• This Month on WestView News
  • Featured
  • Monthly Columns
  • Editorials
  • Articles
  • Briefly Noted
  • WestViews
  • Photos
  • Front Page
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • EXTRA
WESTVIEW NEWS
Menu
  • This Month on WestView News
  • Featured
  • Monthly Columns
  • Editorials
  • Articles
  • Briefly Noted
  • WestViews
  • Photos
 › Art & Architecture › Articles › Arts and Culture › Featured › Neighborhood › Politics › Landmark Preservation Today

Landmark Preservation Today

Web Admin 08/06/2019     Art & Architecture, Articles, Arts and Culture, Featured, Neighborhood, Politics

By Brian J. Pape, AIA, 
Architecture Editor

The loss of the original NYC Penn Station caused citizens here to focus on the importance of our monumental buildings and special historic homes being lost. But the movement to preserve special places grew. Economic and population pressures continued to threaten our historic fabric, from Plymouth Rock to Civil War cemeteries, and from civic buildings to “house museums.” As the struggle evolved, federal and state tax credits were awarded to buildings and projects that would preserve community and national treasures, often for completely new uses, extending their practical lives by generations. Along the way, court decisions upheld the constitutionality of placing certain restrictions on special places.

NYC has been a pioneer in historic preservation! The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation; it was created in 1965 to promote the preservation and use of historic districts, landmarks, and interior and scenic landmarks, for the education, pleasure, and welfare of the people of the city, and to strengthen the economy of the city.

LPC is responsible for protecting places that represent New York City’s cultural, social, economic, political, and architectural history by granting landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. There are currently more than 36,000 protected sites in New York City, most of which are located in 144 historic districts and historic district extensions in all five boroughs. The total number of protected sites includes 1,415 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, and 11 scenic landmarks. Anyone can search for districts or landmarks by visiting http://www.nyc.gov/landmarks.

THE WEST VILLAGE IS ESPECIALLY HONORED TO SEE SEVERAL LGBTQ SITES DESIGNATED THIS YEAR —the 50th anniversary of the gay rights movement—joining the landmarked Stonewall Inn. Photo: BJ Pape, AIA.

The New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, was established in 1980 to support the LPC and foster public awareness of preservation through educational outreach. The foundation sponsors the Bronze Plaque Program, Historic District Markers Program, and Street Sign Program, denoting historic districts in the five boroughs of the city. For more information, their website is www.nylpf.org.

Proposed rule changes approved and adopted: the commission approved amendments to some of its existing rules, effective as of January 22, 2019, and also adopted new rules to increase transparency and efficiency for members of the public who file for permits with LPC, and to community boards and preservation groups who weigh in on these projects. The robust year-long public process, including two public hearings, public briefings, and four months of comment periods, helped inform the final revisions. The rule changes streamline LPC’s process for approving everyday work on designated properties and encourage support for landmark designations by making the commission’s policies and practices clearer. Calendaring is the first formal step in the designation process; once calendared, LPC will hold a public hearing on the proposed designations at a future date, followed by a public meeting during which the commission will vote on the designation. Read more about it at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/applications/new-adopted-rules.page.

In response to WVN’s inquiries, we received this message:

Greetings from the Chair Sarah Carroll: We have been active identifying opportunities to designate the most significant representations of the historic development of our great city and to recognize the people and places that have contributed to that history. We also continue to refine how we regulate to further improve the efficiency and transparency of our regulatory process, and are out in communities educating and promoting preservation as a vital part of what makes this city so special.

Preservation works best when we have a productive relationship with all stakeholders involved. I look forward to working in partnership with property owners, preservation groups, community boards and elected officials to promote preservation as a norm and ensure that the buildings and places that make this city so special and reflect its history are preserved and remain a vital part of New York’s future.

Wishing you all the best,
Sarah Carroll

To get news or questions answered, email requests to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, http://www.nyc.gov/landmarks.


Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP, is an architectural consultant in private practice, serves on Community Board 2 in Manhattan, and is co-chair of the American Institute of Architects NY Design for Aging Committee.

 Previous Post

Hudson River Park has spent almost two years repairing a damaged seawall between Pier 40 and Pier 45

Next Post 

What’s Happening at Clarkson Square?

Related Articles

Dr. Fauci Moves to Cure AIDS
Embrace the Absurd
My Trip to Bellevue
September was the Cruelest Month: We Lost Isaac from Isaac’s Barber Shop
Joan’s Shanghai
Faith & Politics: Church of the Village Launches Series Featuring Progressive Faith Leaders
Lisa and Harry—Such Interesting People Live on Christopher Street
Love Conquers Time
Love Blooms and Endures in the West Village
Cupid and Psyche: The Ancient Blueprint for our Modern Valentine’s Day
Rising from the Ashes of Bleecker Street
Born To Do It
Notes From Away: Tempest to Calm
The Architecture of Outdoor Dining: Restaurants Get Design Corps Help
Food Scrap Collection
The 2021st Amendment: Opening a Restaurant Amidst the Second Repeal of Prohibition
A Chicken Delivered
Working to Save West Village Restaurants
NYC “Housing Connect” Offers Affordable Housing
An Insight into David Kessler
A Voice for the People
Erik Bottcher Offers New Vision for Sanitation in Council District 3
COVID Vaccines—Where is the Leadership?
Michael Salomon Morton
Real Estate Corner
Vaccine Bob Cooley
Lenox Health Greenwich Village to Ramp Up Local Vaccinations
Wear Your Mask!
NYC COVID-19 Vaccine Finder
Karen Rempel at UN Gala Honoring Joe Biden in 2017
Catch and Release
Hummel
Apartment Available At WestView
Warhol and Wallowitch —a Gay Affair
City Winery Opens on Pier 57 Amidst Shutdown
A Capsis Family Celebration
Using Speech Recognition to Control Your Desktop and Programs
How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Compliments
Our Way Out of This: I Think Not
A Long Strange Trip to the West Village and a 2021 Resolution
From Ancient Sparta to Modern Denmark: The Rationalization of Eugenics

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

February 2021

Subscribe Now

February 2021

Donate Now

Read the Archives

Sign up for WestView News EXTRA

Copyright © WestView News