Preservationists Celebrate Bed-Stuy, Gowanus
Via the Brooklyn Eagle comes word that Bedford-Stuyvesant and Gowanus are the two Brooklyn neighborhoods named in a Historic Districts Council program called “Six to Celebrate.” According to the Council, the initiative identifies six areas in the city “that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period.” HDC notes the…
Via the Brooklyn Eagle comes word that Bedford-Stuyvesant and Gowanus are the two Brooklyn neighborhoods named in a Historic Districts Council program called “Six to Celebrate.” According to the Council, the initiative identifies six areas in the city “that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period.” HDC notes the following re: Bed-Stuy: “Although there are currently two designated historic districts in the area, the vast majority of Bedford Stuyvesant’s architectural splendor is unprotected. The recently-formed Bedford Stuyvesant Society for Historic Preservation, a coalition of concerned neighborhood block associations, and the landmarks committee of Brooklyn Community Board 3 are working to correct that.” And the citation about Gowanus, a slice of which is pictured above, says: “In recent years, plans for the canal have conflicted with the existing character of the neighborhood and some significant industrial structures have been demolished for out-of-scale, out of character, speculative development. However, with the canal’s recent designation as a federal Superfund site, there is now an opportunity to successfully advocate for the preservation of the industrial character of the area and retention of significant structures associated with this history.” Agree that these are two neighborhoods in Brooklyn that warrant some of the most attention from preservationists?
6 to Celebrate [HDC]
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Gowanus on 2010 List [BK Eagle]
I am a bit late to all of this. I am not sure about Gowanus I don’t know that area that well but Bedford Stuyvesant is way way overdue. I have been doing a lot of research on Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights and my mouth drops when I see the architects that have designed these buildings. Most of these architects designed buildings in other parts of Brooklyn even in Manhattan are all landmarked. On one block of Bedford Stuyvesant you have J.Prague, G. Schellenger, J. B. Snook, A. Hill, G. Chappelle, Parfitts and F. Langston. John Snook was “the man” in Manhattan places like Grand Central and the Vanderbilt homes on Park just to name a few. Snook did not do much in Brooklyn but Bedford Stuyvesant has a few of his buildings. Lets landmark these places already.
I can’t get the site to load.
bklyn11238 – Hi website should be working now.
Hi, made an update yesterday and I am working on fixing it. Problems with the server.
BedStuyMaven, this link doesn’t work: http://bedfordstuyvesantsocietyforhistoricpreservation.org/
Bedstuy – sure – some seriously beautiful, stylistically cohesive blocks there. Gowanus? Please. Should be able to build whatever you like without interference.
Landmarking does not preclude conversion of buildings to another use. DUMBO was landmarked after many of the buildings had already been converted, but other conversions are underway – landmarks is not stopping that. Tribeca and Soho were landmarked before most of the conversions happened, and landmarking didn’t stop that either. (All these areas had artist live/work lofts prior; I’m just talking about actual conversions to legal residential use.)
We’re not expecting miracles in Bed-Stuy; we’re aware that this process will take a number of years. There are at least five specific proposed districts within Bed-Stuy under consideration by LPC, and it’s probable that each of those districts will only get their due in a phased process, one area at a time. But we know the buildings and the contextual environment are well worthy, and LPC knows it too. We’re mighty grateful to the Historic Districts Council for helping shepherd efforts like ours through this maze.
Here in ‘one of NYC’s best kept secrets’, the Stuyvesant East proposed historic district, we’re focused on primarily community support. To see our boundaries or to contact us please visit our new-ish website, http://www.stuyvesanteast.org
ROB – I won’t make a judgement about people based on the amount of money they have. I am sure you saw the census statistics, DUMBO has the one highest income levels and home prices in Brooklyn. New construction or conversion, rich people are living in DUMBO. The cost of housing is not based on whether a building is a new construction or a conversion, it is based on location and market conditions.