Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz told the Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday that he was in favor of a controversial plan to designate the heart of Downtown Brooklyn as the city's first "Skyscraper Historic District" contingent on the 96-unit co-op at 75 Livingston Street be removed from the proposal, according to an article by Rich Calder at The Brooklyn Blog of The New York Post.

The co-op owners at the building have requested that the building be excluded from the proposed district.

Mr. Markowitz also said that plans to convert part of the Borough Municipal Building across the street from Borough Hall into retail space must move ahead as planned, the article said, adding that "the borough president has been openly trying to convince Apple to open up a store at that city-owned Municipal Building off Court Street.

"We all know a tree grows in Brooklyn, and I think an 'Apple' tree could definitely bear fruit if it was planted across from Borough Hall," the Beep said.

The historic district designation would protect Borough Hall, the Borough Municipal Building and 18 nearby high-rise office and residential buildings from overzealous developers.

Opponents, however, say the plan will jack up both rents and costs to maintain properties within the planned district - potentially driving people out of the neighborhood.

Community Board 2 approved the plan last week, the article said, but without tense debate. After the Landmarks Commission, it must still go before the City Planning Commission before ultimately being decided by the City Council.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed the district at the request of the powerful Brooklyn Heights Association and other preservation groups, the article noted.

The district would run along Court Street, from Montague Street four blocks south to Livingston Street. The predominantly late 19th Century and early 20th Century buildings there also include the 35-story Montague-Court Building at 16 Court Street.

The handsomest, pre-war skyscraper in Brooklyn, this 32-story tower at 75 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn was erected in 1927. It has been known as the Temple Court office building and the Court Chambers Building. The pyramid-topped building, which is also known as 66 Court Street, is distinguished by six major setbacks and was designed by Abraham J. Simberg. It was converted to cooperative apartments in 1981.

According to a "Streetscapes" column by Christopher Gray in the December 3, 2009 edition of The New York Times, the 430-foot-high building has "a dining room on the terrace at the 25th floor. Mr. Gray said that the architect "had previously done some four- and five-story apartment buildings in Brooklyn and one- and two-story buildings in Manhattan." "The Court Street building was a big project for a beginning architect," Mr. Gray continued, "but Mr. Simberg developed a blocky, faceted neo-Gothic tower that is perfectly credible against the rest of the skyline."

Mr. Markowitz told the commission that "based on what residents of 75 Livingston have told me, I do not believe the building should be included in this historic district....Until the commission makes its final determination, this building remains in limbo," adding that "a bank that is said to be interested in occupying street-level retail space...has now expressed reservations about moving forward with those plans."

Mr. Markowitz also said that "in 2011 we will be keeping the commission mighty busy as we look to designate more of Park Slope as a Historic District, expand Crown Heights North once again, and examine community proposals for Bedford Corners, Victorian Flatbush areas such as Beverly Square, Ditmas Park West, West Midwood, South Midwood, and certain sections of Carroll Gardens are all worthy candidates for designation."