Join MARP and Open House New York (OHNY) for a Fall walking tour of Wallabout! Two tours are being offered on Sunday, October 16th at 10am and 2pm. Space is limited, so hurry to OHNY's website and reserve a space.

The tour will begin at the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Ft. Greene Park, continue through the new Wallabout Historic District, pass the Navy Yard and industrial Wallabout area, and end at Walt Whitman’s only remaining home in Brooklyn.

The 1.5 mile tour will begin in Ft. Greene Park and last approximately 2 hours.

The New York City Council voted unanimously last week to designate the Wallabout Historic District. This final approval ends the designation process for the city’s district, which started in July with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approval. Moving forward, most exterior work undertaken on the district’s 55 properties along Vanderbilt Ave, between Park and Myrtle Avenues, will need to gain approval from the LPC before beginning their work. This approval process will help ensure the district’s historic homes are well preserved for their next 150 years.

The city’s Wallabout Historic District is a small portion of the State and National Register district created last March. This larger district provides property owners with financial incentives when undertaking rehabilitation work on their property, such as state and federal tax credits.

Congratulations to all the Wallabout residents and property owners who MARP worked with over the past few years on getting the area designated!

There are still a few spots available for guests to join us at the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership BID Annual Meeting, with guest speaker NY City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The meeting is on Tuesday, September 27th, from 5-7pm at SoCo, 509 Myrtle Avenue. Drinks and light appetizers will be served. The meeting is open to the public, but RSVP is required.

RSVP at www.surveymonkey.com/s/MyrtleBIDAnnualMeeting2011.

Recently, Brownstoner provided a little history of 446 Myrtle (or as it’s also known, 157 Waverly). The building, on the corner of Myrtle and Waverly, underwent a facelift back in 2006. This project, financed in part with a grant from MARP and the New York State Main Street Program, brought out a cleaner, brighter side of the historic building. The above photo shows the building as it was in 1940, and how it appeared in 2006 before and after the rehabilitation project. Learn more about the building’s history and see other historic photos here on Brownstoner.

Shalena Jewelry Store at 384 Myrtle Avenue between Clermont and Adelphi was at one point in history the site of a small picture theater.

The pic to the left is of an ad card for the movie house (circa 1908) that once was. The pic can be found in a book called 'The Show Starts on the Sidewalk: An Architectural History of the Movie Theatre, Starring S. Charles Lee' by Maggie Valentine.

A big thank you to theater historian, Cezar Del Valle, author of the Brooklyn Theatre Index Volumes I and II, who once led a walking tour of small theaters on Myrtle Avenue and who always looks out for us. He said in his email from January 2010 re the image: "Recently purchased a book on theatre architecture and reprinted was a business card for a movie house on Myrtle Ave. circa 1908. It is the only record of this theatre that I've seen. Tried checking recently at various vintage newspapers and archives. Nothing. If it had not been for this book and the authors collection, this early movie show would be totally forgotten."

The Historic Districts Council hosts "the secret lives of public places" walking tour on July 27th. The walking tour will feature three of the 'grand institutions of Clinton Hill', an opportunity to learn about their history and preservation: the Caroline Ladd Pratt House (229 Clinton), the Pratt Library (200 Willoughby) and Queen of All Saints Church (300 Vanderbilt).

Here are the tour details.

The Society for Clinton Hill's annual event, The Clinton Hill House Tour, will take place on Sunday, May 1, rain or shine. Mark your calendars for this tour which will this year feature 14 different historic and interesting homes, a over century-year old historic church and a Clinton Avenue mansion that dates back to 1869.

Pick up a Clinton Hill House Tour ticket at any of the locations listed on the flyer, including Root Stock & Quade (471 Myrtle), Pillow Cafe (505 Myrtle) and the Polish Bar of Brooklyn (470 Myrtle).

Click the link above for further details.

The NY State Office of Park, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has listed about 5 blocks of Wallabout, between Myrtle and Park, on the New York State Register of Historic Places. The nomination will now be forwarded on to Washington, D.C. to hopefully be approved as a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This recognition allows property owners in the district to qualify for tax credits and other incentives when doing historic renovations to their buildings. These listings are NOT the same as a NYC Landmark District, which comes with regulations about what you can and cannot do to your property. The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering landmarking the Vanderbilt Avenue block of Wallabout.

Check out the NY 1 video.

Want to find out more about Wallabout, some of the area just north of Myrtle Avenue? Follow architectural historian Andrew Dolkart on a walk through the historic neighborhood of Wallabout. The walking tour is part of the Historic Districts Council's 17th Annual Preservation Conference. The theme of this year's conference is 'Looking Forward, Looking Back: 40 Years of Preserving NYC Neighborhoods' and it will take place March 4-6 at St. Francis College.

The Wallabout District, amongst other things, has the largest collection of pre-Civil War houses in New York City, as well as former industrial factories, brick apartment buildings and rowhouses. It is also the location of the only one of celebrated poet Walt Whitman's former homes that still stands.

A portion of the Wallabout is currently being considered for historic district status which would help preserve its unique architectural character. Come learn more about this little-known area that remains a time capsule of diverse architecture.

The theme of this year's conference is 'Looking Forward, Looking Back: 40 Years of Preserving NYC Neighborhoods'.

For complete conference information or to sign up for Sunday's tour, click here

This summer the avenue is sprinkled with sidewalk sheds and scaffolding as merchants and property owners make repairs and improvements to their buildings. Many of these projects, ranging from commercial interior renovations to cornice reconstructions to complete façade restorations, are receiving New York Main Street grant assistance through MARP.

The New York Main Street Program (NYMS) is multi-million dollar Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) grant program administered by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to provide financial and technical resources to help New York communities with their Main Street revitalization efforts by: providing financial incentives for the rehabilitation of traditional building stock, fostering small business development, encouraging energy efficiency and addressing issues of code compliance. The NYC Department of Small Business Services has provided MARP with operating support to manage the program for the last 3 years.

Through a competitive process the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) has been awarded New York Main Street funds in three previous rounds of funding. To date, we have been awarded $500,000 and as of this summer, almost all of those funds have been committed or disbursed!

How it works on Myrtle:
Our NYMS Grants are matching, reimbursement grants available, through MARP, to property owners and merchants on Myrtle Avenue between Washington Park and Classon Avenue for façade preservation, storefront improvements and commercial interior renovations. Grant recipients employ local contractors, architects, structural engineers and preservationist (depending on the project scope) to complete the work. MARP selects and works with recipients to complete projects that:
- Respect the original design of the buildings
- Facilitate commercial activity on Myrtle Avenue
- Ensure long-term benefits to the improved buildings
- Correct immediate health and safety concerns and code violations
- Positively impact the Myrtle Avenue corridor.

Next time you’re taking a stroll down Myrtle, stop by some of the properties recently completed / under construction!

334 (between Washington Park and Carlton) – Last year the property owner updated the building the houses Farmer, and this summer, he is doing the same for the building next door. In the scope of work: upper cornice improvements, cleaning and repointing of brick, sills and lintels, interior open grid gates and a reconstructed lower cornice and storefront.

366 – Scaffolding should go up any day now! The property owner has planned construction to repair the upper cornice, waterproofing and sills and lintels on the upper façade. Currently, the new tenant, Brooklyn Stone Boutique, is hard at work in the commercial space preparing to open her women’s clothing and jewelry boutique.

459 /461 (corner of Washington and Myrtle) – The owners of Five Spot went big – undertaking major work on both building facades and the storefront, with technical assistance and a loan from the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Historic Properties Fund. Their scope included new brownstone, cornice repairs, cleaning and repainting the Washington façade, removing exterior gates and installing a new, iron, accordion-style storefront with a corner entrance.

456 – 460 (between Waverly and Washington) – When you’re at Anima or Joseph Tyler Salon, look up to check out the newly repaired upper cornices!

561 (between Emerson and Classon) - Behind the construction fence, the Emerson (a new bar opening in mid to late September) is taking shape. The business owners are busy constructing the detailed interior and beautiful storefront for their new bar and neighborhood hang-out.

Stay tuned for more projects, beginning work any day now!