PROTECT A BROOKLYN LANDMARK
For over fifty years, the three modernist homes designed by Joseph and Mary Merz on Willow Place have stood as nationally recognized examples of how contemporary architecture can honor historic neighborhoods.
Now one of these architectural treasures—48 Willow Place—faces a visible rooftop addition that would fundamentally alter its carefully composed design. This is the very quality that earned these homes AIA awards and made them required study for architecture students at Columbia, Pratt, and beyond.
The LPC (Landmarks Preservation Commission) hearing is November 25, 2025.
Please consider supporting our efforts by learning more below and sharing.
Left: The original design, 1963. Joseph and Mary Merz. Right: Proposed rendering of the rooftop addition. The addition would fundamentally alter the facade geometry that makes this building architecturally significant—compromising the carefully composed proportions, setbacks, and sculptural qualities that define the design.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Written testimony carries significant weight with the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Your voice matters.
If you want to go the extra mile by submitting comments before the LPC hearing, please check out our guidance google doc!
Deadline: Please sign or submit comments by Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The Precedent
Over 20 years ago, the LPC denied an identical request for a visible rooftop addition to 44 Willow Place—another Merz-designed home—ruling that it would "severely compromise" the building's architectural integrity. We are asking the Commission to uphold that precedent.
The Significance
These homes aren't just beautiful buildings. They represent a pivotal moment in American architecture when modernist design learned to speak respectfully with historic neighbors. For six decades, architecture students have visited Willow Place to study what Joseph and Mary Merz achieved: contemporary design that enhances rather than disrupts its context.
What's at Stake
This is a true piece of modernist history—a subtle monument to the sublime scale, line, and proportion that define great architecture. If this addition goes forward, it will no longer honor their design; it will become just another development. And the idea of historic preservation will remain only an idea, not a standard.