A high-end renovation plan for Brooklyn transplant and NYC Democratic Socialists of America leader Gustavo Gordillo has drawn sharp criticism in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Brooklyn Community Board 3 opposed the proposed overhaul of the $1.5 million home Gordillo’s parents purchased for him, but the project ultimately received approval despite the local pushback.
Board members argued that the planned changes were “not in alignment” with the character of the historically Black neighborhood, an area that has seen a wave of gentrification and an influx of left-leaning newcomers.
At a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing, one commissioner questioned whether the redesigned property would resemble a “Hampton’s beach house” more than a traditional Bedford-Stuyvesant row house.
Other LPC commissioners also criticized elements of the major renovation proposed by Gordillo, 38, a Yale graduate from South Florida who previously worked as an electrician before becoming a full-time co-chair of the New York City chapter of the DSA.
“The proposed building alteration will significantly impact the district’s form and character and is not in alignment with the nearby row houses. Therefore, Brooklyn Community Board 3 resolves to not support the proposed extension to the existing building,” Evelyn Collier, chair of Board 3’s landmarks committee, said during an April 25, 2023, LPC hearing.
Collier has been an advocate for preserving Bed-Stuy’s historic district.
In her testimony, she said the proposed “window and door sizes” for Gordillo’s Decatur Street row house “are too large and do not relate to the adjacent buildings.”
Commissioner Everado Johnson criticized the “thinness” of the front facade “that won’t fit in with the rest of the block.”
“It’s going to feel like it’s a beach house in the Hamptons in the 1960s and 1970s,” Johnson said.
Commissioners spoke highly of the rooftop renovations but questioned whether other aspects of the “modern interpretation” of the historic row house worked.
Since a vote was not taken following that hearing, the commissioners asked Gordillo’s architects to come up with revisions before submitting a final design for a vote.
The LPC later approved the Gordillo permit in August 2023 for a huge overhaul of the $1.4 million row house.
But the approval of the permit came with conditions — including that the windows be made smaller, that the cornice be changed.
The board also told the architects to study ways to provide irrigation and drainage for the proposed planters and also take another look at the columns on the board and fascia board under the roof.
“Please note that all drawings, including amendments which are to be filed at the Department of Buildings, must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.”
The city Buildings Department issued a stop work order on Gordillo’s alterations last week for not getting proper permits for interior and facade work.
