Sleepy Hollow Signage Raises Questions

Historic advertisement for Sleepy Hollow

(click to enlarge)

A proposal to erect "Sleepy Hollow" signs as a marketing tool met with some confusion Tuesday at the Historic Preservation Commission's meeting and the group rendered no decision.

The signage is a project of The Friends of Sleepy Hollow, a neighborhood association based in the city's southeast corner. The commission upholds the city's historic preservation ordinance and can issue or deny a "certificate of appropriateness" for exterior changes to properties in the city's historic districts. It can also hold informational meetings to discuss proposed changes.

HPC Chairman William Michelson said the discussion of the signs was informational, but Commissioner Larry Quirk told FOSH board members David Cook and Patrick Florencio, "I don't know why you're here. Is there something you feel will come before us?"

Cook said although Sleepy Hollow was not an historic district, the group wanted to place nine signs in the neighborhood "to make it very identifiable." Two would be in existing designated historic districts. He said the group had raised $10,000 toward the cost. In addition, the group planned to place "beautiful black planters" at the beginning and end of streets in the neighborhood and was putting together a web site aimed at attracting buyers from New York City.

Cook said the group was not looking to create an historic district or to override any existing district.

Besides not being an historic district, the Sleepy Hollow section does not have strict boundaries.

"Sleepy Hollow is an idea, a concept," Quirk said.

"We did look for lines of demarcation," Cook said, but they could not be found.

Although the FOSH board members said they went door to door with the sign design and won the support of 200 residents, Quirk questioned whether that represented a majority of the neighborhood and said, "You are now defining the district with a line on a map."

(It turned out the map in question was drawn by HPC secretary Scott Bauman of the city's Planning Division and Plaintalker did not obtain a copy, but according to the discussion, it extended west to streets including Highland and Evergreen avenues.)

"Those are the streets where the historic homes are," Florencio said.

From a city map, traditional "Sleepy Hollow" at right

Objecting to the discussion, Commissioner John Favazzo said, "This exclusive winding neighborhood has now been quadrupled."

Besides the boundaries, other bones of contention included having the words "Historic Plainfield" on the Sleepy Hollow signs and whether they should be allowed in designated historic districts that have their own identifying signs.

In public comment, resident Charles Lawrence told the FOSH board members, "You want to pit parts of the city against each other."

Lawrence said he lives in the Putnam-Watchung Historic District that they want to make part of Sleepy Hollow. Among other remarks, he said, "You want to make a little Colonial Williamsburg for yourself," and chastised them for suggesting on their new web site that the Drake House Museum be moved.

Nancy Piwowar, president of the Historical Society of Plainfield's board of trustees, also objected strongly to the notion of moving the museum, calling it "a cultural destination" that attracts visitors from all over in its present location. She vowed to form her own "Drake House militia" to fight for the museum.

Evergreen Avenue resident and FOSH board member Stina Nanavati said the signage was intended "to bring pride to the neighborhood' and was "not about greed, it's about unification."

Realtor John DeMarco offered proof of the original Sleepy Hollow by way of a 1920s advertisement that showed Sleepy Hollow Lane looping off Watchung Avenue and boasted "100 acres of beautiful rolling land ..." (see it above). He told a cautionary tale about being too loose with the "Sleepy Hollow" designation, saying a buyer once sued and won $10,000 when misled. He attributed the ad to Charles Loizeaux, a Plainfield mayor and later a state senator who, according to "Prominent Families of New Jersey." also counted "Sleepy Hollow Development Company" among his many endeavors.

Finally, Cook said he found the discussion "very instructive" and the comments "helpful." Michelson concluded by saying, "We're not making any decision tonight."

Second Ward Councilman Cory Storch, who represents the governing body on the Planning Board, was an attentive listener at the meeting and said he will be writing about it on his blog.

(Since it is now past 3 a.m. and I can't read my own writing, I will just stop here.)

--Bernice