80 Underhill Avenue (between St. Marks Avenue and Bergen Street)

Prospect Heights is an area rich with the historic architecture that helps shape Brooklyn’s special identity. The neighborhood contains blocks lined with beautiful Italianate and neo-Grec rowhouses, interspersed with churches, small commercial buildings and multi-family structures. Originally a quiet farm area crossed by the historic Flatbush Turnpike Road, Prospect Heights became a residential neighborhood in the second half of the nineteenth century after the completion of nearby Prospect Park. The area is widely recognized as an important historic neighborhood, and indeed, part of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register.

Prospect Heights has remained remarkably free from large-scale physical change, making it a perfect candidate for historic district designation by New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission. But without such designation soon, that may well change. A strong real estate market and the development of Atlantic Yards just adjacent to the proposed historic district will exert immense development pressures on the neighborhood, posing a threat to its sense of place and historic character.

PHNDC and The Municipal Art Society of New York have requested the Landmarks Preservation Commission evaluate Prospect Heights for designation of a historic district. This forum is an opportunity for Prospect Heights residents to learn more about the history and architecture of the neighborhood, understand the benefits of historic designation, and hear how other neighborhoods have worked through the designation process.

Speakers will include:

• Lisa Kersavage, Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation, Municipal Art Society
• Simeon Bankoff, Executive Director, Historic Districts Council
• Denise Brown, Chairperson, Crown Heights North Association
• Mark Silberman, General Counsel, Landmarks Preservation Commission
• Mary Beth Betts, Director of Research, Landmarks Preservation Commission
• Sarah Carroll, Director of Preservation, Landmarks Preservation Commission

Elected officials representing the Prospect Heights neighborhood are invited.

If you are concerned about preserving the character, scale and sense of place that define Prospect Heights, please make every effort to join us for this important event.