City Has A Long History Of Messing Up Our Neighborhood's Stanchions

A postcard shows the stanchions that were just torn down as they appeared in 1909. Image courtesy Donald Loggins

More than a century has passed, but our neighbors living in the area in 1910 appeared to be just as angry at the city as community members are now, following the DOT’s destruction of two historic stanchions at Foster Avenue and Westminster Road.

Thanks to neighbor Donald Loggins, we discovered this Brooklyn Daily article (go to page six) from July 31, 1910, which details how outraged residents were after the city turned down their request for ornamental lights on the brick columns that were erected the year before, in 1909 — something which apparently had been essentially promised to them.

“While Deputy Commissioner Cozier of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity has the utmost confidence in the judgement of his superintendent of light and power, this confidence is not shared by the members of the Fiske Terrace and Midwood Park Property Owners associations and their families, who live in the section of Flatbush bounded by Ocean Avenue and the Brighton Beach Railroad on the east and west, and Foster Avenue and the cut of the Long Island Railroad on the north and south,” the article states.

“It is even safe to say that the several hundred residents thus described have an exceedingly poor opinion of Superintendent Lacombe’s judgement, for the reason that he has turned down their cherished plan of having the city light the handsome, ornamental columns that two associations have erected on the street corners bounding the section and at an expense of nearly, if not quite, $2,000,” the piece continues.

The DOT knocked down two historical stanchions at Foster & Westminster last week.

Saying the building of the ornamental columns “was the final effort of the two associations to beautify and dignify the neighborhood,” the article goes on to say that, “just how the associations came to take up the ornamental street corner column project is interesting.”

Apparently, neighbors were then distressed about encroaching development, and numerous concerns were voiced over apartment houses being built in the area, including at the corner of Foster Avenue and E. 17th Street, where “a block of stores with apartment houses were also put up.”

“This decided the people just to the south that a line of demarkation should be made along Foster Avenue as a sort of notice to everybody that ‘thus far and no farther’ could apartments be built,” the article said.

After deciding they wanted the stanchions, residents wasted no time raising money.

“Talk about enthusiasm!” the article exclaims. “The two associations raised nearly $2,000 in a jiffy and appointed committees to work in harmony. The two committees were made up of some of the best-known men in the section and an application was made to the Flatbush Board of Local Improvements for its consent to the scheme.”

After: No more stanchions at Westminster & Foster

The plan then went to a city body called the Municipal Art Commission, and that group’s members said they give their stamp of approval — as long as neighbors amended their plan to include “receptacles for electric lighting, with proper globes.”

However, once the columns were completely constructed, things started to go awry for neighbors — who also had guards stationed at the stanchions to announce visitors.

Neighbors got the big thumbs down from this Superintendent Lacombe, with the city saying the installation of the lighting was too expensive and wouldn’t provide enough light to be useful.

“The residents of Midwood Park and Fiske Terrace are so shocked at the turning down of their petition in view of the roseate promises (given by the commissioner) that they don’t know what next to do.”

That is much like how neighbors said they felt when they saw the DOT’s bulldozers knocking down the two stanchions that once marked the entrance to their community.

After knocking down two of the columns, inciting outrage among numerous residents and civic leaders, the DOT stopped its demolition and is working with neighbors on a plan to rebuild the stanchions — we’ll have a full report from a meeting with the DOT, Community Board 14, and West Midwood neighbors shortly.

If anyone else has stories they’d like to share about the stanchions, let us know! Comment below or email us at editor@ditmasparkcorner.com.