Hearing held on 1891 Victorian house and garden

Voelker-Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden. Image: LPC.

1891 house currently serves as a museum and bird sanctuary. On September 18, 2007, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of the Voelker-Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden in the Murray Hill section of Flushing. The museum consists of a house and garden built in 1891 by shopkeeper James Bouton. Conrad Voelker, a German-language newspaper publisher, purchased the property in 1899, which remained … <Read More>


City Planning proposes plan for Sunnyside Gardens

Under proposal, Landmarks would be solely responsible for all permits to alter Sunnyside Gardens’ buildings. On August 20, 2007, the Planning Commission sent a proposal to Queens Community Board 2 and Borough President Helen Marshall that would make Landmarks solely responsible for all permits to alter buildings in Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community of single-family homes and apartments built in the 1920s.

Landmarks had voted in June 2007 to designate a 600-building historic district covering … <Read More>


MAS’s Kent Barwick Reflects on Promoting a More Livable City

Kent Barwick has a stickball bat hiding in the corner of his office. He swears he does not use it, and who can argue with him? His office is in the Villard Houses in Midtown, and its courtyard is too small for a game. But physical boundaries aside, he would never have the time to show off his skills. Mr. Barwick, a graduate of Syracuse University and a Harvard University Loeb Fellow, is the current … <Read More>


Eberhard Faber factory cluster heard by Landmarks

Nearby demolition and development lent urgency to potential designation. On July 24, 2007, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District. The proposed historic district comprises five buildings dating from the 1880s to the 1920s relating to the former Eberhard Faber pencil factory. The company moved to this Brooklyn location after a fire at its Manhattan plant in 1872 and remained there until 1956. The buildings feature stone lintels and terra … <Read More>


Domino Sugar environmental study gets first review

Community and preservationists comment on plan to construct 2.6 million sq.ft. of housing on former factory site. On July 31, 2007, City Planning held a public hearing on the draft scope of an environmental impact statement for the proposed transformation of the Domino Sugar Refinery into a large mixed-use development with 2.64 million sq.ft. of residential space, 120,000 sq.ft. of retail space, 100,000 sq.ft. of community facility space, and 1,450 below grade accessory parking spaces. … <Read More>


Council re-designates home in second attempt

The Council voted to re-designate after court voided first designation. The City Council voted on July 25, 2007 to amend the Douglaston Hill Historic District to include a home at 41-45 240th Street that has been the subject of a protracted designation dispute. 4 CityLand 3 (Apr. 15, 2007). Landmarks originally designated the home as part of the Douglaston Hill Historic District in December 2004. The owners, Kevin and Diana Mosley, successfully challenged the home’s … <Read More>