Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.

Wide support voiced for designation of Coney Island pumping Station; potential extension to Douglaston Historic District and individual designation of Queens Apartment complex and religious structures proved contentious. On October 8, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the first of four hearings meant to address the backlog of items on the Commission’s calendar added prior to 2010. Twenty-nine items were considered, in three groupings of multiple items clustered by borough. Each speaker had three minutes to testify for each batch, rather than on individual items. At the meeting, Landmark heard testimony on one batch of items in the Bronx, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. (more…)

Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.

Items originally proposed for designation in recent years often faced significant opposition. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will begin the process of addressing the 95 items calendared for potential designation before 2010, but that have never been brought before the Commission for a final vote. Landmarks will hold public hearings on groupings of the items at special Thursday meetings on October 8, October 22, November 5, and November 12 of 2015. The groups, which will consist of up to 12 items each, will be clustered by borough and community board. An initial plan to eliminate the backlog by de-calendaring the items without holding public hearings was withdrawn after the idea drew heavy opposition from preservationists and elected officials. The existence of the backlog has drawn attention to Landmarks’ procedures, and is part of the impetus for potential legislation that would impose ULURP-like timelines on Landmarks’ designation process. (more…)

Four buildings date to 19th century community founded by African- American freedmen. On February 1, 2011, Landmarks celebrated the beginning of Black History Month by designating as landmarks four buildings in the Sandy Ground community of Rossville, Staten Island. Sandy Ground was established in the 19th century as one of the country’s earliest African-American freedmen communities. The community grew when African-American oystermen migrated from the Chesapeake Bay after Maryland passed laws restricting African-Americans from captaining their own boats.

Landmarks designated the cottages at 565 and 569 Bloomingdale Road as a single landmark, and in separate hearings, designated the Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church at 584 Bloomingdale Road and the Coleman House at 1482 Woodrow Road. Landmarks initially held hearings on the buildings in August 2010. 7 CityLand 126 (Sept. 15, 2010). (more…)

Commissioners hear testimony on Armory building, two churches, and several residences within the borough. On August 11, 2009, Landmarks held hearings for nine potential City landmarks on Staten Island. Chair Robert B. Tierney said the hearings were part of Landmarks ongoing effort to preserve the borough’s 19th century heritage. Council Member Kenneth Mitchell, whose district includes all the buildings, said all nine properties are important to Staten Island’s history and deserve designation.

Landmarks first considered 327 Westervelt Avenue, a shingle-style residence built around 1887 in the New Brighton neighborhood. The building features a three-story turret and is believed to have been designed by Edward Alfred Sargent. The property’s co-owner supported designation and described the restoration work he and his partner had performed on the building, which he said was likely “slated for the wrecking ball.” A representative of the North Shore Waterfront Conservancy said the building was “a rusty nail away from falling down” before the current owners purchased the property, calling it one of Staten Island’s “genuine treasures.” (more…)

Landmarks provides forum for accord and controversy during numerous hearings. On June 24, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on eight potential City landmarks, as well as one historic district extension. According to spokesperson Lisi de Bourbon, Landmarks grouped the designation hearings on one day to demonstrate certain themes and priorities like post-war architecture, public libraries, and the Commission’s recent review of architecture in the West Village.

The proposed extension of Queens’ Douglaston Historic to encompass 22 more buildings proved controversial, with some area property owners vigorously opposing the plan. Council Member Tony Avella, who represents the district, testified that he supports designation, but stated that the proposal had generated “a real civil war” in the neighborhood and that ill will would remain long after the issue had been settled. In contrast, Midtown Manhattan’s 275 Madison Avenue building, a 1930s Art-Deco skyscraper designed by Kenneth Franzheim, received support from both its owners and preservationists.

The F. W. Devoe & Company Factory, built in 1882 by the firm of Kimball & Wisedale, exemplifies 19th Century industrial design. Currently in residential use , the building occupies a site in the far West Village close to the Hudson River and the former Gansevoort Market. In Harlem, the George Bruce and 125th Street Branches of the New York Public Library were both funded by Andrew Carnegie and designed by Carrere and Hastings and McKim, Mead & White, respectively. The Municipal Art Society endorsed the libraries’ designation and urged Landmarks to look at other buildings along the 125th Street corridor.

Abram and Ann Dissoway Cole House, a 1840s residence, adamantly opposed landmarking, claiming it amounted to condemnation by eminent domain without compensation. The owner’s attorney, Philip Rampulla, testified that the building’s original fabric had been extensively damaged in a 1999 fire, and a representative of Council Member Vincent Ignizio testified that while many buildings in southern Staten Island deserve designation “this is not one of them.” The owner intends to sell the property to a developer aspiring to build a mall at the site, lending urgency to preservationists’ calls for landmarking.

Landmarks has not yet set a date to vote on designations.

LPC: Douglaston Historic District Extension, Queens (LP-2301); 275 Madison Avenue Building, Manhattan (LP-2286); F.W. Devoe & Company Factory Building, 110 Horatio St., Manhattan (LP-2308); N.Y. Public Library, George Bruce Branch, 518 W. 125th St., Manhattan (LP-2304); N.Y. Public Library, 125th Street Branch, 224 E. 125th St., Manhattan (LP-2305); Dissoway Cole House, 4927 Arthur Kill Rd., Staten Island (LP-2310) (June 24, 2008).