“I’m pleased to report that preservation prevailed,� said an exhilarated Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, following a hearing by the Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday on the application of the Pinnacle Group to build a two-level garage in the courtyard of the Riverside Apartments in southwest Brooklyn Heights.

Seven of eight commissioners present rejected Pinnacle’s proposal, although Chairman Robert Tierney suggested that some of them might entertain a completely underground garage. However, his comment was met by objections that the excavation for it would not only kill the existing tall trees but possibly have an adverse effect on the adjacent BQE structure and on the Riverside Apartments themselves. In addition to a statement by the Heights Association, a number of notable persons in the architectural and preservation fields testified against the proposal. Among those speaking were Lisa Ackerman of the World Monuments Fund and Michele Bogart, a professor of fine arts at Stony Brook University. Norval White, co-author of the AIA Guide to New York City, sent a letter, as did Professor Andrew Dolkart, a preservation expert at Columbia University.

Architectural critic and historian Francis Morrone submitted a treatise on the work of Alfred Tredway White, the 19th century entrepreneur and philanthropist who built the Riverside Houses in 1890 as improved quarters for working-class tenants.

And the “father� of the 1965 Brooklyn Heights Historic District designation, Otis Pratt Pearsall, reminded the Landmarks Commission of its earlier stated position that preservation applies to spaces and not just to buildings. An excerpt of his statement follows:

“Preserving the unique power of Brooklyn Heights to convey the spirit and character of Old New York was certainly a fundamental premise of its designation [as a historic distric ] and, as influences eroding that power, the Commission [has] pointed not only to outright demolition but also to alterations detrimental to the historic fabric. Needless to say, it would be difficult to imagine an alteration of historic fabric more dramatic than the excavation of this historic courtyard and its displacement by the foundations of a garage.�

“Obviously, the historic open spaces of Brooklyn Heights are just as integral to the special character we think of as sense of place as are its historic structures. They collectively contribute to what the Commission identified as the District’s collective emanation. And while ... the courtyard is prototypical to the point of individual landmark importance, it contributes to the District’s special power just as do our other historic open spaces such as Plymouth Church’s garden on Orange Street, Packer Collegiate Institute’s garden on Livingston Street, and of course the Grace Court Gardens, none of which I’d warrant would this Commission want to see developed. The lost ‘tooth’ in a row of brownstones should surely be redeveloped, but not so our historic open spaces.�

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