City Expands Boerum Hill Historic District By 288 Buildings

BOERUM HILL, NY — The city approved an expansion of a historic district in Boerum Hill that will nearly double the number of protected buildings inside it, officials announced Thursday.

The Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) voted to designate the Boerum Hill Historic District and add nearly 288 buildings to the already 250 structures protected in the neighborhood since the original one started in 1973.

"These streetscapes are characterized by wonderful rows of intact mid-19th century buildings that are cohesive and consistent in style, materials and typology, and complement the historic character of the Boerum Hill Historic District," Sarah Carroll, executive director of the LPC said in a statement.

The expanded district includes three sections of Boerum Hill and a mix of residential and commercial buildings now protected as landmarks, the agency said.

The district now encompasses Dean and Bergen streets between Smith and Hoyt streets on the western section of Boerum Hill; Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Nevins streets and Pacific Street between Hoyt and Bond streets in the north and Wyckoff and Bergen streets between Bond and Nevins streets in the eastern section, the LPC said.

Many of the homes, which some date back to the 1950s, were built for laborers, business owners and commuters who worked on the waterfront in South Brooklyn and the Gowanus Canal, according to the LPC. The newly designated buildings share a similar history to ones included in the original Boerum Hill Historic District.

Single-family row houses and row house-scale residential buildings with storefronts in the area were designed mostly in the Greek Revival and Italianate styles from the 1850s to the 1870s with different styles emerging in the 1880s, the agency said.

The original Boerum Hill Historic District was approved in 1973, protecting nearly 250 buildings, and there have been several pushes to expand it starting as early as 1977, Brownstoner reported.

The Boerum Hill Association pushed for another expansion in 2016 and the city started considering a slightly scaled down version of the proposal in 2017, according to Brownstoner.

"Over the years I have seen Boerum Hill change and grow, and I am glad that the historic and beautiful buildings that make up this diverse community's sense of space will be protected and preserved," Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, former president of the Boerum Hill Association, said in a statement.

While many in the neighborhood supported the expansion, it faced resistance from local business owners who felt maintaining the historic structures could make it harder to stay afloat, the Brooklyn Paper reported.

Image: Landmarks Preservation Commission