HDC Testimony on 799 Carroll Street
Located within the Park Slope Historic District:
This 20th-century alteration by a well-known architect deserves the same protection the Commission regularly gives to similar historic alterations. There is no documentation (at least none provided) regarding the building’s appearance before the 1918 alterations took place, and it was not built as part of the row that neighbors it. The proposed dentilated cornice feels fussy and out of synch compared to the rest of the façade. The change in the division of the Palladian window cuts it in half, changing its proportions. Finally, no material samples were provided for either the cornice or the windows, an important consideration for any proposed work. We are lucky that 799 Carroll Street has retained Brooklyn architect George Chappell’s coherent design for a neo-Federal façade ninety years later – there is no need or reason to fuss with it. HDC urges the commission to reject this application.