DISTRICT LINES news and views of the Historic Districts Council winter 2009 vol. xxii no. 3 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION INTERSECT AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE ANYONE WHO HAS LAUNCHED a commu- nity-based campaign knows that politi- cal support is a vital component for its success. Efforts opposed by elected of- fi cials face an uphill battle that, while not impossible to overcome, can be quite diffi cult to maneuver. To ensure the victory of their cause, advocates must facilitate working relationships with their elected representatives and local municipal agencies, as well as de- velop a comprehensive knowledge of the laws and regulations that will affect their efforts. Each spring the Historic Districts Council hosts its annual preservation conference, the only preservation event of its kind in New York City. Now in its 15th year, the 2009 Conference, March 6-8, “Communities & Cornices: Preser- vation in a Political World,” will address Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener) the intersection of civic engagement and neighborhood preservation. Attendees of HDC’s 2007 Conference on a walking tour of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The 2009 conference will highlight professionals that includes, preserva- broadening the conversation, backyard the important confluence of public tionists, planners, historians, public boundaries disappear and preservation and governmental interests, framing it policy and legal experts, representatives gains a greater voice. within the context of the approach- from government agencies, and elected The 2009 “Communities & ing municipal elections this November. offi cials who will help guide attendees Cornices” Conference is just one of When effectively crafted and publi- on how better to engage in the politi- the Historic Districts Council’s many cized, these partnerships help foster a cal process. Through this exchange of efforts to increase the preservation political will that is essential to moving information and ideas, the 2009 HDC community’s involvement in civic a campaign forward from distant hope Preservation Conference will encour- affairs—from facilitating meetings to achievable reality. age proactive civic involvement and between HDC’s Neighborhood An anticipated 500 concerned citi- help to provide attendees with tools for Partners and their local representatives, zens from neighborhoods across the community organizing. to launching full-scale, City Council five boroughs will attend this year’s So not only will the advocates in District-wide educational campaigns Conference events, which will include attendance benefit by developing and through the League of Preservation a keynote address, panel discussions, an expanding their organizing tools and Voters initiative (see pages 6-7). opening night reception and a selection tactics; they will also be able to make of walking tours. connections with other like-minded To ensure that the presentations community organizations throughout CONFERENCE featured this year are both applica- the city. This will provide the opportu- SCHEDULE AND REGISTRATION ble and beneficial to the widest pos- nity to see that issues often perceived ON PAGE 9. sible range of neighborhood advocates, as parochial neighborhood threats HDC has gathered a diverse roster of are frequently citywide concerns. By Historic Districts Council District Lines - Winter 2009 - page 2 COMMISSIONER FRED BLAND: NEW VOICE ON THE LANDMARKS PANEL THE NEWEST APPOINTEE to the Land- moved to Brooklyn Heights, where he dearest to the Commissioner’s heart is marks Preservation Commission, lives with his wife, Morley, and daugh- that of “hobby horticulturist.” With a Brooklyn-resident Fred Bland, is a man roof garden at his city house and a larger of many parts. Best known to preserva- garden at his country place, in Stony tionists as the managing partner of the Creek, Connecticut, he is a plant collec- architectural fi rm Beyer Blinder Belle, tor whose gardens boast 1,600 species Mr. Bland is a former president of the of fl owers, shrubs and trees and whose American Institute of Architects Foun- main caretaker is himself. dation (where he was instrumental in Mr. Bland is excited about his ap- creating the Center for Architecture); pointment to the Commission, where a member of the vestry of Manhat- he hopes, he says, “to safeguard the tan’s oldest house of worship, Trinity landmarks we have and to create new Church (which boasts a large number of landmark buildings and districts. As a real-estate holdings); chairman of the resident of Brooklyn Heights, I know Brooklyn Botanic Garden (currently well the benefi ts of the Landmarks Law, undergoing extensive capital reinvest- and the key word is ‘appropriate.’ ment); and serves on the board of the He acknowledges the challeng- James Marston Fitch Charitable Foun- es ahead as the make-up of the LPC dation. Commissioner Bland has taught changes, but he remains firmly con- architecture at New York University Claire Holt vinced there is room for imagination since 1990. Landmarks Commissioner Fred Bland and innovation. As ideas about preser- Born in Galveston, Texas, and ter, Chloe. He has served as president vation change, too, he said says he be- brought up in Houston, Mr. Bland came of the Brooklyn Heights Association, lieves that the Commission should “be east to Yale and received a bachelor’s in which is the oldest civic association in a voice of reason as this vital city grows the History of Art in 1968 and his mas- New York City. and changes over time.” His term on ter’s in Architecture in 1972. Following Among a long list of interests and the Landmarks Preservation Commis- that, he joined Beyer Blinder Belle and accomplishments, one that is probably sion ends in 2010. 2008 Landmarks Lion: Walter B. Melvin HDC honored architect Walter B. Melvin as its 20th Landmarks Lion on Wednesday, October 29, 2008. The festivities took place at Bridgewaters in the South Street Seaport Historic District. More than 200 people came out to support the work of Mr. Melvin and the Historic Districts Council. Many thanks to all who helped make the 20th anniversary of the Landmarks Lion Awards a success! Shown with Mr. Melvin, above, are HDC’s Simeon Bankoff and Susan Tunick. Historic Districts Council District Lines - Winter 2009 - page 3 MORE PROTECTION SOUGHT FOR THE SILVER LINING: FOUR SMALL HISTORIC DISTRICTS TAX INCENTIVES FOR IN THE SOUTH BRONX HISTORIC PROPERTIES SINCE THE SUMMER OF 2008 the Historic Districts Council has LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION PLUS listing on been engaged in a survey funded the National Register of Historic Places create by the Trust for Architectur- the ideal combination of physical protection and al Easements to reconcile the fi nancial assistance that owners need to preserve boundaries of New York City and maintain their historic property. historic districts with those In The Bronx, the Historic Districts Coun- listed on the State and Nation- cil has identifi ed four such areas — the Bertine al Registers of Historic Places. Block, Clay Avenue, Morris Avenue, and Mott When neighborhoods and build- Haven East Historic Districts. ings are dually designated, they When districts are listed or become eligi- have greater protections and ac- ble for listing on the National Register, owners cess to assistance. Although at can qualify for a number of fi nancial incentives. one time the Landmarks Pres- What this means in plain English for owners of ervation Commission submit- locally designated and National Register-listed ted locally designated districts properties is that preservation is not simply about to the State Historic Preserva- government encroaching on property owners’ Historic Districts Council tion Offi ce for inclusion on the Clay Avenue Historic District, The Bronx rights, but rather becoming the economic engine Registers, the practice stopped for enhancing the properties themselves. Some of in the mid-1980s because of cuts in federal funding. these incentives include: Last fall HDC took a more in-depth look at four small historic districts in the South Bronx that are not on the National Register: Federal Investment Tax Credit Program for Mott Haven East, Clay Avenue, and Bertine Block, all municipally Income Producing Properties designated in 1994, and Morris Avenue, designated in 1986. Owners of income producing properties can The development of the South Bronx is refl ected in the similar receive a 20 percent federal income tax credit for history shared by these four districts. Speculative developers built the cost of substantial approved rehabilitation one- and two-family row houses when railroad lines started to con- and restoration work. nect the area with Manhattan in the mid-1880s. By the end of the 19th century, as transportation improved and the population in- New York State Historic Tax Credit Program creased, larger tenement buildings started to be erected. for Income Producing Properties The designated portion of Morris Avenue, one block between Once approved to receive the federal credit, East 179th Street and East Tremont Avenue, was built by a single owners become eligible for a state tax credit equal developer, August Jacob, using one architect, John Hauser. Com- to 30 percent of the value of the federal credit. pleted by 1910, the two- and three-story neo-Renaissance brick row houses have full-height angled and rounded bays that create a dis- New York State Historic Homeownership tinctive rhythm down the street. Rehabilitation Tax Credit Designated 25 years after the Mott Haven Historic District Rehabilitators of owner-occupied buildings and just a block to its east, Mott Haven East is composed of parts located in a “distressed” census tract, defi ned as a of East 139th and East 140th Streets. It includes later 19th-century target area under Section 143 (J) of the Internal row houses similar to those in the Mott Haven district, but also ten- Revenue Code, can receive a tax credit equal to 20 ement buildings of the late 1890s by architects George Pelham and percent of the cost of repair work.