Protecting Landmarks and the Landmarking Process

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 … <Read More>


REBNY: Improve the City’s Landmarks Designation Process

The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) process for designating New York City historic districts is being used more and more to take the place of zoning.  The designation of historic districts has been pursued to promote many different agendas: to address issues of height and scale, to stop new development and to limit development on vacant or near-vacant sites by purposefully including these sites within the boundaries of historic districts.  These objectives are contrary to the … <Read More>


Landmarks Hears Mixed Testimony on Proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District

New district would encompass more than 300 buildings in an area that was home to successive waves of immigrant groups. On June 26, 2012, Landmarks heard extensive testimony on the proposed designation of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. The proposed district would encompass approximately 330 buildings located primarily along Second Avenue between St. Marks Place and East 2nd Street and adjacent side streets. A portion of the district would extend along … <Read More>


Extension of Park Slope Historic District proposed

Extension would bring roughly 582 buildings under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. On August 10, 2010, Landmarks moved to calendar the proposed Park Slope Historic District Extension, the first step toward landmarking. The extension would include approximately 582 buildings located to the southwest of the original 1973-designated Park Slope Historic District, which encompasses 1,975 structures.

The proposed district is bounded by 7th Street to the north, 15th Street to the south, Eighth Avenue to the east, and Seventh … <Read More>


Two Federal-style homes on the Bowery considered

One building owner intended to demolish house in order to build seven-story office. On July 13, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the possible designation of two separately owned Federal-style rowhouses located at 135 and 206 Bowery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. When the houses were built in the early 1800s, the Bowery was considered a fashionable upper-class residential and commercial district. While both buildings have undergone extensive alterations, they retain their essential forms and characteristics. … <Read More>


Landmarks rejects extension of Ocean on the Park District

Vacant lot at 185 Ocean Avenue, adjacent to the recently-designated Ocean on the Park Historic District in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Photo: CityLand.

Following the Ocean on the Park Historic District designation vote, Landmarks agreed to consider extending district to include adjacent vacant lot. On December 15, 2009, Landmarks declined to extend Brooklyn’s recently- designated Ocean on the Park Historic District to include an adjacent vacant lot at 185 Ocean Avenue. Landmarks designated the Ocean on the … <Read More>