Landmark homes in Downtown Brooklyn spared from high-rise development - for now
The proposal would have gutted the interiors of the 19th-century homes, leaving only their facades intact to serve as an entrance for a planned apartment tower.
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Preservationists are celebrating a major win after the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission chose not to advance plans to redevelop a row of historic homes into a 33-story building on Duffield Street.
The proposal would have gutted the interiors of the 19th-century homes, leaving only their facades intact to serve as an entrance for a planned apartment tower. The plan sparked backlash from local advocates who say the buildings hold deep historical significance.
“This feels a bit like Disneyland. That’s not what we want. These are historic buildings,” said Frampton Tolbert, of the Historic Districts Council. “The developer wanted to remove the porch to create lobby access, it didn't respect the landmark and the space.”
Shawne Lee, director of Friends of Abolitionist Place, said the homes sit on ground tied to abolitionist and suffragist movements.
“My initial reaction was a big gasp and a thought of ‘Oh no, here we go again,’” she said, adding that the homes offer a rare look into what the area looked like prior to the Metrotech redevelopment of Downtown Brooklyn.
The homes were relocated to the site in the 1990s to protect them from development and were designated as landmarks in 2001 by the LPC. The LPC did not take action on the plan this week, effectively blocking the plan unless developers return with major changes.
“The frontal reading of this volume would totally overwhelm the historic buildings,” said Commissioner Michael Goldblum during the hearing, pushing back against other cases of redeveloped landmarks put forward by the developers to sway the commission into green lighting the site.
Opponents of the plan say the commission’s decision is a victory for preservation and a chance to rethink development in the area.
“I was so relieved and hope they reconsider,” Lee said. “We fight so hard to keep the integrity of the homes inside and out.”
Advocates say they support new housing in the neighborhood, but not at the cost of hollowing out its history and hope the buildings can be retrofitted into housing that keeps more than just the facade standing for future generations.
