Yeah Norah, we’re talking about you…

Somewhere in the annals of history, a United States president—-a leader of the free world—-tried to widen a White House door frame or enlarge a window…and preservationists blocked the construction. You’ve got to hand it to those people. They’re zealots. But they’re equal opportunity zealots.

Case in point: Up in Brooklyn, Norah Jones thinks she can install ten new windows in her Cobble Hill townhouse. One exterior wall of her house is completely windowless, as was the style of  Greek Revival homes built in the area between 1827 and 1845.

“Such architecture is noted for a tendency to shun ostentation in the hopes of preserving privacy,” according to the Brooklyn Paper. “The austere houses have been mostly untouched since the landmark designation in 1970.”

Local neighbors are worried the move might set a dangerous precedent for the area. Windowless walls…suddenly with windows—-there goes the neighborhood! The whole tiff doesn’t arouse much passion in me. But I’m all for celebrities getting denied what they want. And why shouldn’t she have to play by the rules? If she wanted a house with more light, she could buy one some other place.

D.C.’s very own battle over 16th St.’s hideous Third Church of Christ, Scientist—-in which preservationists asked that the church’s congregation keep up the building, although it was ugly and extremely pricey to maintain—-was far more ridiculous.

Image by Liltree, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License