BY JESSICA PARKS
Resident’s of an East Flatbush
block hailed as “Brooklyn’s
greenest” are asking
the city to landmark their
stretch of E. 25th Street in a
bid to ward off developers.
“Our neighborhood of East
Flatbush is constantly changing,”
said Julia Charles, who
lives on the block located between
Clarendon Road and
Avenue D. “There is rapid
growth and overdevelopment
all throughout the East
Flatbush community. This is
our attempt to preserve the
character and preserve the
culture that is in East Flatbush.”
Charles and her neighbors
argue that their block
— which has won Brooklyn
Botanic Garden’s Greenest
Block contest four times,
most recently in 2016 — is a
representation of early 20th
century architecture, with
56 Neo-Renaissance limestone
and brownstone row
houses featuring century-old
facades and front gardens developed
COURIER L 10 IFE, FEBRUARY 14-20, 2020
by the Henry Meyer
Building Company in 1909.
And if the city doesn’t
act fast to protect the architectural
treasures, it won’t
be long before developers
turn them into sky-high condos,
according to Charles,
who pointed to a developer’s
scheme to raise buildings
on nearby E. 26th Street to
make way for a larger development.
“Every block surrounding
us has been affected
by overdevelopment,”
said Charles, who chairs
the 300 E. 25th Street Block
Association’s landmarks
committee. “What we are
seeing is century-old Victorian
homes being ripped
down and condos going up in
their place.”
By netting historic district
classifi cation for their
block, residents could throw
up a major hurdle to any developer
looking to build there
by forcing projects through
the city Landmark Preservation
Commission, which
has the ability to block any
construction that would mar
the area’s architectural panache.
Charles said the block’s
landmark committee has received
a letter from the city
Landmark Preservation
Committee acknowledging
that the block does have historical
merit that warrants
further study, and may calendar
the block’s petition for
consideration in the review
is successful.
If the block does obtain
the landmark designation,
it would be the fi rst block of
row houses in all of Flatbush
to be protected as a New York
City Historic Designation,
according to the Historic
District Council’s director
of advocacy and community
outreach.
“There are no rowhouse
blocks in Flatbush that are
protected as a New York City
Historic District, and this
block is certainly a stand out
in terms of integrity, resident
support and beauty,”
said Kelly Carroll.
Residents are seeking a historic designation for their E. 25th street block,
which features homes developed by the Henry Meyer Building Company
in 1909. Photos courtesy of Julia Charles
Battle of the block
Residents seek historical status for East Flatbush block
25 45
Fried or Broiled
Persons depicted are models being used for illustration purposes only
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