By Peter Sorkin
Community Board 5 expressed its support last week for the move to have the city landmark a Ridgewood street, saying it would benefit the community and add to its already rich history of architecture in the region.
The section of Stockholm Street under consideration is between Woodward Avenue and Onderdonk Avenue. Ridgewood already has been designated as a historic district by both the federal government and New York state, said Gary Giordano, district manager of Board 5.
He said a designation by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission usually helps to further safeguard historic heritage and has been a great source of community pride. The designation also helps to stabilize property values.
“As a fellow homeowner within the proposed historic district, I know the proposed city landmarks designation is going to help my property values,” Paul Kerzner, president of the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, told the monthly meeting July 19.
Kerzner currently is working on a proposal to have other sections of Ridgewood designated historic because like similar areas surrounding the neighborhood, the community would greatly benefit.
“Consider the following – property values in existing city historic districts have been stabilized and have increased in spite of New York City's recent real estate explosion,” he said.
“Jackson Heights, a nearby working-class neighborhood in Queens, has seen its reputation completely turn around for the better since being named a city historic district in 1993,” he said.
Since 1965, the commission has designated more than 1,000 individual landmarks, 69 historic districts containing more than 17,500 properties, nine scenic landmarks and over 80 inferior landmarks, Kerzner said.
Katy McNabb, director of community and government affairs, explained how a landmark is designated to the group of about 50 residents who turned out for the meeting.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is a city agency responsible for identifying and designating landmarks as well as historic districts and regulating changes to the building it designates. It consists of 11 commissioners, including three architects, one historian, one city planner or landscape architect, and one realtor. The commission must also have at least one resident from each borough in its board.
The Landmarks Law was enacted in 1965 under Mayor Robert Wagner in response to New Yorkers' growing concern that the city's important historic buildings and neighborhoods were being torn down.
Kerzner said landmarked buildings are “a small percentage of New York City's 850,000 buildings, but they are the most important buildings in the history of New York.”
Pauline Leblond, president of the Stockholm Street Block Association, has been lobbying hard in recent months for the city to designate the area in her neighborhood a landmark.
“What would you do if you saw something that stood out in all of Ridgewood?” she asked. “I lived here for over 35 years. This particular block and this area was built by all Americans, and it means a lot to me. This should be enjoyed by all the people, not just those who live here.”
