GVSHP Landmarks Reform Report
GVSHP's report identifying the flaws in the city's landmarking system and calling for reforms continues to gain positive attention. Please see below commentary in today's CityLand Journal by GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman, as well as the recent story in The Real Deal.
 Commentary | Andrew Berman - Nearly 50 years ago the city passed its landmarks law, with the goal of ensuring that historically significant sites and areas could be saved before they might be destroyed, as happened with Penn Station and countless other fallen landmarks. The law gave the city the right to landmark a property or area, but only after notifying the owner that they were considering doing so, holding a hearing at which the owner and anyone else could present their case for or against, and a public vote was taken. As a result, some of our city's most iconic buildings, sites, and neighborhoods have been preserved.
But in recent years the system has changed in a subtle but important way. Previously, as the law required, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) notified an owner or developer in advance of a property being "calendared." Calendaring means a property is officially coming under consideration for landmarking, after which time all demolition or alteration permits for the site could be held for up to 40 days, giving the Landmarks Preservation Commission a chance to act before a property could be destroyed.
However, starting a little over a decade ago, the LPC began adding an extra-legal step to the process...READ THE ARTICLE
 
July 23, 2014 | By Mark Maurer -- Nearly 30 buildings were spotlighted in the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation's recent report on landlords demolishing buildings after Landmarks Preservation Commission officials tipped them off.
The advance notice allows landlords to push through demolitions before the landmarks process begin. Between 2002 and 2013, these situations spanned the city. Most of the buildings were altered, either with a new facade or a rooftop or the removal or a cornice. About eight of the sites were razed, including a historic townhouse...READ THE ARTICLE
HOW TO HELP:
Write to Mayor de Blasio and the Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair urging them to adopt GVSHP's recommendations and ensure the integrity of our landmarking process is protected >>
Next: 04/11/17
Previous: 07/22/14
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