‘Half A Loaf’ says Historic District Council, referring to first landmark in Dyker Heights
1899 orphanage designation falls short
The 12th Avenue buildings of the Angel Guardian Home were designated this week, while the equally exquisite Mercy Building on 63rd Street was left out of the landmark site. The developer has publicly stated that this building will soon be demolished, and adaptive reuse is not on the table, which is unfortunate.
HDC thanks the Landmarks Preservation Commission for all of their hard work in navigating a difficult transaction and brokering a deal with the new owner(s) to preserve the buildings on 12th Avenue, but HDC does not waver from our position that the ill-fated Mercy Building is as architecturally significant and shares an identical history with the “main” buildings that were protected. This view was also shared by several Commissioners during the public meeting on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
Commissioner Bland explained that he made a special site visit and was “…surprised by the beauty of the Mercy Building and the fact that [he] thought it could be adaptively reused.”
Commissioner Gustafsson also visited the site and remarked, “…to the layman and to myself included, [the Mercy Building] seemed worthy, so maybe we need to actually say that on the record.”