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    Proposed Changes to Landmarks Law Garner Interest, Stir Controversy

    Administrative Code Amendment  •  Citywide
    Councilmember David Greenfield, chair of the Committee on Land Use . Image credit: William Alatriste/New York City Council

    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. (read more…)

    Tags : Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Buildings and Construction Trades Council, Council Member Ben Kallos, Council Member Daniel Garodnick, Council Member David G. Greenfield, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Council Member Inez Dickens, Council Member Jumaame Williams, Council Member Margaret Chin, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Councilmember Peter Koo, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Municipal Art Society, New York Landmarks Conservancy, New York State Association for Affordable Housing, Partnership for New York City, Real Estate Board of New York, Rent Stabilization Association, SEIU 32BJ
    Date:09/17/2015
    Category : City Council
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    CUNY Forum Focuses On Affordable Housing Issues

    Affordable Housing  •  Citywide
    The CUNY Forum held a panel discussion on affordable housing. (l. to r., REBNY President Steven Spinola, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer)  Image credit:  City University of New York

    The CUNY Forum held a panel discussion on affordable housing. (l. to r., REBNY President Steven Spinola, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Bob Liff, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer) Image credit: City University of New York

    Elected officials and real estate professionals debate solutions and strategies to City’s affordable housing shortage. On October 1st, 2014 the City University of New York’s CUNY Forum series held a panel discussion titled “Affordable Housing and Social Justice in NYC”. The panel featured Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Vishaan Chakrabarti of SHoP Architects and Associate Professor at Columbia University, Real Estate Board of New York President Steven Spinola, and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams. The debate was moderated by CUNY Forum’s host Bob Liff.

    (read more…)

    Tags : City University of New York, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Real Estate Board of New York, Scott Spinola, SHoP Architects, Vishaan Chakrabarti
    Date:10/10/2014
    Category : Housing Panel
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    New School Hosts Panel Discussion on Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing

    Affordable Housing  •  Citywide
    The New School hosted a panel on affordable housing and historic preservation, featuring (l. to r.) Rachel Meltzer, Nadine Maleh, Harvey Epstein, Rosie Mendez, and Gale Brewer. Image credit: The New School

    The New School hosted a panel on affordable housing and historic preservation, featuring (l. to r.) Rachel Meltzer, Nadine Maleh, Harvey Epstein, Rosie Mendez, and Gale Brewer. Image credit: The New School

    Elected officials, affordable housing advocates, and preservationists speak on historic preservation’s impact on New York City’s affordable housing shortage. On September 16, 2014, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School hosted a panel discussion on New York City’s affordable housing shortage and historic preservation. The discussion was co-presented by the Historic Districts Council and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The panel featured Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Harvey Epstein, Director of the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, Nadine Maleh, Director of the Inspiring Places program at Community Solutions, and Rachel Meltzer, Assistant Professor of Urban Policy at The New School. The discussion was moderated by Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

    (read more…)

    Tags : Community Development Project, Community Solutions, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Harvey Epstein, Historic Districts Council, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, MIlano School, Nadine Maleh, Rachel Meltzer, Real Estate Board of New York
    Date:09/29/2014
    Category : Housing Panel
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    Proposed Development of St. Luke’s Campus Provokes Ardent Testimony

    Certificate of Appropriateness  •  Greenwich Village, Manhattan
    Rendering of Church of St. Francis in the Fields' proposed residential tower and campus addition. Image credit: ABA Studio.

    Rendering of Church of St. Francis in the Fields’ proposed residential tower and campus addition. Image credit: ABA Studio.

    Proposal includes school expansion, and the construction of a new residential tower that would include ten affordable units. On February 4, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application for the construction of a new 15-story residential tower and additions to the Church of St. Luke in the Fields campus. The campus occupies a block bounded by Barrow, Christopher, Greenwich and Hudson Streets on the western edge of the Greenwich Village Historic District. (read more…)

    Tags : Church of St. Luke in the Fields, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Real Estate Board of New York
    Date:02/12/2014
    Category : Landmarks Preservation Commission
    Leave a Comment

    Proposed Reforms to Improve the Landmarks Preservation Commission

    Steven Spinola, President of Real Estate Board of New York
    Steven Spinola, President of the Real Estate Board of New York

    Steven Spinola, President of the Real Estate Board of New York

    The Landmarks Law, enacted in 1965 to preserve the city’s architectural, historical and cultural resources, contains few standards about what merits designation and few rules governing the process.  This has resulted in broad brush designations that are of questionable significance and that are impeding the City’s larger planning, economic development, and housing efforts.  It is time to amend the Landmarks Law to bring designations more in line with other city policies, provide more timely information on potential designations, and earlier guidance on design options for historic districts.

    The Law has enabled the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to protect a wide range of noteworthy properties, such as Grand Central Terminal and Lever House, as well as a collection of buildings that represent a distinct section of the city, such as Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Heights.  The Law has also been used to landmark properties that have no architectural or historical merits, such as vacant lots, parking lots, and significantly-altered buildings.  Needless to say, these are not properties of what the Law envisioned protecting when it was established nearly 50 years ago. (read more…)

    Tags : Landmarks law, Landmarks Preservation, Real Estate Board of New York, Steven Spinola
    Date:12/12/2013
    Category : Commentary
    (3) Comment

    REBNY: Improve the City’s Landmarks Designation Process

    Steven Spinola

    Steven Spinola, president of REBNY

    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 intent of the NYC Landmarks Law and touch on actions specifically disallowed by that law, such as limiting the height and bulk of buildings and other characteristics governed by zoning regulations.

    This continuing drift toward misusing the landmarks law as a planning tool to limit change across entire neighborhoods is evident in the remarks by Otis Pearsall, a noted preservationist, at the 2011 Fitch Forum symposium on the history of preservation law:

    (read more…)

    Tags : Real Estate Board of New York, REBNY, SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, Steven Spinola
    Date:09/07/2012
    Category : Commentary
    Leave a Comment
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