In support of the Park Slope Historic District Extension, the PSCC sent this letter to Sarah Carroll, Chair of NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission:
We are writing to follow up on District 39 Council Member Shahana Hanif’s letter of March 6 requesting that the LPC conduct a survey of a proposed extension of the Park Slope Historic District to include the area of the Center Slope identified on the enclosed map.
As you know, the Park Slope Civic Council has long advocated for this extension, and we deeply appreciate the Council Member’s support for the survey. As she says in her letter, we believe the extension is needed “to preserve the integrity, historic character and beauty of an architecturally and historically significant area.”
We would like briefly to summarize the facts and arguments that we believe justify the extension, which we have discussed with the Council Member over the course of several meetings.
First of all, during several meetings over the years with Commission staff, staff told us that they regard the Center Slope as the most architecturally consistent and coherent portion of the neighborhood and indicated that this was the next area they would recommend for a Historic District extension study. We agree with that assessment.
Secondly, the proposed extension would include many buildings designed by architects whose work is prominently found within the existing Park Slope Historic District. These buildings deserve to be accorded similar landmark protection.
Additionally, the current boundaries of the historic district exclude several brownstones at the western end of the blocks between 7th and 8th Avenues and between Berkeley Place and 4th Street. This exclusion jeopardizes the architectural integrity of those blocks. In several instances, rooftop additions have been made to these buildings that would not have been approved by the Commission had they been subject to LPC review.
Unfortunately, without Historic District protection, building alterations to stoops, façades, windows, cornices, roof lines, and other external features threaten to compromise irrevocably the uniqueness and historical significance of this area.
Moreover, the lack of restrictions on adding vertical and horizontal extensions has increased the profit incentive for developers to destroy affordable housing and create luxury residences. We have shown the Council Member and can show Commission staff examples of buildings in which developers vacated four affordable floor-through apartments, added another floor vertically, extensively modified the façade, added an extension at the rear, and converted the building to two luxury units, or even one.
We fear the neighborhood and its striking streetscape face a “death by a thousand cuts” if these unregulated alterations are allowed to continue.
We support the Commission’s stated goal of working to increase designations in areas of the city underserved by landmark designation. However, we believe that the Commission has adequate resources to undertake a Park Slope Extension study as well as to continue its increased attention to those underserved communities.
Moreover, as the Council Member stated in her letter, the Civic Council stands ready to assist in any way we can, including by re-surveying neighborhood residents to document again the level of community support for Historic District designation. We feel confident that a significant majority will continue to be supportive.
We look forward to working with the LPC and the Council Member as this survey is launched.
Sincerely,
Donna Stein, President
Timothy Gilles, Immediate Past President
Jeremy Woodoff and Peter Bray, Co-Chairs, Historic District Committee
cc: Council Member Shahana Hansif