Horton’s Row flats designated

Only four of the 12 original Horton’s Row flats remain intact. On September 15, 2009, Landmarks voted to designate four attached three-family flats, known as Horton’s Row, as individual City landmarks. Originally comprised of 12 attached buildings and located on Westervelt Avenue in Staten Island’s Tompkinsville neighborhood, only four of Horton’s Row’s original flats remain intact. At an August 11 hearing, residents and preservation groups endorsed designating the flats. 6 CityLand 126 (Sept. 15, 2009).… <Read More>


Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights Historic District designated

New historic district will be Brooklyn’s largest. On June 23, 2009, Landmarks voted to designate 21 blocks in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn as a historic district. Developed in the mid and late 19th century, the area is largely characterized by rowhouses spanning a variety of styles, including Italianate, Romanesque, Renaissance Revival, and Second Empire. The eastern portion of the district along Flatbush Avenue includes larger scale, mixed-use structures. At the hearing, community residents … <Read More>


Williamsburg residential rowhouse district designated

Fillmore Place Historic District. Image: LPC.

Built as housing for working-class waterfront laborers, neighborhood remains remarkably intact. Landmarks designated the Fillmore Place Historic District on May 12, 2009. The district, primarily located on Fillmore Place between Driggs Avenue and Roebling Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was privately developed during a period of rapid growth in Williamsburg during the 1850s. Although different developers likely had hands in Fillmore Place, the 29 rowhouses maintain cohesiveness in scale and … <Read More>


Council approves North Corona downzoning

Developer’s appeal to maintain zoning fails to sway Council. On March 24, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for 100 blocks in North Corona, Queens. Although most of the affected blocks were included in a 2003 rezoning, local residents called on City Planning to propose another rezoning given recent out-of-character development.

When Planning presented its proposal at the City Planning Commission’s January 21st public hearing, several affected property owners … <Read More>


Commission debates legalization of illegal addition

Architect testified that Buildings’ database failed to indicate that West 68th Street property was located within landmarked district. At its April 14th public hearing, Landmarks considered the legalization of a one-story, fifth-floor addition to a residential building at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The 506 square-foot addition was built onto a 1925 studio building, itself built as an addition at the rear of the main 1895 Queen … <Read More>


Robert B. Tierney on the Pursuit of Preservation

Robert B. Tierney comes from a background of law and government rather than architecture, but his experience and training serve him well in his current position as Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. His love for learning about the City’s fascinating history and built environment, which he describes as a hobby and passion pursued for over 40 years, has allowed him to approach designation from a well-versed position, while his expertise in navigating through City … <Read More>