The Landmarks Preservation Commission has decided that 158 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene does not qualify for individual landmark designation, leaving the mid-19th-century Italianate house wide open to redevelopment. Developers already have active applications to swap the butter-yellow manse for a five-story residential building, and recent site work and permit movement suggest demolition could be next on the list.
Landmarks says alterations undercut designation
In a statement to Brownstoner, a representative for the Landmarks Preservation Commission said the agency received a Request for Evaluation in January. After reviewing the request, its supporting materials and prior research, staff concluded that “while the house still has some historic fabric, alterations mean its existing architecture doesn’t meet landmark standards for individual designation.” In other words, whatever historic charm remains was not enough to clear the LPC bar.
Permits show plans for a five-story replacement
City records show that developer Shimon Kleiman filed for demolition in November, then followed up in December with a new-building application for a five-story, 17-unit structure that would include 10 off-street parking spaces, according to New York YIMBY. The filings list ND Architecture & Design as the architect and peg the proposed building at about 55 feet tall.
Site prep suggests demolition could be near
The Department of Buildings had not yet issued the demolition permit at the time of reporting, but Brownstoner noted that the permit had been approved, and that permits were issued for a green construction fence at the property. Those approvals, layered on top of the active new-building application, are the sort of dominoes preservationists often see fall right before a structure comes down.
Ownership moved into an LLC
According to city deed records, longtime owner and artist Marc E. Lambrechts transferred the parcel into an entity called 158 NY LLC, with local reporting indicating Lambrechts appears to have signed for both buyer and seller in the transaction, Brooklyn Paper reported. The house had previously appeared on an inventory for a proposed expansion of the Fort Greene historic district that never came to fruition, which left the property without landmark protection when it counted.
A fragile survivor of Fort Greene’s past
The clapboard Italianate house has been cited in architectural guides and documented in an archival tax photograph, with images and captions in public archives dating the dwelling to the mid-19th century and showing its Gothic-trimmed porch and symmetrical windows on Wikimedia Commons. Preservation advocates point out that wood-frame houses like this are increasingly rare in a neighborhood whose historic core is better known for its masonry and brownstone rows.
What’s next
Neighbors and preservationists have voiced disappointment with the LPC decision and say the transfer into an LLC, paired with the active permits, feels like a clear signal that the butter-yellow manse is on borrowed time. Unless an appeal, emergency landmarking effort or change of plans from the developer surfaces, the building’s fate appears likely to be settled in the coming weeks.
