Gioia leads Tierney around Sunnyside

Recently, Councilman Eric Gioia and the Landmarks Preserv- ation Comm- ission (LPC) led a tour of the proposed Sunnyside Gardens Historic District for City Council members who sit on the Council’s Landmarks Subcommittee.

Councilmembers from across the City, including Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan), Chair of the Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses Subcommittee, and Melinda Katz (D-Queens), Chair of the Land Use Committee, walked the streets of Sunnyside to observe the neighborhood firsthand. The Landmarks Subcommittee will hold a hearing on landmarking Sunnyside Gardens on October 9 at 11am at City Hall. The hearing marks the beginning of the final phase of the landmark designation process and will be followed by a vote by both the Landmarks Subcommittee and the Land Use Committee
and, finally, by the entire City Council. Members of the community are invited to attend the hearing, where they will have the opportunity to offer testimony.

“Sunnyside Gardens means a lot to me,” Gioia said. “It’s a neighborhood I know and love well, and it’s where I’ve chosen to live with my family and raise my daughter. At the hearing, I will speak in favor of landmark designation, as I believe that landmarking represents the best way to preserve the unique and special character of the Gardens.

I urge all of my neighbors, whatever their point of view, to join me at City Hall on the morning of the 9th to have their opinions heard as well.”

Community members who have questions about the hearing or the landmarking process can call Councilman Gioia’s office at 718.383.9566.

Earlier this year, Councilman Gioia engaged in a neighborhood wide listening tour to solicit opinions from residents regarding the proposal to landmark the Gardens.

Gioia met with residents in his office, sent letters and emails, and had his staff call through residents to solicit input. In addition, he and his staff went out into the neighborhood, knocking on doors and trying to determine what people would like to see changed and what people considered most important to preserve.

Sunnyside Gardens was built in the 1920s as a leafy, green enclave for middle class families, just 3 miles from downtown Manhattan. It was the first American adaptation of the English garden city model, with buildings covering just over a quarter of the total land area.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens on June 26. If approved by the Council, it will become Queens’ largest historic district.