Landmarks Extends Boerum Hill Historic District, Includes Quaint Row of Shops on Atlantic Avenue

This morning the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted in favor of a proposed extension to the Boerum Hill Historic District.

“This particular neighborhood is especially special,” said Commissioner Jeanne Lutfy. She was explicitly in favor of the slice of Atlantic Avenue that is included in the extension. “Whenever I walk through Boerum Hill, there’s something that resonates with me,” she added.

The extension has long been in the works, with the first proposal back in 1977. The Boerum Hill Association proposed an extension of the district again, in 2016. The extension that was approved is slightly smaller than the 2016 proposal.

Broken up into three sections, the proposed extension will almost double the existing district. The first section will extend the southeast border to Nevins Street and the southern border to Wyckoff Street. To the north, the second section will partially extend the border to a portion of Atlantic Avenue, and to the southwest, the border will move partially to Smith Street from its current border of Hoyt Street.

The extension contains approximately 288 buildings, many of which are modest row houses built in the 1850s to 1870s in the Greek Revival and Italianate styles.

Many of the 21 speakers who testified at the landmarks hearing in May strongly supported the new district.

Six owners of historic shops on Atlantic Avenue, a portion of which is included in the expansion, spoke out against their buildings being included at the May hearing. They made it clear that they didn’t oppose the extension in general but wanted Atlantic Avenue removed.

They didn’t get their wish.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

Related Stories

• Businesses on Atlantic Avenue Want Out of Proposed Boerum Hill Historic District Extension
• Landmarks Moves Long-in-the-Works Boerum Hill Extension Closer to Designation
• Boerum Hill Historic District Could Be Expanded

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