A Penthouse In A Landmarked District? Crown Heights Board Says No

BROOKLYN, NY — Crown Heights neighbor Alexandra Desousa has lived in her townhouse on Park Place for more than 20 years in the landmarked Crown Heights North Historic District.

A recently retired doctor, Desousa wants to turn her attic into a usable penthouse with a painting studio, since she is a painter in her free time.

However, in a landmarked district, even the slightest change can disrupt the neighborhood's aesthetic, members of Community Board 8 said on Thursday night when they voted unanimously to withhold their support for the renovation project.

Crown Heights North Historic District is predominantly residential, with more than 1,000 noteworthy buildings, from classic brownstones to Queen Anne-style homes. Any changes made to the buildings need to be approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and done carefully so as not to disrupt the existing architecture.

"I understand they don't want to see anything modern — I also hate modern, I spent 20 years preserving that house. I just want to do an enlargement of the attic so I can stand up, of course, respecting the architecture of the house," Desousa said.

Desousa submitted an application to LPC last month. Before the LPC reviews the application, Desousa's architect, Werner Morath, must present the project to the Community Board 8 Housing And Land Use Committee, which he did on Sept. 5.

On Thursday night, Community Board 8 Housing And Land Use Committee Chair Sharon Wedderburn said the committee's main concern following the Sept. 5 meeting was that they believe the attic-turned-studio would be visible from the street, as the plans involve partially removing the roof.

Contrary to the board, both Desousa and Morath told Patch it wouldn't be visible from the street.

Wedderburn also said it was concerning that Morath didn't know what the LPC's specific concerns were, and, because of that, encouraged the board not to support the renovation.

Morath said the LPC didn't have any specific worries yet, and that presenting the project to the board is just part of the process.

"The LPC doesn't have any specific concerns, they just wanted to know what the community thought about it," Morath told Patch.

At the Thursday night meeting, all 35 present members voted to withhold their support.

The LPC will take the Community Board's opinion into consideration when they vote on whether to approve the project, but the LPC will make the final, legally binding decision following a public hearing. There is no date for that yet, but when that date is scheduled, it will be updated on LPC’s hearing page.

Morath's firm, Blurred Architecture, has designed a few Brooklyn buildings, all with a sleek, modern look. So, something historical would be a departure from his usual style.

One of the buildings he designed is at 271 Lenox Rd. in Crown Heights, which has a contemporary style with metal and cement paneling.

"The reason that it is a landmarked district is that people in that neighborhood feel that it's a special enough place that shares a beautiful part of history that needs to be preserved," Board member Mimi Mitchell said.

"We want to keep Brooklyn Brooklyn. And trying to stick a penthouse on top of all that totally negates all the work that people have done to preserve the neighborhood."

Correction (Sept. 16): A previous version of this article stated that the project had already been presented to the LPC. The article has been updated to reflect the fact that an application for the project has been submitted, but no presentation has happened yet.