Push To Landmark Beverly Square West Nabe
Some members of the Victorian Flatbush sub-neighborhood of Beverly Square West are pushing to get the area landmarked. In a recent email, one of the spearheaders of the project addressed why the topic is so urgent: Many BSW residents have in recent years undertaken renovation projects designed to preserve the original architectural characters of their…
Some members of the Victorian Flatbush sub-neighborhood of Beverly Square West are pushing to get the area landmarked. In a recent email, one of the spearheaders of the project addressed why the topic is so urgent:
Many BSW residents have in recent years undertaken renovation projects designed to preserve the original architectural characters of their homes. Thanks to their hard work, BSW stands a much better chance of receiving NYC Landmarks approval than it did just 25 years ago. It is important to note that the NYC Landmarks commission also gives particular consideration to neighborhoods that are currently under threat and in particular need of protection. Grossly insensitive exterior renovations are on the rise throughout Victorian Flatbush, putting BSW squarely in this category.
‘Grossly insensitive’ is a good way of putting it.
Attack of the Killer Brick [Brownstoner]
Trouble in Ditmas [Hall of Shame]
Those who have bricked up their homes or done other remuddeling have no appreciation of the beauty of our Victorian blocks, and can’t understand why we care. Since we can’t control who moves in nor the tastes of those living here, landmarking is the only way to preserve what’s left of what was the largest group of Victorian homes in NYC.
remuddlers neighbor
So, Brenda, are you up for being the Caton Park rep for a Pan-Flatbush landmarking committee? Caton Park’s case for landmarking is strengthened greatly when taken as part of Victorian Flatbush as a whole – see my above email.
You should contact CHNA- the Crown Heights North Association. We are now calendered for the landmarks commission and should receive status soon. This is exactly what CHNA was formed for. I know someone there will be glad to give you advice. the website is http://www.crownheightsnorth.com/
I am the person who initiated the BSW landmarking movement. When I first took on this task, I didn’t know I would be both working and expecting a baby this summer, so progress on the application (and homeowner petition) has slowed significantly. I am trying to gather more BSW residents to become block reps so we can begin canvassing the nabe for signatures to support th application. If you are a BSW resident and are interested in becoming a block rep (I am looking for 3 or more for each block, to ease the workload), please contact me (ebasics@att.net).
I would love to see a pan-Flatbush movement to have all the contiguous neighborhoods landmarked. As a group, they consitute the largest surviving community of Victorian homes in the entire country. This designation makes all of Victorian Flatbush landmark worthy in a way that individual assemssments of neighborhoods, such as Midwood Park, BSW, DPW, etc… does not (by the way, I have seen some brick and stucco creep in Midwood Park and Fiske Terrace recently). But since individual applications are already in progress, and some nabes are indeed already landmarked, how do we unite and present ourselves to landmarks as a unified front? Any ideas? I would be delighted to form a board of Pan-Victorian Flatbush reps to investigate this, but I can’t do it alone. So please let me know if you are interested in this, or becoming a BSW block rep. Thanks.
Grow up, babies.
Have you seen that frugly brick monolith in person. It’s totally out of character for the surrounding building. Their is a lovely stretch of Victorian/Edwardian houses and then BAM!
When you remodel a house, it’s not solely personal. What you do on the exterior affects your neighbors, and, if you don’t want to live in a community, don’t live in Brooklyn. What you do in the inside has to be up to code because people are dying and firefighters are at risk from houses that cheat on the code. I am so sick and tired of people buying a certain type of house in a certain type of neighborhood–I’m talking about good houses here, not houses that need a lot of work–and then inflicting their bad taste and cheesy ethic on everyone else. Don’t buy in a victorian area if you hate victorians. Don’t buy in a low rise area if you need a higher rise. Geez.
Sara-
I agree, dictating how others remodel the exterior of their houses is ridiculous. It is, therefore, a terrible shame that it has to happen. But it sometimes HAS to happen.
Sara-
I agree, dictating how others remodel the exterior of their houses is ridiculous. It is, therefore, a terrible shame that it has to happen.