A Celebration of Landmarking in Bed Stuy

Dozens of Bed Stuy residents turned out Thursday night to celebrate the expansion of the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, which was landmarked in August, DNAinfo reported. One of them was Bed Stuy resident Reno Dakota, who has been spearheading the effort to landmark Bed Stuy East. A resident of the East Village for 23 years, he doesn’t want to see the same development happen here.

“I don’t feel like I want to be there anymore,” he told DNAinfo. “It’s not the same place,” he said, referring to the multimillion-dollar developments and glass towers that have changed the East Village. Since moving to Bed Stuy nine years ago, the filmmaker and historic decor consultant has transformed his Decatur Street brownstone into a showpiece of Victorian decor. Several of his projects, such as fixing up a coal chute, have been featured on Brownstoner.

The party, sponsored by Community Board 3, featured a panel of experts to answer questions about how to maintain landmarked property, such as repairs and how to deal with warnings and fines from the LPC. One homeowner said she has been hassled by the LPC over the color of her home, painted more than 30 years ago.

The proposed Bedford Historic District has been calendared, and residents are pushing to landmark Bed Stuy East and North as developers snatch up development sites. Above, a row of houses at 278-290 Macon Street in the newly expanded district. They were designed by architect Thomas F. Houghton in 1888 in the Queen Anne style.

Residents Celebrate Stuyvesant Heights’ Preservation [DNAinfo]
Photo by LPC