Calls for larger landmark district at Beverly Square West in Flatbush
Homes in the neighborhood left out of the current proposed landmark zone include the home of one of the builders of the village, Harry Hawkins, according to Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger.
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Residents of a unique residential area of Flatbush are calling for a larger Landmark District from the NYC Landmark Protection Commission following a vote to calendar only a portion of the neighborhood that traces its roots back to the 1890s.
Homes in the neighborhood left out of the current proposed landmark zone include the home of one of the builders of the village, Harry Hawkins, according to Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger.
Schweiger found the original documentation and meeting minutes for the lots within trade publications dating back to the 20th century.
He tells News 12 the area was all originally farmland before it was sold multiple times and became Beverly Square West and Beverly Square East, incorporating as one neighborhood association in the 1980s when he himself was the president.
"Beverly Rectangle we lovingly referred to it," he said.
"We are calling for landmarks to take a look at the history of this entire neighborhood because there is no difference in these Victorian Flatbush homes from one street, and there is a lot of history here to protect," Schweiger added said.
Neighbors say they also want all the homes to be protected from certain drastic development that could strip the homes of their unique history and quirks.
"Walking through the neighborhood, you see houses with the exact same architectural details as every other block in the landmark zones, it;s all Victorian Flatbush," said Janice Hamann, "It's all like a little town and it could go away."
NYC LPC released the following statement:
“We deeply admire the pride and care that New Yorkers have for their beautiful homes and neighborhoods; however, as a regulatory agency, LPC ensures that all properties within a historic district meet specific legal requirements for landmark designation. In Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West, LPC conducted a thorough, multi-year study to identify blocks with the highest concentration of properties that have retained their historic features, and the boundaries for the proposed historic districts were carefully set for regulatory purposes, to ensure that the buildings included within the district all met these standards.”
LPC added that the criteria to qualify areas must represent at least one period or style of architecture typical of one or more eras in the city's history, have a distinct "sense of place" and have a coherent streetscape.
But residents in Beverly Square West says that describes their whole neighborhood, not just certain streets.
"We are Victorian Flatbush. The blocks have the integrity throughout. And to just go piecemeal and arbitrarily say which blocks are deserving or not just doesn't make sense to all of us," said 23-year-resident Mary Helen Taylor.
They hope to change the agency's mind at a yet-to-be scheduled public comment hearing.
