Councilmember David Greenfield, chair of the Committee on Land Use, co-sponsored one of the Landmarks Law bills . Image credit: William Alatriste/New York City Council

Landmarks Chair testified that changes could be better promulgated through agency rule-making rather than by legislative fiat. On September 9, 2015 the City Council held a hearing on two potential bills that would alter the Landmarks Law section of the Administrative Code. The hearing drew a crowd that filled the main Council chamber, with over 100 people filling out forms to testify on the proposals. (more…)

The Stonewall Inn. Image credit: LPC

After acclaim from many quarters to recognize important site in the history of the LGBT-rights movement as a City landmark, Chair Srinivasan stated, “The people have spoken.” On June 23, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the potential designation of the Stonewall Inn, at 51 Christopher Street. In an unusual step, immediately following the hearing, Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan moved that the Commission proceed directly to a vote on designation. As with the testimony, Commissioner support for designation was unanimous.

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Congregation Tifereth Israel Town and Village Synagogue located at 334 East 14th Street in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC.

Designation was modified to exclude rear portion of the lot, where 1889 annex stands, in what Chair called a “good compromise.” On October 28, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Congregation Tifereth Israel Town and Village Synagogue, at 334 East 14th Street in Manhattan, an individual City landmark. The synagogue was originally built as the First German Baptist Church in 1869, serving the German immigrant community of the East Village and Lower East Side. (more…)

Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

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. (more…)

Street view of P.S. 31 in the Bronx, NY. Image credit: Google.

Landmarks urged DOB and DCAS to look at all possible alternatives before resorting to demolition. On December 17, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing for the application for an advisory report to demolish the individually landmarked Public School 31, located at 425 Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The Collegiate Gothic-style building was designed by C.B.J. Snyder and is currently owned by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which assumed possession of the building from the Department of Education in 2011. The school has been vacant since 1997. (more…)