12 FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 1, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Landmarking hearing on Sunset mansion
2018
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BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
After it was announced earlier this year that
a developer had plans to demolish Sunset
Park’s only mansion, the former Dr. Maurice
T. Lewis House, to make way for a 21,000-square-foot,
seven-story, 24-unit apartment building with vertical
and horizontal extensions, the city's Landmarks
Preservation Commission has moved up a hearing
about landmarking the historic property to March 6.
“It’s so important to the community,” Lynn Tondrick
of the Sunset Park Landmarks Committee (SPLC) said
of the structure at 405 55th Street. "It’s Sunset Park’s
only mansion. It’s part of the beautiful block of 55th
Street which is all historic, preserved, intact buildings.
It’s a big deal to us that this building is maintained. In
Sunset Park, we have a couple of historic landmarks.
We have the rec center in the park, the courthouse and
the old police precinct which we worked very hard
to get portions of preserved recently. This is another
integral building that is key to Sunset Park, and we are
really pleased at the possibility of it remaining intact.”
According to the New York City Historic Districts
Council, (HDC), the LPC swiftly calendared the mansion
after learning about alteration/demolition permits
which have been approved, but not yet issued.
According to the city's Department of Finance, the
building was purchased for $2.8 million by SL 218
LLC back in November, 2017 .
According to the LPC, calendaring is the first
formal step in the designation process. “After a presentation
by the Research Staff the full Commission
votes at a public meeting whether to schedule ('calendar')
a public hearing on the potential resource. A
vote by a majority of the Commissioners present is
required to calendar a resource,” its website states.
Anyone is allowed to testify about the proposed
designation before the full Commission.
“I hope it can be saved. It's not run down and there's
no excuse to tear this down for greed,” said Linda
Krekey on the Sunset Parker Facebook page.
"This building is important not just for its architecture
but for the history that is attached to it," said
Tony Giordano, who runs the Sunset Parker Facebook
page. "It was built by Dr. Maurice T. Lewis who
was the president of the Bay Ridge Savings Bank in
1929 when unfounded rumors, of a single dissatisfied
customer, led to a "run" on the bank. The bank
could have gone under except for the fact that the
local business community showed their support and
offered funds to cover all customer accounts. The
Heilbronn Department Store on the corner of 53rd
and Fifth went so far as to put huge signs of support
and trust in the bank in all its windows. This kind
of history can all be linked to the mansion on 55th
and must be preserved."
The hearing will be held at the LPC offices in Manhattan.
1 Centre Street, ninth floor, North Building.
No specific time has been given yet.
Photo courtesy of Sunset Park Landmark Committee
Facebook page
The Landmarks Preservation Commission
will hold a hearing regarding the possible
landmarking of the former Dr.
Maurice T. Lewis House in Sunset Park.