Over Objections, New Brooklyn Historic District Is Created

Brooklyn’s latest historic district – a cluster of 21 skyscrapers and office buildings surrounding Borough Hall downtown – was created on Tuesday over the objections of some of its landowners and inhabitants.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District despite opposition from business groups that said the designation would burden owners with new costs and regulations, and from the co-op board of the district’s only residential building, 75 Livingston Street.

Before the commission unanimously approved the designation, members acknowledged the controversy surrounding the proposed district, but said it was unwarranted. The neighborhood can flourish financially, several commissioners said, while still preserving the area’s “iconic” and “visually stunning” stone skyscrapers....