Residents who live in and near two proposed historic districts in Flatbush are asking the city Landmarks Preservation Commission to explain why some streets were not included in its consideration.
The LPC in June announced that they are considering creating the Beverley Square West and the Ditmas Park West Historic Districts.
The Beverley Square West zone is largely bordered by Beverley and Cortelyou Roads, from Argyle to Marlborough Road. When the original proposal was submitted in December, it also included several other blocks, according to members of the Beverley Square West Association, a community group.
Janice Hamann, secretary of the association, said she was shocked to find that Westminster Road, Stratford Road, Slocum Place, Matthews Court and Lewis Place were omitted from the LPC’s consideration.
“We feel even more like a target,” said Hamann, adding that without the landmarking, area homes could be more easily grabbed by developers.
Hamann, who lives on Westminster Road, said neighbors have made an extensive effort to get answers from the commission as to why it decided to exclude certain blocks.
“We have sent out numerous emails, we sent out a PowerPoint presentation and a book of 100-some-odd houses that have not been included,” said Hamann, who attended a Jun. 17 meeting with neighbors and the LPC where residents requested the commission expand the boundaries of its study.
Meanwhile, homes on Stratford Road, between Ditmas Avenue and Dorchester Road, were omitted from the Ditmas Park West Historic District proposal, which currently include homes between Marlborough to Westminster Roads between Ditmas Avenue and Dorchester Road.
Hamann and several other residents, who declined to be named, told BK Reader that the LPC hasn’t provided a clear explanation as to why certain blocks were excluded from the study.
When asked about the exclusions, the LPC said: “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,” a spokesperson said via email.
Roberta Intrater, who lives on Beverley Road near Argyle Road, said the decision by LPC is puzzling since the Prospect Park South Historic District is on the opposite side of Beverley Road from the excluded blocks.
“So what’s the point of this?,” Intrater questioned. “Three blocks on Beverley Road facing Prospect Park South are not being landmarked, and the other three blocks are?”
Intrater added that although the lot sizes in Prospect Park South appear larger, the difference isn’t that noticeable. “We’re all the same, certainly with the rest of Beverley Square West,” said Intrater. “It’s ridiculous.”
The Historic Districts Council, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to groups seeking preservation, agrees that the omitted blocks deserve preservation status.
“Many of the excluded homes retain their wood siding, wide front porches, and special details like leaded glass windows and distinctive rooflines,” HDC Executive Director Frampton Tolbert said in an email. In general, historic districts help “protect those worthy homes, encourage the restoration of properties that have been altered over time, and help tell a fuller story of the neighborhood as a whole.”
Much of Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West were farmland before they were sold off and developed in the early 20th century. The area now has many Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style homes boasting open lawns, front porches, patterned roof shingles and ionic columns.
As the LPC hearings continue, residents say they’ll persist in urging the LPC to broaden the historic districts.
“It’s country in the city, and we just want to protect that,” said Lisa Draho, who resides in Beverley Square West. “You don’t want it to become this glass tower city.”
