornice, wood porch and iron railing. The house will gain an additional story on top of its existing two, plus a penthouse set back from the street on top of the third story.

The circa 1855 house had been altered over the years and lost its cornice. The wood porch had been replaced with a brick one, and the clapboard covered.

The small house sits between between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue, a stretch of Noble Street filled largely with two- and three-story brick and wood frame residences — typical of the modest 19th century worker housing that defines the Greenpoint Historic District.

At the hearing Tuesday, one of the commissioners, Frederick Bland, said he doesn’t object to the additional story because there’s a “long history of people adding to their houses over time,” the Brooklyn Eagle reported.

The ruling makes it more likely other homeowners on the block will also be able to add an extra story without a setback. If enough homes are altered, the look and feel of the block — one of Brooklyn’s rare preserved and protected wood-frame enclaves — could be substantially altered in a decade or so.

The addition is part of a larger trend, according to preservationists.

“The LPC has become increasingly permissive in recent years in terms of the size, scale, and design of new construction and additions they will allow in historic districts and on individually landmarked sites,” Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, told Brownstoner last month. “They are more willing than ever to approve larger buildings and additions, and ones which are non-contextual in design.”

Related Stories

• Developer Drops Demo of Historic Greenpoint Wood Frame, Will Present New Plan to LPC
• Shaken by Recent Decisions, Preservationists Say Landmarks Commission Is Not Doing Its Job
• Building of the Day: 98 Noble Street

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