Brooklyn Block To Become New Historic District

There's chatter of a portion of Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene becoming a new historic district—meaning the strip of street would be immune to any more luxury high rise condos.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, the street contains Civil War-era homes—but an eyesore has popped up amongst them at 122 Vanderbilt. One resident told the paper, “[The landmarking] is great for the block—it means we won’t have any more of that." The paper even presumes that the tower was the impetus for the Landmarks Preservation Commission to start moving forward with the historic district designation.

The avenue was named for the Vanderbilt family, who originally owned Grand Central Terminal—Cornelius is the one who planted those 13 test stones for the structure in Van Cortlandt Park. The stretch already houses some landmarks—including the old Public School 9 building at the corner of Sterling Place, and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School at Greene Avenue.

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By Jen Carlson in News on August 2, 2010 5:35 PM

Comments [rss]

thefacts

The 'new' PS9 and a few adjacent buildings were removed from a Prospect Hgts Historic District. The 'old' PS9 - across the street - is within the district, so I realize which bldg she is referring to.

But there are also over a hundred bldgs on Vanderbilt Ave in the PH HD, and many more in the Fort Greene HD. You can say each is a 'landmark' therefore. I wondered why those two were specifically listed. Makes no sense and is confusing.

miss_mess

Whatever. There's a row of Section 8 pre-fab housing on that block too that's absolutely hideous.

thefacts

Jen:

Why do you single out Bishop Loughlin HS and PS 9 as "landmarks"?

They are merely two of many buildings along Vanderbilt Avenue within two existing historic districts. Why single out those two, especially Loughlin, which has no extraordinary architectural merit.

It makes no sense.

mdgately

She refers to "the old Public School 9 building," the beautiful (residential) building on the NE corner of Vanderbilt and Sterling, not the less attractive "new" PS 9 on the NW corner. Still, that part of Vanderbilt is in the Prospect Heights historic district, not Ft. Greene.

WestVillageVintage

The whole area contains the largest collection of Civil War era wood frame houses in the city. This unique neighborhood needs to be protected.