Community Corner

Brooklyn Man Makes Effort to Protect Kentile Floors Sign

After petitioning UHaul's demolition of the Eagle Clothes sign, Dan Hailoua has made protecting the Kentile Floors sign his new goal.

After the Eagle Clothes sign on Third Avenue and Sixth Street was taken down on July 25, one Brooklyn resident decided he had another landmark to protect – the Kentile Floors sign.

Located on Second Avenue and Ninth Street, the Kentile Floors sign was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter "for a symbol of Gowanus' industrial heritage and for being a remnant of this former Brooklyn business," according to the Municipal Art Society of New York. For Dan Halioua, who grew up near the Eagle Clothes sign, the Kentile Floors’ preservation is even more important now, according to DNAinfo.

"It might seem a little silly to be talking about a sign," Halioua said. "Obviously there are larger issues we face, but it does tug on the gentrification conversation a little bit, in terms of big corporations taking over and getting rid of the history of things. In my mind, I'm taking a stand against them."

To protect the sign, Halioua has contacted local officials for help. He also wants to turn his original petition to prevent UHaul from removing the Eagle Clothes sign into a drive for the Kentile Floors sign.

However, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said it doesn’t grant landmark status to signs on top of buildings.

"[D]oing so would theoretically restrict how an owner may want to use the building, and the commission’s regulatory jurisdiction does not extend to use," LPC spokesman Elisabeth de Bourbon told DNAinfo. "Therefore, we cannot force a building owner to continue to advertise for a company that is no longer in existence."

As for now, the Kentile Floors sign is safe – but check back with Patch for updates.


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