City Should Consider Saving 2 Carroll Gardens Homes, Board Says

CARROLL GARDENS, NY — The local community board joined a call from elected officials to get the city to consider landmarking a pair of Carroll Gardens homes in danger of being torn down.

Community Board 6 voted at their Thursday night meeting to send a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to ask them to look into designating the former kindergarten at 236 President St. and the neighboring 238 President St. as protected structures.

The vote came a week after elected officials called on the city to save the structures after getting wind of plans to demolish 236 President St.

"The beautiful, historic nature of many of the buildings in Carroll Gardens is one reason why so many people love living in the neighborhood," Lander wrote in a letter last week.

"Especially given the real demolition threat facing the former Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten, we must rally together to urge LPC to help us save 236 and 238 President Street, and in doing so, save a bit of Carroll Gardens history for future generations."

Lander joined with Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon to start a petition for residents to support the call on the LPC to save the buildings. Assemblyman Robert Carroll also wrote a letter to the city asking the buildings be saved.

A spokeswoman for the LPC previously said the lawmakers' requests were "currently under review."

The ornate home at 236 President St. was formerly the Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten and opened in 1987 as one of the first free kindergartens' in the borough, according to a Brooklyn Daily Eagle report at the time. It later became a church then was converted into a home in 1974, Brownstone reported.

The house was listed for sale last year at $5.3 million, and residents said it was bought by a developer who plans to tear it down. No plans have been filed with the city to demolish the structure.

The neighboring 238 President St. also opened in 1897 as the Methodist Episcopal Deaconess's Home, according to a New York Times report from that year. It was later converted into an apartment building.

Image: Google Maps