Revisions would see delegation of some work, including certain rear yard and roof top additions, to staff for review and approval. On March 27, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on a proposed overhaul of the agency’s rules, found in Title 63 of the Rules of the City of New York. The proposed amendments were published in the City Record on January 30, 2018. Landmarks has made a PowerPoint presentation available online. (more…)
Key kiosk features. Image Credit: LinkNYC.
Following public testimony on proposed rule, it was modified to require that new kiosks in residential historic district go before Landmarks for review, and increased the distance from which a kiosk replacing a pay phone may be sited near another public communications structure. On June 28, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to adopt modifications to existing rules regarding pay phones to account for a Mayoral plan to replace all pay phones with new public communications structures. The new kiosks will provide phone service and free Wi-Fi access, and ability to contact emergency services in an initiative named LinkNYC. The aluminum-clad kiosks will also possess stations for charging one’s phone and an interactive tablet. The rectangular, eleven-inch-wide kiosks will have a smaller footprint than pay phones, but will be taller, with those displaying advertising over ten feet high. (more…)
Key kiosk features. Image Credit: LinkNYC.
Proposed rule change would change text governing installation of public pay phones in landmarked area to allow for installation of Public Design Commission-approved public communications structures with digital advertising. On March 3, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposed amendment to agency rules governing the installation phone booths. The proposed rule changes would update the agency rules pertaining to public pay phones. The updated rules responds to the de Blasio administration’s initiative to replace public pay phones with new public communications structures providing phone service and free Wi-Fi, with a tablet that accesses emergency services, and charging stations for cellphones and other electronic devices. (more…)
HPD adopted amendments to the rules governing Mitchell-Lama housing, such as this building in Manhattan. Image credit: NYC.gov
New rules address transferability of applications, preferences for veterans, and more. On November 25, 2014 the Department of Housing Preservation and Development formally adopted amendments to the rules governing city-aided limited-profit housing companies, commonly referred to as the Mitchell-Lama program. A public hearing on the proposed changes was held on November 6, 2013 and public comments were received by HPD through November 30, 2013. (more…)
Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council
Since its adoption in 1965, the New York City Landmarks Law has been amended several times. In 1973, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was allowed to designate landmarks as part of its regular schedule rather than having to wait three years between designation hearings, as had previously been the case, and also gained the ability to designate publicly owned parks and publicly accessible interiors as landmarks. In 1997, the agency gained the ability to enforce the law with civil fines, and in 2005, this ability was extended to cases of demolition by neglect. All these amendments extended the powers of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and strengthened the agency. The same cannot be said of the many reforms proposed by the City Council earlier this year.
On May 2, 2012, the City Council held a joint meeting of the Housing and Land Use Committees to deliberate on eleven previously introduced and brand new bills, ranging from the benign to the emasculating, all related to the workings of Landmarks. The hearing lasted almost five hours and over 50 people from neighborhoods across New York testified on the bills, almost unanimously in opposition. The only people testifying in favor of the bills were representatives of the Real Estate Board of New York, who had recently organized the “Responsible Landmarks Coalition,” a gathering of real estate and development interests whose “Proactive Policy Agenda” closely mirrors the most damaging of the reform proposals. For the purposes of summation, I have divided the eleven bills into three sets.
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