By Katy Gagnon
Homeowners, community members and City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) were divided over the fate of 21 historic structures in Douglaston Tuesday as they testified before the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The 21 buildings — which include 17 private homes along Willow and Cherry streets and Douglaston Parkway, the Manor Apartments, a co-op building, The Community Church of Douglaston and PS 98 on 235th Street — are under consideration to be landmarked and included as an extension of the Douglaston Historical District.
During the public hearing, at the Municipal Building on Centre Street in Manhattan, LPC members listened as 30 people testified on whether the buildings should be landmarked.
The purpose of the hearing was so that the commission could learn how the community felt about the proposal, said Lisi de Bourbon, the LPC spokeswoman. A final decision was not made.
The testimony came from eight homeowners who live in the proposed area and oppose the landmarking, one homeowner who supports the proposal, representatives from various historic and civic groups and Avella, who testified in support of the landmarking.
"It preserves suburban life in New York City and if you didn't have this type of protection, it would just disappear from city life," Avella said in an interview.
Avella contends that the landmarking will preserve the neighborhood, maintain property values and protect the area from "obnoxious developers."
Meanwhile, Community Board 11 decided to not support the landmarking in a 14-24 vote last month.
Members of CB 11, which covers Bayside, Little Neck, Auburndale and Douglaston, listened to impassioned pleas from Douglaston homeowners who supported and opposed the landmarking.
"They're trying to shove this down our throats," Franklin White, a resident of the proposed area, told the CB 11 meeting in May.
At the meeting, White presented a petition to board members that included the names of 13 homeowners who lived in the proposed area and opposed the landmarking.
Kevin Wolfe, a Little Neck Douglaston Historical Society co-founder, testified at the LPC hearing. Wolfe, who supports the landmarking, said he thought the hearing went "very well."
In his testimony, Wolfe talked about his personal experience living in the neighborhood. "These streets are like no other place in New York City," he has said.
Reach reporter Katy Gagnon by e-mail at kgagnon@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 174.
