Development and historic buildings on the Ridgewood/Bushwick border

Image source: Wyckoff Heights – note the cornice removed from the middle building (cornices remain on either side)

Ridgewood is a gem of a neighborhood in Queens, and slowly it has been “discovered” and it’s getting more attention these days. And with attention comes changes – in Ridgewood’s case, a Polish community has developed (after many were pushed out of Greenpoint by increasing rents and property prices), younger folks are arriving, and developers are beginning to realize there are, in their eyes, opportunities to make some lucrative changes. The View From Wyckoff Heights blog has looked at a handful of properties on the Bushwick/Ridgewood border, with the question, “With growing demand for real estate in north Bushwick and south Ridgewood along the L train line, how will historic buildings fare at the hands of developers?”

They looked at four properties just over the Ridgewood border into Bushwick (they indicate this area as North Bushwick and South Ridgewood, and old timers call it Ridgewood, Brooklyn) – 204 Starr Street (GMAP), 414 Suydam Street (GMAP), 400 Stanhope Street (GMAP), and 390 Stanhope Street (GMAP). As they say, there aren’t many buildings actually landmarked in Bushwick or Ridgewood – in Ridgewood there are many areas considered National Historic Districts, but that does not protect them from really anything development-related. BTW, here are maps of the Ridgewood North Historic District and the Ridgewood South Historic District; here is the proposed Central Ridgewood Historic District, too.

For preservationists in Ridgewood, zoning is key; BK isn’t in the same situation:

Despite the architectural similarities [between Ridgewood and Bushwick] developers and investors currently seem to be favoring buildings on the Brooklyn side, where most residential blocks are zoned R6 and have excess FAR.  The Queens side by contrast is zoned R6B, which has a lower FAR and mandatory Quality Housing regulations that promote preservation of the streetscape.

Some of the changes developers are making to these late 19th century and early 20th century buildings are removing cornices, building additions to rooftops, new facades, raised roofs, adding floors, making dwellings smaller (increasing from three to six units in one case).

How will developers treat historic buildings in Bushwick and Ridgewood? [The View From Wyckoff Heights]
Yorkville resident moves to Ridgewood and loves it [QNYC]