The Fieldston Historic District “contains 257 houses and related structures set amidst a varied topography of winding tree-lined streets and dramatic rock outcroppings on a 140 acre development in the Riverdale section in the northwest Bronx.”¹ The plot of land on which Fieldston is today situated was purchased in 1829. In 1909 it was sold in part to Manhattan Teachers College, and the remaining land was developed as a private park devoted exclusively to country homes.² The houses in the historic district were built as part of a romantically planned suburb, developed by the Delafield Estate. The layout was finalized in 1914 by engineer Albert Wheeler based on recommendations made by Frederick Law Olmsted and James R. Croe, who surveyed the area in 1876.³ In 1928 a handbook was produced that listed approved architects for the private community.⁴ Residential styles include variants of the Colonial Revival, Craftsman, various picturesque revivals including Medieval, Tudor, and Mediterranean, as well as formal modernist houses. The district is notable for the number of houses designed by the early-20^th-century architect Dwight James Baum, himself a Fieldston resident. According to The District Master Plan, the Fieldston Historic District is “a rare, largely intact example of a romantic planned suburban community that has evolved over time.”⁵ Robert Kornfeld, who spent over twenty years helping Riverdale achieve historic designation, described Fieldston as a very beautiful neighborhood: “It’s much newer than Riverdale…but the houses are lovely,” he said.⁶ Robert B. Tierney, Chairman of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and other leading preservationists, architects, and historians have called the private enclave one of the City’s jewels and an important example of a planned suburban community in the 20^th century.⁷

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Fieldston neighborhood as an historic district in January 2006. Unlike in the Riverdale Historic District, the Landmarks Preservation Commission does not regulate mature trees in the Fieldston Historic District because of the neighborhood’s designation as a Special Natural Area, where landscape changes require review and approval by the Department of City Planning.

January 10, 2006: The Fieldston Historic District is designated a New York City Historic District by the Landmarks Preservation Commission⁸

April 11, 2006: The City Council's Land Use Committee approves designating Fieldston as an historic district despite opposition. The committee votes 18-0 with one abstention to uphold the designation.⁹

April 26, 2006: The full New York City Council approves the Fieldston Historic District. The measure passes by a vote of 50 to 0.¹⁰

July 2008: The Landmarks Preservation Commission releases new rules making it easier for property owners to work on their homes. The Commission previously discussed the rules with the Fieldston Homeowners' Association and other community leaders and implemented them at the request of Community Board 8.¹¹

The campaign to designate Fieldston as an historic district was a contentious one. Proponents argued that Fieldston's rich architectural history and unique topography were enough to warrant it being landmarked as a historic district. Resident Johanna Odrich nominated Fieldston for designation. A poll taken by Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, who lives in Fieldston, found 25 homeowners in favor of designation with 15 against it.¹²  “It just jumps out to you—to me—and says ‘historic district,’” Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Robert Tierney said.¹³

However, others saw the efforts as inhibiting and unnecessary. Ellen Rodman, a television producer and 26-year Fieldston resident, helped form the Fieldston Homeowners’ Association in response to designation efforts with other homeowners. "I think it is a stretch to the point of being ridiculous," she said. "We are eclectic, we have 76 different architects represented, and 23 architectural styles. What is being landmarked as a historic district?"¹⁴  The Fieldston Homeowners’ Association said it had collected petition signatures from more than half the residents—something that is disputed by the other side.¹⁵ The Association said that the private streets and homes, many with views of the Hudson River, were not suited for crowds of visitors, and that the community should be preserved through a self-governing architectural review committee.

Another issue of contention for opponents of designation was a report about Fieldston by the Landmarks Preservation Commission that included detailed descriptions of the homes. Residents said they had found more than 90 mistakes in the report, including one "historic lamp" singled out for praise that turned out to be from Home Depot.¹⁶ In a December 30, 2005 editorial for the New York Sun, Andrew Wolf put forth a theory that “the rush to landmark this nice but historically insignificant collection of homes has more to do with putting a lid on the future growth of the Orthodox [Jewish] community than saving our city's precious architectural legacy. Certainly Fieldston does not fit the Commission's own description: ‘An historic district is an area of the city designated by the Landmarks Commission that represents at least one period or style of architecture typical of one or more areas in the city's history.’”¹⁷ Wolf backed his rationale up, writing that in recent years many Fieldston homes “have been purchased by members of Riverdale's growing Orthodox Jewish community. Typically, they renovate these 80-year-old homes to allow for larger kitchens and more bedrooms and bathrooms.”¹⁸ Designation as an historic district would require homeowners to get government approval for any change they make to the exterior of a home. Koppell said he had urged council members to reaffirm the designation of a historic district in Fieldston. He added: "It's important to the people who really want it landmarked, like me. We value this area for its special ambiance, unified feel and architectural beauty."¹⁹ Fieldston is notable for the number of houses designed by the early-20th-century architect Dwight James Baum, who lived in the neighborhood. "It's such a high concentration of high-quality houses that it's hard for the Commission to ignore," Sherida Paulsen said. "It's pretty spectacular.”²⁰

After two years (and 64 permits), the Landmarks Preservation Commission provided property owners in Fieldston with a new set of rules, making it easier to work on homes. The Commission's historic district rules had been drafted with rowhouses and brownstones in mind. The new rules were more tailored to better fit Fieldston’s separate, single-family homes. “We've issued rules in the past for certain historic districts, such as the Douglaston Historic District in Queens (designated in 1997) because of the unique building types there,”²¹ said Landmarks Preservation Commission spokesperson Lisi De Bourbon in relation to the new set of rules for Fieldston. Part of the reason for implementing the new set of rules was that obtaining approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission usually required an additional two to four months to complete a project, depending on the complexity of the homeowner's plans.²² Community Board 8's Land Use Committee's Chairman, Charles Moerdler, a critic of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, explained that the rules would, in effect, create a list of things an owner is automatically allowed to do on their property, as with zoning regulations.²³ "The new rules are intended to provide a safety valve," said Moerdler. "Instead of people having to wait for days and weeks and months for some bureaucrat in the Landmarks Commission to go over the plans and say, 'Yes, you may paint your house yellow and not white' … that there are standards that say, 'Parrot yellow or what have you is okay, but putrid yellow is no good."²⁴

• Oral History with Robert Kornfeld, Sr.
  New York Preservation Archive Project
  174 East 80^th Street
  New York, NY 10075
  Tel: (212) 988-8379
  Email: info@nypap.org