Historic district may be in future for Laurelton
Queens Chronicle
10/02/2008
by Matt Hampton , Editor
Residents in Laurelton who thought the recent rezone
of their community was the end of the story thought
wrong, as community leaders have a plan to make sure
the bedroom community in southeast Queens keeps its
character well into the future.
Concerned Citizens of Laurelton, the group which lead the charge on the recent rezoning, has its sights set on getting the neighborhood added to the National and State Registries of Historic Places, in hopes of eventually drawing the attention of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The recent rezoning was the culmination of several years
of effort on the part of community members, who lobbied
City Planning from 2001 in the effort to help retain the character of their neighborhood in the face of
encroaching developers.
According to Paul Graziano, president of the historic districts council and urban planning consultant,
the area has had a long road to reach the recent rezoning, with acrimony that didn’t necessarily have to
take place.
“What was originally being proposed was not what I would consider a good textual rezone,” Graziano
said of the original plan for Laurelton, which would have left the neighborhood open to large, out of
character apartments and towering commercial stores on the area’s main drag — Merrick Boulevard.
With that in mind, Graziano and Kim Francis, of Concerned Citizens of Laurelton, took it upon
themselves to try to different plans, both in the interest of saving the community.
The first was a drastic overhaul of the rezone which was originally proposed by the Department of City
Planning. That drastic proposal, according to Graziano, has been “95 percent” accepted and implemented
by the city. Both Graziano and Francis credited the will of community members for pushing the rezone
through — calling it a “bottom-up” and “grassroots effort” to save the character of a community which
has been largely single-family homes for the better part of a century.
The second — which is still underway — is an effort through Assemblyman William Scarborough’s
office to find Laurelton a place on the National and State Registries of Historic Places, an honor which
they say is all but elementary at this point thanks to support from the community and Scarborough.
Community Board 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht said that while the board hasn’t been directly
involved in the quest to secure Laurelton as a historic district, the body would certainly be in favor of it.
“It was mentioned as part of the zoning meetings,” Hellenbrecht said. “I’d certainly like our land use
committee to be aware of it and involved in it.”
Hellenbrecht continued, adding that of all the neighborhoods in C.B.13, Laurelton was certainly at the
top of the list of those with potential.
“Laurelton if anything, is unique — it’s the English tudor style — if any area is eligible, or should be
recognized that would be it.”
However, Hellenbrecht acknowledged that it might be an uphill battle.
“I’m very upset that Queens in general has been left off the list of the city’s historic districts,”
Hellenbrecht said. “There are very few sites which have been approved.”
Graziano was also upset about the lack of suburban sites in the city which are recognized, saying that
the LPC usually eschews sites that represent New York City’s suburban areas in favor of areas that
resemble the city’s more metropolitan image.
New York City’s LPC could not be contacted for comment by press time.
