Brooklyn had another slow year for landmarking in 2025, with no new individual landmarks designated. The borough did, however, gain two new historic districts.
Both districts, located in Flatbush, were designated unanimously by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November, expanding protections for blocks south of Prospect Park that preservation advocates have long sought to see designated. The new Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West historic districts bring the area’s total number of historic districts to five.
While local residents were overwhelmingly supportive of the designations, many called for the inclusion of additional nearby blocks, including Westminster and Stratford roads and portions of Beverley Road.
The only Brooklyn site to move closer to individual landmark status came late in the year, when a Boerum Hill school building was calendared by the commission in December. A hearing and vote on its designation will likely take place in the new year.
The year also brought change at the commission, with LPC’s longtime chair Sarah Carroll and vice chair Fred Bland stepping down and three new commissioners joining the group. As of now, the LPC’s Vice Chair Angie Master leads public meetings, and the chair position remains unfilled.
The commission also considered some controversial redevelopment proposals later in the year involving historic buildings in Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene.
Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West Historic Districts
The Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West historic districts were largely considered together, with hearings and votes taking place consecutively, given the proximity of the areas. Locals have long called for expanded landmarking in the area south of Prospect Park, which already included three historic districts.
The designated Beverley Square West Historic District includes 118 houses built between 1894 and 1910 on three tree-lined blocks between Beverley Road and Cortelyou Road. Nearly all were designed by prominent Brooklyn architects such as John J. Petit, John B. Slee, and Benjamin Driesler, Herman said.
The Ditmas Park West Historic District contains 127 houses built largely between 1902 and 1910, just west of the Ditmas Park Historic District. Nearly half were designed by Arlington D. Isham. Both districts showcase distinctive turn-of-the-20th-century homes built as Flatbush shifted from farmland to early suburb — and houses in both districts are largely Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, or Shingle Style, Herman said.
At October’s public hearing on designation, 35 speakers supported the designations and most urged adding nearby blocks, including Westminster and Stratford roads and parts of Beverley Road. While all the commissioners backed the proposal, two questioned why the districts couldn’t be extended as many locals requested.
LPC Director of Research Margaret Herman told the commissioners ahead of the vote that LPC staff had surveyed the area repeatedly over nearly 20 years. Those reviews, she said, found the areas proposed by local residents lacked a high enough level of integrity to merit designation, though she said smaller sections could be considered in the future.
“Research staff found the boundaries proposed today contain the highest quality architecture and most cohesive streetscapes not yet designated in Victorian Flatbush,” Herman said. “Together, the two proposed districts stand out from surrounding blocks and best represent the neighborhood’s development history and significant architecture.”
This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Brownstoner
