Dear friend,

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has just scheduled a vote for next Tuesday, December 9th on a mass 'de-calendaring' of nearly one hundred buildings and structures throughout the five boroughs. With no testimony from the public allowed and without even consideration of the individual merits of each site, the Commission will vote to 'de-calendar' or remove scores of buildings from its calendar for official consideration as individual landmarks  

When a site has been "calendared" by the LPC, it is officially under consideration for landmark status, and the Commission can hold a public hearing and/or vote to designate the structure.  Perhaps more importantly, calendaring means that no demolition, construction, or alteration permits can be granted for a site without first notifying the LPC and allowing them up to forty days to designate the structure or negotiate a change or withdrawal of the permit applications. Once de-calendared, the Commission gets no notification of such permit applications and has no power to delay their issuance, allowing these buildings to be altered or demolished at will.

GVSHP has called upon the LPC to drop the proposed mass de-calendaring, and to instead consider the individual merits of each of the structures in question through an open public hearing and review process (read letter HERE). GVSHP has specifically called upon the Commission not to de-calendar the four structures which GVSHP has previously advocated for: 57 Sullivan Street (at Broome Street) in the South Village, 138 Second Avenue (at 9th Street) in the East Village, the former McCreery & Co. Cast Iron Lofts at 801-807 Broadway (at 11th Street) in Greenwich Village, and 2 Oliver Street on the Lower East Side (read letter HERE). You can view a map identifying all of the nearly one hundred structures the LPC proposes to de-calendar here, and their notice of the planned action here.

This unprecedented move by the LPC would be a devastating blow to preservation in New York City. It's imperative that we call upon the Mayor and the LPC to halt this action immediately, and not to de-calendar any sites proposed for landmark designation without allowing a full public hearing and considering the individual merits of each site.

HOW TO HELP:

• Write to the Mayor and the Chair of the LPC right away and urge them to drop the proposed de-calendaring>>
   

• Hold Tuesday, December 9th on your calendar -- if the City does not drop the proposed de-calendaring, we will need you to join us and other preservationists on the day of the vote to protest this egregious action.

Sincerely,

Andrew Berman
Executive Director

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