By Howard Koplowitz
City Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said Richmond Hill deserves to be recognized as an historic district.”I think Richmond Hill has what it takes. It's rich in tradition, it's rich in history and contributes to community pride,” he said. While Addabbo acknowledges he does not know what the Landmarks Commission looks for when it considers a site for a historic designation, he said he hopes that the Richmond Hill Historical Society has enough support and is willing to write a letter of support on behalf of the effort.”It should have enough support. The community is 100 percent behind (the effort),” said City Councilman Dennis Gallagher (D-Ridgewood), who also supports the society. Ivan Mrakvocic, chairman of Community Board 9 and historical society board member, said he had never heard of any opposition to Richmond Hill being pegged a historic zone. He went on to say the wood-framed Victorian-style architecture of the houses in Richmond Hill marked the first planned garden suburb in the city, features which he said make it deserving of a landmark distinction. Among those applauding the society's effort are elected officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Borough President Helen Marshall, and Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), civic associations, and hundreds of citizens who wrote letters, according to Gallagher.Gallagher called the members of the Landmarks Commission “a bunch of Manhattan-centrics” who have no interest in Queens. “I doubt many have ever stepped in Queens County. They believe everything lives and dies in Manhattan,” he said, suggesting that the only times the members pass through Queens is “to go to the Hamptons” or to one of the borough's airports “to go on vacation.” In addition, Gallaher suggested that LPC Commissioner Robert Tierney eliminate members of the commission who do not care about the outer boroughs.Mrakvocic said if the commission were decentralized with each borough having its own landmarks division, the process of getting an area landmarked would be more efficient.The first time the society applied to create a historic district in Richmond Hill, the Landmarks Commission determined that the area proposed by the society was too large. Upon the commission's recommendation, the site was reduced from Forest Park down to Liberty Avenue to only including portions of downtown Richmond Hill and its thoroughfares. Despite the action taken by the historical society, the commission struck down the proposal a second time without giving a reason to the community or society President Nancy Cataldi, according to Gallagher. Mrakvocic characterized the result as “inaction” rather than a decision.After the Landmarks Commission rejected the society's request, the commission sent representatives to take pictures of houses in the area, but Gallagher said they took pictures of the wrong area and did not come back to view the correct houses.
