Bedford Corners Historic District Meeting
Until the (tiny) Alice & Agate Courts were recognized last year, Bedford Stuyvesant had seen no new historic districts since the 1971 landmarking of Stuyvesant Heights. Hopefully a large area of historic homes will soon be added to the list. After several years of grass-roots efforts and lobbying of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the creation…
Until the (tiny) Alice & Agate Courts were recognized last year, Bedford Stuyvesant had seen no new historic districts since the 1971 landmarking of Stuyvesant Heights. Hopefully a large area of historic homes will soon be added to the list. After several years of grass-roots efforts and lobbying of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the creation of the Bedford Corners Historic District, which is is just north of Fulton Street between Bedford and Tompkins Avenues, is finally gaining momentum. A Request for Evaluation has already been filed with the LPC but the district has yet to be calendared or even surveyed. Currently the Bedford District Block Associations (BDBA) is collecting signatures in support of the designation. There will be an open forum held by the Historic Districts Council on July 10th, 2010 at 2:00 PM at the Bedford Branch Public Library at 495 Franklin Avenue. Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilmember Al Vann have already given their support to the effort. Let’s get this done!
Hello rh, Verona Place is included in the Request for Evaluation, it just isn’t showing up on this map. As Montrose Morris pointed out, after the LPC surveys the district the boundaries could be different. Imporant to remember is that landmarking any section of the district serves as a matrix for future designation. Like the Stuyvesant Heights Extension. It is important to get something designated as a precedent for future inclusion.
There are about 6 people living on the block…how come I don’t know you?
Two Request for Evaluation were submitted to LPC. The first request sumbitted by the Bedford Corners Historic District Joint Block Associations includes the block in the above map. The second request submitted by the Community Board Landmarks Committee expands the district to include Macon – Nostrand to Halsey; Verona Place; Putnam – Nostrand to Tompkins; Madison – Nostrand to Marcy and Monroe – Nostrand to Marcy. This meeting is open to everyone affected by both RFE’s and we have posted notices at every house affected.
rh – I’m on Verona, too. See you at the meeting.
So, why ARE they skipping Verona? It’s right there in the middle of the entire landmark district. I feel left out. 🙁
Hey Montrose & Amzi, see you at the meeting?
Bedford Corners should have been landmark back in the 1970s. Most of the homes and buildings there are just beautiful I understand why the Brooklyn Eagle would call it the choice Bedford Section. Jefferson, Hancock Halsey Macon Arlington and Verona are streets worth landmarking. It would be great to see the day when many of the streets of Bedford Stuyvesant are landmarked. Stuyvesant Heights and Alice and Agate courts should not be the only areas that are not landmarked. Working with the landmark committee we hope to have Stuyvesant Heights landmark section more than triple in the next few years. Bedford Corners I am sure will grow also hoping the future out of scale development stays away. So yes lets get this done see you Saturday.
Michael, the block of Greene St, as well as a couple of surrounding streets is also a considered historic district. The community there is working on that, as well.
There are other parts of Bed Stuy also worthy of consideration, also trying to get noticed. There is such a wealth of great architecture in Bed Stuy, and it is a huge community, with room for many historic districts. Off-hand, I can think of at least 4, perhaps five hd’s, including Bed. Corners, and Greene Ave, not including the already designated Stuy Hts and Alice/Agate Court.
“Let’s get this done!”
Sounds like Obamacare.
I prefer this Bed Stuy A express stop over Utica. I’ve always considered a future Bed Stuy purchase but this proposal strengthens the case. There’ll be great value here when the bottom finally arrives.
***Bid half off peak comps***
Wasder, I know that in the original survey for Bed Stuy, which also included Stuyvesant Hts, the LPC noted at least four or five different possible historic districts. At the time, only Stuy Hts was designated, although Bedford Corners is of equal quality, in my opinion. Anyway, the boundaries can be awfully subjective and arbitrary, and they often exclude buildings or blocks that in my humble opinion, should have been included. In Crown Heights, they excluded the entire block of Pacific between NY and Brooklyn, which I feel was a mistake, there are some significant and worthy buildings on that block that are contiguous with the blocks before and after it, which were landmarked. Same with the borders here. The LPC will send their architectural historians out in the field, and into the records to see what they consider to be worthy. Sometimes buildings are not included because they have been altered beyond recognition, and there are other considerations they go by, as well.
Actually, the borders of Bedford Corners, as seen on the above map, are the borders chosen by the grassroots groups trying to get landmarked. Since the LPC has not calendared, or even seriously worked on this, they may decide to expand or change the borders. I hope they expand them, as there are indeed worthy homes on Putnam, and including the area around Boys High School, which is an individual landmark already, would tie the area together, as well as on other currently excluded blocks. We shall see.