Is Proposed Landmarking of Fiske Terrace - Midwood Park Nigh ? ; LPC Public Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, October 16

On Tuesday, October 16, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will hold a public hearing to review the Proposal for the Landmarking of the Fiske Terrace- Midwood Park neighborhood in Flatbush. Interested residents are invited to attend the public hearing at the LPC's headquarters in the Manhattan Municipal Building, One Centre Street, 9th floor at Chamber and Centre Streets. (The scheduled hearings begin at 9:30 AM)Fiske Terrace - Midwood Park is a unique, wooded suburban neighborhood within the predominently urban Brooklyn environment, with detached single family Victorian homes built around 1905-1906. Fiske Terrace runs from the Q train subway line to Ocean Avenue, between Avenue H and Glenwood Road. Midwood Park is adjacent, bordered by the Q train on the west, Glenwood Road on the south, Ocean Avenue on the east and Foster Avenue on the north. The two neighborhoods were developed as suburban communities.

The Historic Districts Council http://www.hdc.org/neighborhoodatriskmidwoodfiske.htm gives further detail on this unique historic area: At the turn of the 20th century, a number of real estate developers purchased large tracts of farmland and woods near the sleepy market town of Flatbush, Brooklyn, and began to develop a suburban oasis affording wide lawns and spacious Victorian houses at a convenient distance from the City. The historic neighborhoods of Flatbush retain to a remarkable degree their integrity as early 20th-century suburban developments more than 100 years later.

Midwood Park was constructed by developer John Corbin in the first decade of the 20th-century on what had previously been farmland. The houses were built using Corbin’s method of standardized construction. Buyers could choose from thirty distinct models, but uniform construction techniques, materials and assembly methods were employed to minimize cost and boost efficiency. The wood-shingled houses are relatively grand: set back from the street on large lawns, they have open porches and rich interior detailing in the style of the time. The streets have a landscaped median and are lined with mature trees. The neighborhood must have represented a striking alternative to city living. Midwood Park has undergone few inappropriate alterations. It remains a unified, coherent and harmonious suburban neighborhood in an urban context. The Midwood Park Homeowners Association is advocating in consultation with the Historic Districts Council for historic district designation for the neighborhood.The adjacent Fiske Terrace features more elegant houses but retains an intimate sense of place through its historical integrity. In 1905, T. B. Ackerson Company purchased a densely wooded tract of land and immediately cleared it, laid out streets and installed underground water, sewer, gas and electric lines. Eighteen months later, the former Fiske estate had been transformed by some 150 custom-built, detached, three-story suburban houses with heavy oak ornamental mantels, staircases, beamed ceilings and built-in bookcases, ornately bordered parquet floors and elaborate cabinetry. A landscaped median and hundreds of street trees planted at the time of development continue to contribute to the idyllic feeling of the neighborhood -- Historic Districts Council

Recent articles in the NY Times and local papers, which included interviews with Fred Baer, former Fiske Terrace Association president, who has helped to shepard this proposal through the Landmark Preservations Commission's Review process, indicates that very strong support from area residents and public officials suggest that the LPC may support a favorable decision on the application for historic-area designation. The Commission sent letters to area residents (including Brooklyn Beat) in August regarding the placement of the proposal on the Commission's calendar in September. The calendaring of the public hearing last month and the actual public hearing tomorrow are important steps toward designation. Fiske Terrace will mark its official centennial this year.

--Brooklyn Beat

This item also appeared in www.Onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com