PARK SLOPE — The neighborhood's historic district swelled by nearly 300 buildings following a vote by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday, but preservationists say their work is far from over.
"There's no question in my mind that there's another 1,200 or 1,500 buildings that could easily be added to the district," said Peter Bray, chair of the Park Slope Civic Council's historic district committee.
Bray said he "couldn't be happier" about the LPC's unanimous vote to expand the historic district for the second time since it was created in 1973.
Park Slope Historict District Extension II by lalbrecht3207
Bray and other advocates have been pushing for the city to enlarge the district since 2007, and it's likely they'll spend another decade working to preserve even more of the neighborhood's 19th century character, he said.
Preservationists will now turn their attention to getting the LPC to expand the historic district again to cover about 700 buildings in "Center Slope," roughly between Union and Seventh Street, Sixth and Seventh avenues, Bray said.
The area represents the "core of the neighborhood," both geographically and architecturally, and includes gems such as the wide multi-family buildings with front yards along Third Street, Bray said.
Tuesday's vote landmarked 292 structures, including buildings along Sixth Avenue between St. Mark's Avenue and Sterling Place and several other blocks in north Park Slope. The swath includes a row of Queen Anne houses built in 1887 on Prospect Place that were early designs by C.P.H. Gilbert, one of the most distinguished architects of 19th century New York, said David Alquist, who helped lead the effort to grow the district.
Buildings in historic districts are treated the same way individual landmarks are, which means homeowners must get approval from the LPC before altering their exteriors.
Tuesday's vote also landmarked St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church on Sixth Avenue and Sterling Place, which was first proposed for landmarking in the early 1960s, according to the church's website.
The church, sometimes called "the Notre Dame of Park Slope," was one of the first houses of worship in Brooklyn to be considered for landmarking, according to the website. The Diocese of Brooklyn opposed the idea when the LPC considered it in 1966. Church leaders did not respond to requests for comment.
The LPC also moved Tuesday to landmark parts of Green-Wood Cemetery.
