Finally the Post's Andrea Peyser weighs in on Windowgate, the ongoing controversy starring Norah Jones—who had the audacity to install windows in her new Cobble Hill home. (Catch up here.) She got 7 of her 10 windows after fighting the Landmarks Preservation Commission regarding their archaic ways, and now the Grammy winner has her natural light. But Peyser says her win "is a warning to the aging Italian-American population that remains in gentrifying Carroll Gardens."
Word is there's now a move to expand the entire neighborhood into a historic district, which would give landmark status to all houses... and the old timers are not happy about this kind of gentrification preservation! Pizza-parlor owner John Esposito points out, "Not everyone here is a doctor or lawyer or singer with an endless amount of money."
That kind of landmarking sweep could prevent anyone from making cost-friendly repairs; and Michael Di Meglio, a member of Citizens Against Landmarking, simply says: "We don't need Big Brother to protect us."
