Report From The Carroll Gardens Landmark Forum

The Forum On Landmarking Carroll Gardens last night was all about information. The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association assembled an impressive panel of experts who were able to answer most of the questions about what landmarking entails and how it would affect homeowners. The turn-out was great.
This was an important step in Carroll Gardens and will help residents decide how best to protect this Brownstone neighborhood from developers.
Currently, Carroll Gardens has an R6 zoning which means that there is no height limit whatsoever for buildings. C.G.N.A. has asked N.Y.C.Planning to change the zoning to mainly R6B which limits the height of buildings to 50 feet.
Though such new zoning will certainly cap the height, it would not protect from non-contextual construction. That is where landmarking would come in.
The meeting was moderated by Robert Levine, Landmarks Committee Chairperson of Community Board 6.
The panel was composed of:
John Graham and Diane Jackier of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Committee,
Simeon Bankhoff of the Historic Districts Council, NYC
Ben Baxt of Baxt/Ingui Architects, PC
Craig Hammerman, District Manager CB6
Roy Sloane, Cobble Hill Association, Land Use Committee CB6
Bob Furman of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation
and Everet Ortner, founder, Brownstone Revival Committee

The panel answered questions from the audience which were submitted on index cards.
More than once, the main concern seemed to be along these lines:
" Will Landmarks make me change my windows and doors if I do not want to change them as a homeowner?"
(The answer from Landmarks representatives was : No, not until the homeowner is ready to replace their windows and doors themselves.)
Surely, this will be a long and ongoing discussion here in Carroll Gardens. Last night was only one step in a long, drawn out process. It may take months or even years before the neighborhood is landmarked or down-zoned.
However, as mentioned last night, not doing anything is not an option. "If we don't do anything, we are going to leave the developers to impose their vision on our Brownstone neighborhood."

Related Reading:
click: Bill DeBlasio Makes An Appearance In Carroll Gardens And Gets Scolded By C.O.R.D.


For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking