Statement of the Historic Districts Council
Designation Hearing
April 23, 2014
LU 0036-2014
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
4th POLICE PRECINCT STATION HOUSE, now 88th POLICE PRECINCT, 298 Classen Street (aka 414-420 DeKalb Avenue)
The Historic Districts Council is the advocate for New York City’s designated historic districts, landmarks and buildings meriting preservation.
HDC is happy to support the landmarking of this distinctive building. The former 4th Police Precinct Station House is an example of one of those buildings that one assumes is a landmark. Situated on a prominent corner in the Clinton Hill neighborhood, the grand Romanesque Revival style building of red brick is a striking sight. Not only was it designed to be “palatial” (as the Brooklyn Eagle described it), the precinct was designed to improve working conditions of the police force as it grew to keep up with the area’s growing population. The building survived a 1953 Title 1 slum clearance plan for the area, and landmark designation will ensure the building’s continued existence.