OUTSTANDING RESTORATION PROJECTS IN BROOKLYN TO RECEIVE NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY'S 2016 LUCY G. MOSES AWARDS

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced the winners of the 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards. Coignet Stone Company Building, Floyd Bennett Field Hangars 1 & 2, Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters and the Piros Residence in Brooklyn are among the projects that will be recognized at the April 28, 2016 Ceremony at The Riverside Church in Manhattan.

The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards are the Conservancy’s highest honors for excellence in preservation. The coveted awards are named for Lucy G. Moses, a dedicated New Yorker whose generosity benefited the City for more than 50 years. The Awards have recognized over 265 individuals, organizations, and building owners for their extraordinary contributions to the City. The Conservancy is grateful for the generous support of the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, which makes the Awards possible.

“The Lucy G. Moses Awards celebrate exceptional preservation projects and people. This year’s projects range from the iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral -- to the unusual -- the Central Park Obelisk. Our Preservation Leadership Award honors one of the icons of the preservation movement, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, who spearheaded citywide celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the City’s Landmarks Law,” said Peg Breen, President of The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

Coignet Stone Company Building

A 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award honors the Coignet Stone Company Building, located at 360 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. For decades, the vacant building stood alone, and its long journey to restoration is now complete.

A pioneering example of concrete construction, the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company Building was designed by William Field and Son in 1872. The building was conceived to showcase Coignet-Beton, a concrete which Francois Coignet patented in France during the 1850s. The Coignet Building may be the earliest cast stone or even concrete building in the country.

The Coignet Company filed for bankruptcy, and a successor closed in 1882. Until 1957, the building housed the offices of Edwin Clark Litchfield’s Brooklyn Improvement Company, which owned the site and had played a central role in the borough’s 19th century development. As the property changed hands, the facades were hidden beneath accretions of faux brick, paint, and cementitious repairs.

The adjacent empty lot was sold to Whole Foods for a new store in 2005, with the condition that the company would undertake the building’s restoration. Despite this agreement, it continued to deteriorate. The Landmarks Commission, which had designated it as an individual landmark in 2006, ensured that Whole Foods kept its promise.

The Coignet-Beton on the building may be the only surviving example of the use of European Portland cement in the United States. Work began with removal of cementitious paint, followed by repair of the stone blocks instead of replacement, wherever possible. A limewash coating now protects the historic masonry and blends the old unsympathetic repairs into the original work. In 2015, scaffolding came down to reveal a gleaming white structure which evokes Brooklyn’s industrial past.

Floyd Bennett Field, Hangars 1 & 2

Floyd Bennett Field, Hangars 1 & 2, located at 50 Aviation Road, will be honored with a 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award. In the Gateway National Recreation Area, these hangars are part of historic Hangar Row, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Row consists of eight Art Deco hangars constructed in 1931. Under National Park Service (NPS) control since 1972, the hangars had been mostly vacant, until an innovative partnership found a new use for the space and reclaimed the historic architecture.

Through a public environmental review process, the hangars were identified as a potential site for energy services equipment, but they required a major investment. The Department of the Interior, through the NPS, agreed to lease the hangars provided that rehabilitation was performed in strict accordance with preservation standards.

NPS architects were involved throughout the process to ensure that construction for the new use also retained the historic design intent. The buildings now hold a very complex and highly engineered facility, yet care was taken to limit removal of historic fabric. The final design is almost indistinguishable from historic photographs -- even the lettered graphics on the gabled fascia ends were based on original typefaces.

The work was completed in 2015, when the hangars’ new natural gas facilities were established and the rehabilitation finalized. This project demonstrates a successful reuse, matching an industry in need of a facility and a historic structure in need of investment. Hangars 1 & 2 once again welcome the public to experience and enjoy these buildings that recall aviation history.

Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters

The restoration of 365 Jay Street, also known as the Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters, will also receive a 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award. This revived downtown Brooklyn gem demonstrates how affordable housing and preservation can work together. The 1892 Romanesque Revival building, designed by Frank Freeman, now contains 18 permanently affordable residential units and a 710-square foot community facility space, all within an evocative historic structure.

Originally the headquarters of the Fire Department of the City of Brooklyn, the building was first converted to apartments in the late 1980’s as a response to displacement of low-income tenants whose residences were affected by the MetroTech development. After years of neglect, the Pratt Area Community Council intervened on behalf of the tenants, who had been living in poor conditions in the converted firehouse for approximately 20 years. The restoration project has brought the building back to its original splendor; allowed rents to be set so that existing tenants could afford to stay in their homes; and was phased so that residents did not have to leave during the rehab.

The renovation team led by Nomad Architecture successfully maintained the visual character of the building exterior and interior, restoring many elements to its original grandeur. The severely deteriorated red sandstone arch was completely reconstructed. Turrets which once sprouted plants were restored, and topped with custom-tapered terra cotta units that match the original configuration.

At the interior, the removal of layers of paint revealed an original brick vestibule and mosaic tile floor. A decorative wrought iron elevator cage, original to the building, was inoperable. Bringing back the functionality was cost-prohibitive, but the cab was renovated and relocated from the cellar to the first floor as a conservation object. Finally, all of the building systems were upgraded or replaced.

A primary goal was to maintain affordability after construction for existing families in a rapidly gentrifying part of Brooklyn. Rents were set over 50% below market by leveraging nearly $5.6M in investment from the NYC Housing and Preservation Department; the Brooklyn Borough President; NY State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Community Preservation Corporation; Local Initiatives Support Corporation; NDC Corporate Equity Fund; and developer equity. After years of neglect and gridlock, 18 families are able to call the attractive and affordable apartments in this historic building home.

Piros Residence

The Piros Residence in Crown Heights will also be honored with a 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award. Nearly every residential restoration project comes with some unexpected moments, but the owners of this historic row house showed a remarkable commitment to their building, as the façade revealed major surprises. The residence is one of three adjoining Italianate/Neo-Grec houses built circa 1874 in the Crown Heights North Historic District. The small building had been significantly altered before the current owners purchased it.

In 2014, the current owners, Nina and Attila Piros, retained gormanschweyer architects to oversee a restoration of the façade, which they believed was originally brownstone. When the project started, the only visible original wood features were the main entrance door and surround and the cornice. A street wall survey and the unusual wooden door surround called into question the notion of a brownstone-clad façade. Historic photos showed balusters just below the parlor window. A probe at that location uncovered the balusters as well as the original wood, tongue and groove siding.

An investigation of the color determined that the earliest finish on the wood siding was actually a faux brownstone, applied in a mid-1800s technique where sand was added to paint to mimic the appearance of stone and to increase the durability of the painted surface. Though initially disappointed not to have a “brownstone,” the owners embraced the findings and agreed to have the wood-clad façade restored.

As the façade reached completion, work on the stoop revealed another surprise: it had no foundation. Further historic photo research indicated that the original stoop was most likely wood with a design that matched cast iron Italianate stoop rails of the same age. Again, the owners embraced the new findings and opted for a wood stoop replacement to match the original.

Among the thousands of Italianate/Neo-Grec style brownstones in the historic districts of Brooklyn, the Piros Residence is a unique example of a row house that was clad in wood siding to imitate stone. The restoration’s use of wood and sanded paint provides insight to a little-known chapter of 19th-century building technology. The owners are to be commended for their perseverance and willingness to accept the intrigues of their historic house.

New York Landmarks Conservancy

The 2016 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards project recipients also include: 36 Gramercy Park East, Manhattan; 369th Regiment Armory Building, Manhattan; Central Park Obelisk, Manhattan; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Manhattan; St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Manhattan; St. Paul’s Chapel and Churchyard, Manhattan; High Bridge, Bronx, and Staten Island Museum. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel will receive the Preservation Leadership Award given to an outstanding individual in the field of historic preservation, and West End Preservation Society will receive the Preservation Organization Award.

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has led the effort to preserve and protect New York City’s architectural legacy for over 40 years. Since its founding, the Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $40 million. This has leveraged more than $1 billion in some 2,000 restoration projects throughout New York, revitalizing communities, providing economic stimulus and supporting local jobs. The Conservancy has also offered countless hours of pro bono technical advice to building owners, both nonprofit organizations and individuals. The Conservancy’s work across the City and State protects New York’s distinctive architectural heritage for residents and visitors alike today, and for future generations. For more information, please visit www.nylandmarks.org.