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.
Real Estate Board of New York
CUNY Forum Focuses On Affordable Housing Issues
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 … <Read More>
New School Hosts Panel Discussion on Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing
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 … <Read More>
Proposed Development of St. Luke’s Campus Provokes Ardent Testimony
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.
Proposed Reforms to Improve the Landmarks Preservation Commission
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 … <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>