Talk of Downtown Historic District Revived
The former Brooklyn Union Gas building at 180 Remsen Street was calendared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in February but the move might just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to landmarking commercial buildings in Downtown Brooklyn. According to a Courier Life article, the Brooklyn Heights Association has revived an effort to…
The former Brooklyn Union Gas building at 180 Remsen Street was calendared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in February but the move might just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to landmarking commercial buildings in Downtown Brooklyn. According to a Courier Life article, the Brooklyn Heights Association has revived an effort to create the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. The BHA did work with the Municipal Art Society to put together a similar proposal back in 2004, but the LPC decided to cherry-pick five of the 28 buildings suggested for the district. Among buildings the BHA hopes to protect are 177, 181, 185 Montague Street, 186 Remsen Street and 16, 32 and 44 Court Street.
Sky−High Hopes for New District [Courier Life]
180 Remsen Street on Track for Landmarking [Brownstoner]
What is St francis up to?
I don’t trust them.
They tore down one of the loveliest building in Brooklyn Heights: The McGarry Library and replaced it with a protruding granite tombstone of a building as brutal graceless and banal as could be. That was a mortal sin. They cannot atone for those mistakes by agreeing to have this much less interesting building made a landmark. And why are they agreeing to that? A transfer of air rights to some unsuspeting building across the street? Do they want to buy and demolish 186 Remsen? What further architectural mischief do they have in mind? The BHA is putty in their hands because they allow them the use of their ugly auditorium free of charge for their annual meetings. But the real people of the Heights should demand answers.
186 Remsen Street has been vacant for a long time. That used to be the Catholic Charities Building. The Art Deco highrise on Montague STreet, where Chipotle’s restaurant is, is also magnificent, as is the citibank next door with the Greek temple front. I agree that they should all be landmarked. Seems like a no-brainer.
Brownstoner and Courier Life have confused two separate initiatives in the downtown Brooklyn area.
The initiative that led to a list of 28 historic buildings worthy of landmark designation, along and around Fulton Mall, arose out of a concern that these buildings were at risk due to the City Planning upzoning in 2003-2004. The LPC has designated 4, not 5, of these architecturally significant buildings.
A separate initiative to protect the early skyscrapers along Court and Montague resulted in a proposal to consider the buildings west of Borough Hall as a historic district. These buildings were not part of the conservatively-drawn boundaries of the Brooklyn Heights District from the 1960s, although many people assume that the buildings are included. The BHA has had the proposal in front of the LPC for several years, but asked that 186 Remsen be individually designated since it is in immediate risk: empty, boarded up, and next to a high rise development.
Sincerely,
Meredith Hamilton
Governor, Brooklyn Heights Association
There are a lot of landmarked skyscrapers. (a great word – sky scraper, btw) They are great examples of architecture, engineering, and part of what makes NY a world class city. I love the Woolworth Building, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and othe buildings that have been designated. It’s the banal glass, concrete and steel rectangles that I agree, make the anti-skyscraper bias a reality. Sam, that wedding cake building and some of the others downtown are great, and worthy of protection. There are some distinctive and fine buildings downtown.
That’s an interesting name for a historic district. Usually it is the anti-skyscraper historic district, but there are a number of very nice historic high-rises on Court Street around Boro Hall. I particularly like the “wedding cake” building on the corner of Livingston and the one across from Boro Hall with the curvy green domes at the corners and the lion heads at street level. That is a magnificent building that should be a landmark.
“the Brooklyn Heights Association has revived an effort to create the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District.”
The Skyscraper Historic District????!!!!!!
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…