Supporters claimed that buildings needed protection after City approved Jamaica rezoning in 2007. On October 26, 2010, Landmarks designated the Jamaica Savings Bank and the Queens General Courthouse as individual landmarks. Both buildings were subjects of public hearings on February 9, 2010, and received broad support from the community and preservationists, who argued that the area’s historic buildings needed protection after the City rezoned the area in 2007.

Constructed in 1939, the onestory Moderne-style Jamaica Savings Bank at 146-21 Jamaica Avenue features limestone cladding and a polished granite base. The Morrell Smith-designed building retains much of its original ornamentation, including decorative entablature bands and an eagle above the castbronze entrance doors. At the hearing, representatives of the building’s owner, Capital One, opposed designation. Capitol One’s attorney, Thomas Wassel, conceded that the bank was “a beautiful building,” but stated that landmarking would be “an infringement, and an inconvenience at best” on the future operations of the bank. The Historic District Council’s Ed Kirkland commended Landmarks for surveying the neighborhood’s historic resources following the 2007 “upzoning.” (more…)

Current fee structure created in 2004. On August 4, 2009, Landmarks held a hearing on a proposed fee increase for new building and alteration applications. The rule was published in the City Record on July 2, 2009.

The proposed rule would increase Landmarks’ fee for new one-, two-, and three-family dwellings from six to ten cents per square foot. For all other buildings, the proposed rule would increase the fee from thirteen to twenty cents per square foot, but not less than $100 per structure.

A $50 flat fee for building alterations costing up to $25,000 would remain unchanged. Landmarks would increase an incremental fee for each additional $1,000 spent above $25,000 from three to four dollars. As examples, the fee for a proposed $15,000 storefront alteration would be $50, while the fee for a proposed $300,000 three-story addition would rise from $875 to $1,150. (more…)