Coney Island's 1890 lighthouse and keeper's house take first step toward city landmark status

A small iron lighthouse at the western tip of Coney Island that has guided ferries, tugboats and barges for more than 135 years is on its way to becoming a New York City landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to schedule a public hearing on the Coney Island Light and the keeper's house next to it, the first of several steps toward designation, Gothamist reported.

"The lighthouse and its keeper's house are among the oldest surviving structures on Coney Island," LPC Chair Lisa Kersavage said, calling them reminders of the role New York Harbor has played in the city's history. Designation would protect the structures from alteration, demolition or new construction without city approval.

What is being protected

• The tower: a roughly 70-foot iron-frame light built in 1890 on Gravesend Bay, modeled on the former Throgs Neck lighthouse, as ferry traffic grew with Coney Island's popularity, 6sqft reported. It was fully automated in 1989, is still used by the U.S. Coast Guard and now carries a radio beacon used to calibrate navigation signals.
• The keeper's house: a two-story, shingle-clad Queen Anne-style dwelling. The city has already landmarked six lighthouses built between 1854 and 1912, three on Staten Island and three in Manhattan, including the Statue of Liberty, but none of them has a freestanding keeper's house like this one, according to the LPC, 6sqft said.

The last keeper

Frank Schubert moved into the keeper's house with his family in 1960 and stayed after the light was automated, until his death in 2003. He is believed to have been the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the United States. His grandson, lifelong Brooklyn resident Scott Schubert, told Gothamist he grew up thinking of the lighthouse as "grandpa's house" and now runs a website about the family's history there. The family once gave regular tours; since 2003 they have been rare.

Can you visit?

Not easily. The lighthouse stands inside Sea Gate, a gated private community of about 8,000 residents that is closed to non-residents. The Coast Guard owns the site and leases it to the Sea Gate Association, according to 6sqft. A landmark designation would not by itself open the site to the public, Gothamist reported; the association's community manager said Sea Gate supports designation but that public access would have to be worked out later. The Schubert family's site suggests contacting the Coast Guard or the Sea Gate Association to ask about a tour.

What happens next

The commission will hold a public hearing where anyone can testify; no date has been set. The LPC would then vote, and the designation would go to the City Council for final approval.