Any major work, inside or out, must not only receive permits from New York City but also the permission of the seller: the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Despite New York’s rich history, or perhaps because of it and the myriad preservation movements it spawned, the Ferrigno House is the first property in the five boroughs to come under the aegis of the trust.
The Ferrignos moved into the home, at 33-37 163rd Street, on the day they were married in 1955, and less than a decade later founded the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association. It was created to protect the neighborhood’s character on the eve of the World’s Fair, when that familiar New York anxiety set in: a tourist invasion. Even today, homes must follow the Rickert-Finlay covenants, laid down by the original developer, that limits what can be done to a property, including prohibitions on fences and flat roofs.
The Ferrignos doted on the neighbors, and really their homes, as if they were the children they never had. “Nick was the nicest guy, but he had no reservations about approaching someone in their yard and telling them the dos and don’ts of the covenant,” said Robert Hanophy Jr., the current president of the homeowners association who lives two doors down.
Mr. Ferrigno died five years ago, and his wife three years later. Before they died, they got Broadway-Flushing added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, which provides recognition but not protection for the area. With no one to inherit the house, and more crucially to protect it, the couple donated it to the trust in 2007. They were especially worried about it being torn down for a modern McMansion, an increasingly common problem in the neighborhood.
“They wanted to lead by example,” Sandi Viviani, a friend and past president of the homeowners association, said.
The Ferrigno House came on the market in March for $849,000 with Amorelli Realty, based in Astoria. That puts it below the neighborhood average of $1.25 million for a single-family house, according to StreetEasy.com. But it could also be a lot to ask for a property with many restrictions on it that simultaneously needs a thorough renovation.
58 comments:
Good planning. Good foresight by the Ferignos.
Too bad they don't have this rule in south QUeens. Where the bulk of these tacky eyesores have proliferated.
These are saintly souls! G-d bless you always!
The Ferrignos lived and taught by example.
What have you taught us Councilman Vallone?
Are you up for supporting a municipal historic district for Broadway?
Don't you live here too and maybe would like to see our great neighborhood remain a great one for all of us to enjoy?
Or, will you continue to keep your head in the sand, at the constant beck and call of clubhouse political leaders?
See, I sign my name to my posts. Political "powerhouses" don't frighten me.
Step up to the plate, councilman, and hit a " homer" for Broadway instead of hiding in the dugout.
Oops, look for M.B. to come to Vallone's defense.
Veto will , no doubt, be defending his boss too.
Open your eyes, girls.
It's time for those church ladies to toughen up on Vallone.
Stop buying his horse shit! It ain't chocolate!
Landmark Briadway!
Those stupid bronze pride plaques will not protect this fine neighborhood from tear downs.
Only an LPC plaque can do that.
What happens if it burns down,it happens when greedy contractors need to get around rules.
Step one first...a landmark district! Unfortunately Vallone is one of those bums. He will milk a nabe and when it is dry move on. That is what his family did to Astoria.
"That is what his family did to Astoria."
The real estate firm that is handling the sale of the house is located in Astoria.
So more Astorians will be flocking to the neighborhood.
The alternative is listing with a local agent and getting more Asians who might ignore the rules and covenant.
Am I the only one who hasn't lost his mind? I've been a proud homeowner in North Flushing for nearly 50 years and treasure this gem of a neighborhood. While I am fiercely dedicated to making sure the ZONING rules do not change, this land-marking bit is a whole other animal. Who in his right mind would buy this house as is? Not being able to add a bathroom or knock down a wall or two is unrealistic. If these people were so interested in preserving the architectural integrity (not really sure there is anything distinct about this home to be honest) of their home, why did they allow that atrocious screen door? This article makes the BFHA seem like a bunch of nutjobs.
Where the firm is located doesn't mean squat. Whoever buys the house will have to comply with the restrictions. If a Martian should wish to make it his home....so be it. Even that kind of alien can't fuck with its status.
If a home burns down it must be replaced with one that compliments the historic district. Capeesh, goombah?
Geez, pull your head out of your duffle bag and get educated. You'd make a great door mat for Vallone to wipe his feet on.
Watch it fella. Vallone is a CG. Vendetta time.
Astorian Greeks started flocking to the nabe over thirty years ago. What planet do you hail from?
Stop blaming only the Asians for bad taste. Italians preceded them. They both hate trees. Greeks are similar. Did I leave anyone out?
BFHA has made sure that nobody ignores its covenants. They have won EVERY case that they brought to court.
It's garden judging time in Briadway. Let's hope those homes that win an award are still standing by the time the awards are presented.
Isn't it high time that BFHA had its own 501C3 status?
There is grant money to be had to spruce up 164th Street.
When you leave the LIRR Broadway station you get a view of a run down dumpy looking street.
This is the entrance into the nabe. Show some pride.
Plant trees and set up some signage that welcomes you to Broadway, a national historic district.
It's too bad these kind of suggestions are not made at BFHA meetings.
They appear here because at meetings they often fall upon deaf ears. If you feel insulted, members, do something about it.
Uh, Don Vallone, could you please get some beautification funds for 164th Street?
How about naming 163rd Street "Ferrigno Place" ?
That's in your power and will take the curse off your image.
C'mon, it's good politics.
Hail, hail, Vallonia.
Am I the only one who hasn't lost his mind? I've been a proud homeowner in North Flushing for nearly 50 years and treasure this gem of a neighborhood. While I am fiercely dedicated to making sure the ZONING rules do not change, this land-marking bit is a whole other animal. Who in his right mind would buy this house as is? Not being able to add a bathroom or knock down a wall or two is unrealistic. If these people were so interested in preserving the architectural integrity (not really sure there is anything distinct about this home to be honest) of their home, why did they allow that atrocious screen door? This article makes the BFHA seem like a bunch of nutjobs.
The "nutjobs" that you're talking about make up over 80% of the property owners of Broadway-Flushing - not just the membership of Broadway-Flushing. That's how a neighborhood gets landmarked - there is actually a vote of all property owners affected. I'm sorry if you're one of those opposed, but that's what a democratic society is supposed to be all about. In this case, the vast majority of the homeowners want to stop the indiscriminate destruction of their beautiful neighborhood.
By the way, Broadway-Flushing has the tightest zoning restrictions in the city - R1-2A and R2A - as well as the Rickert-Finlay covenants, which they have constantly gone to court to uphold.
All of this has slowed the erosion of Broadway-Flushing. And yet, it's clearly not enough, looking at the demolitions and alterations that are starting to pop up all over the place.
There is overwhelming support for a New York City Historic District, which is why there is already a National Register Historic District, adopted in 2005.
City landmark status only regulates the exterior of the building and they certainly allow additions to existing houses as well as other design elements.
The Ferrignos took it to another level by gifting it to the National Trust, partially out of their great concern that their house would be torn down by a developer after they passed (it is located on an 80' x 100' lot which could normally be split into two properties).
While I commented in the article that I thought it was a bit extreme to not allow a full bathroom on the 2nd floor, that is not what would happen in a NYC landmark district.
All you have to do is ask the people who live in landmarked since 1997 Douglas Manor neighborhood - the sister community to Broadway-Flushing, by the way - whether they have been able to expand their houses *tastefully*, build new houses that fit into the neighborhood and stopped the inappropriate demolitions and new construction that was happening prior to designation - and that is starting to happen in Broadway-Flushing.
The answer is a resounding "yes" - and shows in the incredible demand to live in that neighborhood. It's why it has to happen to Broadway-Flushing, before this neighborhood is turned into just another place filled with McMansions.
Paul Graziano
Learn about the municipal landmarks law before you open your mouth to gather more flies.
# 1.
What residents of Broadway are seeking is EXTERIOR designation, not interior. You can do whatever you want inside your home provided it meets with DOB requirements.
#2.
YOU CAN alter the exterior within reason, if it doesn't mean butchering its historic character totally.
The LPC routinely approves exterior alterations.
#3.
You will be rewarded if you go along with the majority of your neighbors who have already demonstrated their support for a municipal historic district by having the only protection that guarantees the destruction of the wonderful character of Broadway that you and I are both proud of.
#4.
Our homes, most likely are our biggest investment. The best way to protect the quality that makes Broadway one of the most desirable neighborhoods in New York is to preserve the character of our housing stock.
#5.
True, we have the best zoning around, equal to Riverdale. What protects Riverdale is their historic district status. Long term quality and stability is what they have because of their landmark status.
#6.
Giving up a little seems to get us quite a lot.
Landmark status is not government control of our lives. We get architectural oversight from the LPC, the kind that we would pay thousands of dollars for if we each hired our own architects.
#7....the last.
I too have lived here since 1978, and in Queens since 1955. I have always wanted to live in Broadway since I was about 18 years old because of its great character, compared to the block of cookie cutter ranch house that my family lived in. I have also watched Malba destroyed by tasteless, over expensive , over built crap.Broadway WILL become Malba or Little Neck Hills soon without historic district status.
Join your neighbors' desire for landmarking instead of being an uninformed sorehead. Remember, your neighborhood is dispensable without this protective measure. Think about it some more.
Is that goof ball still Watch-ing us? E.K. Is that you?
With regard to Paul Graziano's excellent response:
I voted for you. I admire you and what you are doing for our neighborhood. I need you to define "tasteful" for me, though. Who gets to decide what "tasteful" is? And could people who could afford this neighborhood afford the "tasteful" to which you refer? If a person buys a home in Broadway-Flushing and wants to make some renovations to his/her home, who gets to dictate what those renovations can be? Clearly there needs to be strict adherence to dimensions that are proportionate to the lot etc, but I'm not sure I like the idea that as a homeowner I would be told exactly what types of windows or doors or paint colors I can use. Not for me. I find it funny and hypocritical that quite a few of the loudest voices in the BFHA own houses that have been modified or completely reconstructed.
And what's with that awful screen door on the Ferringo home? People who are that passionate about preservation and architectural integrity would not have that screen-door on their pride and joy. Just saying.
Has Paul Vallone had an official response with regard to the recent tear downs? Has anyone actually asked him outright what he is doing? Can we organize a protest at his office? Jerry Rotundi, I so respect you for signing your name. We still have kids to raise and are actively avoiding making any new enemies in this neighborhood: Have you personally asked this man what the heck he is thinking?
No, Mr. Supreme Nut Job....
a site or district gets designated by the LPC due to its worthiness.
There is NOTHING in the landmarks law that requires the approval of the owner. AND that has been upheld in the SUpreme Court of the United States of America on numerous occasions.
You sound like your anarchistic views are out of touch with the cooperative spirit that your neighbors exhibit.
Are you a lone wolf to me. 80% of Broadway is NOT against designation as I remember. Dare I call you a liar?
Watch your blood pressure. Calm down and read up on the law.
The Ferrignos put their home under the protection of the National Trust in a most restrictive manner. Bless them. That was their personal legacy to the Broadway that they loved and BFHA that they founded.
I would not have chosen that for my home.
DO NOT consider this to be the same as municipal historic district status.
However, I do choose municipal landmark designation for my home.
Having LPC designation protects it without over restricting my ability to add or change things. My home is not like a fly in Amber . It will be able to be altered without destroying its essential character.
No....I do not think that what the Ferrignos did makes BFHA a laughing stock.
The value and protection that a historic landmark district can offer Broadway is worth the minor inconvenience of LPC oversight.
Oops....typo...#3
I meant..."guarantees against the destruction".
It's spelled ROTONDI....not that I really care that much, but it was my father's name and has suffered through misspelling. I'm a stickler for detail.
Then it is your gift to your children to continue to have them live in a fine neighborhood.
Unfortunately, LPC historic district status is the only way us neighbors can prevent the ruin of Broadway in our's and their lifetime.
We all must make sacrifices for our children.
My respect to differing opinions, of course.
Ask Paul Vallone what he is thinking?
That would be a very big waste of time. Most politicians will never level with you on any subject. Job# 1 is them getting re-elected.
A persistent Pollyanna approach WILL NO longer work for Broadway. I think we all agree that our neighborhood is under siege and that we should be taking any actions that are necessary to preserve it.
I have NEVER sought to make an enemy of anyone, but I WILL call out a liar in any room I walk into. Vallone HAS NOT delivered on much that I can see. Is he a liar? I'll tell you when he tries lying to my face?
He is extremely evasive, though.
If you think my frankness is too destructive to BFHA, I will reluctantly cease to be a member.
However, that seems impossible since my wife is a member. I can request that BFHA membership be limited to her name only and I can bow out of attending meetings if that makes things more comfortable.
I WILL NOT be muzzled from making truthful statements.
Please let us stop being afraid of our elected officials. We elected them to do our work. We are not their employees. We are their employers. A good employer employee relationship is most beneficial, I must confess. I leave that up to the rest of you.
Now my question to Councilman Vallone is (I know he follows Queens Crap) DO YOU SUPPORT LPC HISTORIC DISTRICT STATUS?
Yes or no? No fudging allowed. No ifs, ands or buts!
As a long time preservationist I was shocked to read this from Councilman Vallone's March 3, 2015 letter to the NYC Lananmarks Preservation Commission, reaffirming his opposition to the calendared expansion of the
Douglaston Historic District.
This has been calendared for a hearing at the LPC since 2008. Vallone now wants the status as being calendared removed.
"....landmark status imposes undue restrictions on the rights of homeowners to renovate, modify, or even sell their properties as they wish...".
I do not need to know anything further on Councilman Vallone's views on landmarking. His quoted statement above, is an out and out lie!
Jerry, that revelation is very disturbing.
I thought that the councilman cared about the nabe we any he live in.
It looks like Vallone clearly wants no impediments to his developer clients tearing down our fine Broadway homes
and replacing them with more Queens Crap!
Bravo! Keep your "big mouth" well oiled.
Very few have the stones to tell the truth nowadays, particularly shady pols who pretend to care about their constituents.
I believe it was the first case that the LPC brought to the Supreme Court....LPC vs St. Bartholemews Church (which the LPC won)...prevented the tear down of that most important building on Park Av. .
The legality of NYC Landmarks law was thus confirmed in the highest court in the nation. It was reconfirmed several times after.
Now Vallone, a mere NYC politician, is bucking the Supreme Court's decision.
Maybe the Douglaston extension interfered with one of his clients desires to build to the max there.
I voted for you. I admire you and what you are doing for our neighborhood. I need you to define "tasteful" for me, though. Who gets to decide what "tasteful" is? And could people who could afford this neighborhood afford the "tasteful" to which you refer? If a person buys a home in Broadway-Flushing and wants to make some renovations to his/her home, who gets to dictate what those renovations can be? Clearly there needs to be strict adherence to dimensions that are proportionate to the lot etc, but I'm not sure I like the idea that as a homeowner I would be told exactly what types of windows or doors or paint colors I can use. Not for me. I find it funny and hypocritical that quite a few of the loudest voices in the BFHA own houses that have been modified or completely reconstructed.
And what's with that awful screen door on the Ferringo home? People who are that passionate about preservation and architectural integrity would not have that screen-door on their pride and joy. Just saying.
A "tasteful" renovation or addition is defined and determined by design review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Usually this review is performed at the staff level; however, some may also be commented on by the public every few weeks during Public Review sessions at the LPC.
Owners of "non-Contributing" buildings, or those with no style such as a modest 1950s ranch (and we have some of those) are allowed to tear down those houses and come up with entirely new designs, which must be approved by the LPC. Over 20% of Douglas Manor had non-contributing buildings, many of which have now been re-developed with new houses of differing quality - though all are of better design than what would have happened if there had not been a landmark district in existence.
As for your statement about windows, doors, paint color, etc., your choice is simple: either deal with some additional design review (which is almost non-existent at the Department of Buildings) for the EXTERIOR of your house, or have unbridled development tear the fabric of Broadway-Flushing apart at the seams, which is beginning to happen now in spades.
Any discussion about whether most people in Broadway-Flushing can "afford" LPC-approved renovations is moot; when individuals are purchasing houses in Broadway-Flushing for between $1 and $2 million and then TEARING THEM DOWN ENTIRELY OR TO THE STUDS, spending another $500,000 to $1 million or more for new construction, the cost of any renovations that the LPC would approve to an existing house pale in comparison.
Paul Graziano
Oops...my IPad goofed again. Meant Landmarks, not Lanamarks ...and Vallone, not Vallone's. I stand corrected.
Well said Paul Graziano.
Nobody moves to Broadway because they are cheap with their money.
Once again....I really do not enjoy tearing down Paul Vallone. I am sure he is a loving husband and a great father. HOWEVER....that IS NOT what he was hired (elected...same thing) to do.
He turned out to be a turn coat...and is betraying his constituents. Keep that in mind when he seeks re-election.
His prior commitment to his developer clients supersede his commitment to representing his constituents.
You will no longer get away with speaking with a forked tongue, councilman. You either are for us or against us.
Your crafty words will not soothe us. Only real action will suffice.
So far there is none. Check out his campaign contributions online. He is heavily supposed by developers but denies being a lobbyist for them. Uh...that too is a fib.
Bottom line......witness how the Vallone's destroyed Astoria. I would love to be the priest that hears his confession at St. Andrews. Mamma Mia!
"Bless me Father for I have sinned. I lied, I lied, I lied".
Let's see if Vallone has the nerve to show up at the next BFHA meeting to boast about all the great things he's done for us. Nah, he'll send Vito in his place. Il cappo di tutti cappi has a prior commitment .
Pete "junior" Vallone, at least, has the balls to face the music himself. Bravo, walyo!
The Vallone family ihas a long established record of being anti preservation. They let the Steinway Mansion in Astoria go to hell. A word of advice to my eastern neighbors....sleep with one eye opened to avoid being backstabbed in the night. Better yet, don't fall asleep!
Maybe " the president" sides with Vallone.
Maybe we should ask those people from Douglaston to speak to us about how Vallone screwed them at the next Broadway Flushing Homeowners Association meeting.
Let's stop talking to ourselves and listening to others who are in the same boat as us.
"M" must be having a cow by now!
Wah, wah! Why can't we all get along.
Let's not make enemies of each other and hug as good friends should. LOL! Too late for that. Been there. Done that. It has not worked. Now it's time for the sweat hogs to do some heavy lifting!
Take a page from Malcolm X's playbook. "by whatever means necessary ".
Or, if you prefer, Teddy Roosevelt, "Speak softly but carry a big stick".
Your nabe is about to fade. Action required, soon!
Another Roosevelt, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"!
" Give me some men who are stout hearted men who will fight for the rights they adore"! John Phillip Sousa.
Get my drift?
Most of you seem to have your hearts in the right places, but as an Asian American I have to tell you I am sickened by the racism I encounter on these boards. I have lived in this area for 36 years and have a beautiful home that I care for as well as I can. Some of you go on and on about "serving tea" to the "conquerors" and purporting to be rule abiding BFHs who care about your properties and are the first to scream about violations. Yet how many of you have full marble kitchens and bathrooms in your basements and oversize pools and pizza ovens that billow smoke into your neighbors backyards? You complain about minorities picnicking and leaving trash in your park and yet the bocce ball crew smokes and spits and gambles and some of them live in the nicest homes in the area. Many of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Who is "M"?
Who is "M". Go figure it out.
I have encountered racism on a few of the boards I have served on in the past. It was not prevalent. I have not witnessed racist behavior ever being a problem with BFHA. This is a hard working organization and my wife is a board member, though I am not. Fairness and neighborliness has always been our hallmark.
I too am proud of where I live. Being an Italian-American I have to agree with some of your comments about "my people" complaining about violations, etc. while THEY themselves.....some, not all....turn out to be the violators.
The great pleasure of living in New York is its diversity. I would fall asleep in a homogeneous boring town.
I do not care to single out any particular nationality for being the egregious offenders. All can be found guilty of bad behavior. We live in a shared community. This is what enriches our lives.
I care ONLY for the continued beauty of our neighborhood for ALL to enjoy.
I do believe the creation of a municipal historic district is the best way to go to ensure our fine area remains so. The LPC does not regulate what goes on in the interior privacy of our homes.
While you're trying to figure our who "M" is...."B.H." Doesn't believe in landmarking.
Neither does Jack Eichenbaum, the official...GAG!....Queens borough historian.
Mr. Eichenbaum was chosen because he would not be a stick in the eye of developers....the same ones that put Melinda Katz in office....and the beeps before her.
Now, Malba, truly is one of the "Whitest" nabes in NYC.
Heavily Italian and Greek. Are they anti Asian? Could be.
How many Asians live (or are allowed to live ) there?
Historically this was a mob territory in the 1950s.
Some say Luchese dons made it their home.
Enjoy this bit of history mystery.
Want an example of anti Asian bias?
The old Stavisky-Hillman camp is credited with the following. I was there.
"We don't know if we can stop it, but we will try to keep it from spreading". We're they just talking about overdevelopment?
Who is "it" or they? These pol's were talking about downtown Flushing.
Does that shock you to know that pol's might be racists?
Another gem. "Thank God for the Asians. We don't want Flushing to become like south Jamaica (or the south Bronx)".
Anti Asia and anti people of color slurs from the lips of your representatives?
Don't be so naive.
Did Paul Vallone run a a platform of being the "great White hope"?
Some claimed to have heard such pronouncements.
I'd like to believe that stuff was exaggerated gossip.
How do you preserve the fabric of history without landmarking. Grand Central was almost lost. Penn Station was. Dr. Jack Eichenbaum needs to be replaced. He's losing it anyway. But he doesn't make any noise so borough hall likes him.
Maybe it's the nouveau riche peasants that are ruining the fine homes of Broadway, Malba, Beecurst, Little Neck, Cord Meyer Forest Hills, etc. A peasant's mentality cannot be erased with the acquisition of wealth. Uneducated bad breeding breeds what we all call bad taste.
Does anyone care who was responsible for the "bubble gum house" or " Big Pink" near Bowne Park.
Chinese, Italian, Greek, etc.owned.. It's an eyesore and the joke of the area.
Why is it that there is always someone ready to pull the race card out of the deck when the issue is neighborhood preservation? "Anti Asian" seems to be always plugged into any issue that has nothing to do with anti anybody if the scene is being played out in Flushing.
Honestly....that Asian American who just posted did not sign their name. Maybe it's one of Vallone's phantom operatives using a bogus "anti Asian" accusation to muddy the waters.
If the waters get muddied with false claims, maybe voters will be distracted from seeing the real bottom of the stream. That clear bottom once the mud has settled will reveal Paul Vallone as being anti neighborhood preservation.
He is loyal to his paid up client list. That phoney-Valloney is a paid real estate industry lobbyist.
Hey, anonymous Asian America (lady?) , why not sign your name to your accusatory post? Then it can be determined if you are a real property owner in Broadway or just a phantom poster.....possibly a Vallone supporter too.
When it comes to politics, anything is within the realm of possibility.
Asian American anonymous poster:
In general, people are elected to the boards of organizations who have shown that they have been active in the organization's activities.
It is very easy to criticize anonymously online.
Have you been active in Broadway Flushing?
If you have I would welcome you on the board if I had the power. If you are just an armchair accuser, have another cup of coffee.
I deliberately did not say "tea", lest I be accused of being anti Asin. From what I've noticed, BTW, there are more young Asians sipping coffee at Starbucks than consuming tea.
Maybe you are a little out of touch with the modern world.
Just like YOU signed your name "calling your bluff"? Give me a break. Other than Mr. Rotondi and Mr. Graziano, I don't see many people signing their names here.
Post a Comment