Sunnyside Gardens are landmarked

In a unanimous vote - 49 to 0 - the City Council designated a 17-block area in Sunnyside Gardens as a Special Planned Community Preservation District, creating the largest historic district in the city on Monday, October 29 and ended the fierce eight-month dispute between local residents.
In total, 624 houses in the Gardens are included in the designation, which requires that all major changes to buildings - particularly exterior modifications - get permission to proceed from the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).
The area is roughly bounded by 41st Street to the west, Barnett Avenue to the north, 52nd Street to the east, and one block north of Queens Boulevard to the south.
Many of the district’s requirements had been placed in effect in March when the area was calendared, and in the months following, some local residents expressed strong opposition to the plan’s stringent rules, saying that the regulations went far beyond those needed to conserve the area’s character. However, other residents applauded efforts to preserve the neighborhood’s history, dating back to the 1920s as a “Garden City.”
“Recognized nationally and internationally as one of the most significant planned residential communities in New York City and the country, this neighborhood is important because of its history, site plan, open landscaped courtyards and simple yet sophisticated architecture and construction. Very simply, it is a unique part of New York City with a distinct sense of place, and that is the very definition of a historic district,” said LPC Chair Bob Tierney during his testimony before the Council’s subcommittee on Tuesday, October 9. The LPC voted to landmark the area in June.
During the same meeting, Councilmember Eric Gioia, who represents the area, also testified in favor of the plan.
“On an issue as complex, and as personal, as this, it’s unlikely for one hundred percent of residents to agree. But after listening to hundreds of people, I discovered a lot of common ground and concluded that the vast majority agree on key principles. People love the scale of the Gardens and the pitched roofs. They love the common open spaces and gardens. They love the sense of community. They want to protect the Gardens from more curb cuts and illegal driveways, from destruction of the common gardens, and from large and out-of-character changes to buildings. I believe landmarking is the best method to do this, and do it well.”
The LPC plans to conduct a public hearing over applications for rear yard additions in the Gardens, and has introduced an amendment to allow homeowners to file only one application with the Commission - possibly nixing duplicate applications - for developments or substantial alterations to the building footprints or landscaping.