JUNE 8, 2009

LPC GRANT PROGRAM REVITALIZES FORT GREENE BLOCK

Three rowhouses in Brooklyn are among the dozens to receive funding each year through the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Historic Preservation Grant Program

Three adjoining Italianate-style rowhouses on South Portland Avenue in Brooklyn recently received extensive façade makeovers that were partially funded through the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Historic Preservation Grant Program. The grants, awarded to income-eligible owners of landmark properties, helped bring the handsome brick residences back to the way they looked in the mid-19^th century, when Franklin Pierce was President and Brooklyn was beginning its rise as one of the largest cities in the nation.

The Commission’s grant program awarded a total of $49,000 to the owners of 66, 68, and 70 South Portland Ave. in the Fort Greene Historic District to cover the cost of repair and restoration work to the facades, including repointing, repainting, window replacement and door installation.

“We thought identical, historically correct windows for these row houses that are adjacent to one another would not only improve our homes, but be an addition to our entire block,” said Joan Reutershan, owner of 70 South Portland Ave. “We were overjoyed to be approved … with the “new old” windows, our houses make a striking statement on the street. And my home is easier to heat.”

In the last 10 years, the program, funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant program, has provided more than $1.8 million for the rehabilitation of historic properties in all five boroughs.  

Ah Ling Neu, the owner of one of the other two buildings and a single mother with three children, noted that the Commission gave her more than a $15,000 grant to rehabilitate her historic home.

“They encouraged me to secure a very low interest rate for additional funds so I could replace all 10 windows with wooden ones with grids and to replace the door, which had been an eyesore for too many years,” said Ms. Neu, who owns 66 South Portland Ave. “Now, what used to be one of the ugliest houses on the block is one of the most beautiful anywhere.”

To see before and after photos of the renovated rowhouses, click here.

Tenzing Chadotsang, who has been the director of the grant program since 2005, said that Ms. Neu’s decision to rehabilitate the façade of her building prompted the owners of the other two to restore their homes.

“Most remarkable part of this project was working with three houses in a row next to each other where the impact of the work could be felt on the entire block,” he said. “We saw immediate results because two other owners of row houses on the same block who did not qualify for the grants decided to do extensive restorative work on their facades.”

He continued, “One of the biggest questions people have is, ‘Is this for real?’ That’s one of the most common questions I get. I say, ‘Yes, this is real, this is a grant and if you qualify, you should apply.’”

To determine whether you qualify for a grant, click here  to read the eligibility guidelines, or call Mr. Chadotsang at 212-669-7944 or e-mail him at tchadotsang@lpc.nyc.gov.

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