BY JESSICA PARKS
Residents of a particularly
well-manicured block of E.
25th Street in East Flatbush
are hopeful the city’s landmarking
honchos will designate
their stretch of Neo-Renaissance
style row houses as
a historica district.
“It seems as though the community
deserves it, not just our
block,” said Julia Charles, who
chairs the 300 E. 25th Street
Block Association’s landmarks
committee. “Our voices need
to be heard in East Flatbush.”
The proposition drew nearlyunanimous
praise at a Sept. 22
Landmark Preservation Commission
hearing, where city
honchos lauded the residents
for maintaining the block’s architectural
COURIER L 16 IFE, OCT. 9-15, 2020
integrity, and for
their hard work in advocating
for the landmark designation.
“It’s clear how this block
has a sense of place that attracts
people,” said LPC
Chairwoman Sarah Carroll.
“And the community has been
incredible stewards and have
a shared love for this block.”
The proposed E. 25th Street
Historic District is made up
of 56 row houses lining both
sides of the block from Avenue
D to Clarendon Road Z — all of
which are outfi tted with century
old front gardens and facades
of limestone and brownstone
meticulously preserved from
their original construction by
the Henry J. Meyers Company
between 1909 and 1912.
Residents of an E. 25th street block are seeking a historic district designation. Photo courtesy of Julia Charles
“It is amazingly consistent.
When I saw it, it struck me as
its level of consistency is absurdly
high and the quality of
how people have taken care of
this place is just incredible,”
said LPC Commissioner John
Gustafsson.
The 300 E. 25th Street
Block Association began actively
pursuing the historical
designation in June 2019 in an
effort to protect their homes
from developers with plans
to build multi-story condos in
the area, which the residents
feared would diminish the
special character of the area.
“It became not something
we were just interested in,”
Charles said. “But it became a
need to preserve our block.”
The residents are hopeful
that the city’s landmarking
gurus will grant them historic
district status, as their
proposal has seen little opposition.
It has also garnered
support from the local community
board, as well as local
pols like Assemblywoman
Rodneyse Bichotte and City
Councilwoman Farah Louis.
If the LPC does grant the
preservation status, E. 25th
street will be the fi rst block of
row houses to receive an NYC
Historic Landmark Designation
in East Flatbush, an area
of the borough that is known
for its rich Caribbean roots —
which the block association
head argues would be solidifi ed
with a historic designation.
Landmarking honchos
have yet to set an offi cial date
to vote on the proposal, according
to an agency spokesperson,
but Charles said she
has faith that it will be scheduled
before the end of 2020.
“Honestly, I think it might
happen before the end of the
year,” said Charles.
RESISTING
CHANGE
E. Flatbush residents hopeful
about landmark status