Senator Hoylman Urges City Landmark Preservation Commission To Reverse Drastic Proposed “De-Calendaring” Decision

New York, NY— Today, Senator Hoylman sent a letter to New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Chair Srinivasan and issued the following statement in response to the proposed LPC “de-calendaring” of potential landmarks.

“It would be an indelible stain on New York City's collective conscience for these historic properties to have survived so long, only to be lost to an administrative ‘clearing out’ of longstanding calendared properties. Calendaring is integral to the landmarking process and removing historic buildings from consideration without a hearing on their merits undermines the entire system and places these items at immediate risk for demolition. LPC should hold public hearings on the properties and deliberately consider each one on the merits of the proposed landmark, rather than on the length of time it has been on the LPC’s calendar.”

The full copy of Senator Hoylman’s letter is below:

December 2, 2014

Meenakshi Srinivasan

Chair

Landmarks Preservation Commission

1 Centre Street, 9th Floor North

New York, NY 10007

Dear Chair Srinivasan:

I write to express my serious concern over the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) proposed “de-calendaring” of potential landmark sites throughout the city, including 14 sites in my Senate District (noted on the schedule attached hereto), and strongly urge that the LPC reconsider this course of action.

I do not believe that the LPC has allowed for sufficient public input on such a drastic action and I fear that removing properties from the calendar may place many vulnerable potential landmarks at risk. Last year, after receiving notification that a former automobile showroom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at 430 Park Avenue in my district was under consideration as a landmark, the owners soon thereafter demolished the property literally in the middle of the night, thereby robbing New Yorkers of an important part of our city's historic and cultural heritage. I am concerned that once LPC removes the proposed properties from the calendar, thus removing the protections that this preliminary designation imparts, the same fate will befall these properties and they, too, will be demolished with absolutely no recourse provided to the public. Instead, the LPC should hold public hearings on the properties and carefully and deliberately consider each one on the merits of the proposed landmark, rather than on the length of time it has been on the LPC’s calendar.

It would be an indelible stain on New York City's collective conscience for these historic properties to have survived so long, only to be lost to an administrative “clearing out" of longstanding calendared properties. The Commission should delay the scheduled December 9 vote and review each property through the normal landmark process to allow preservationists, community members and property owners time to review and comment on proposed actions.

If you wish to discuss this matter further, please call me at 212-633-8052.

Sincerely,

Brad Hoylman

State Senator

27th District

Encl.

cc: Simeon Bankoff, Historic Districts Council

Andrew Berman, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Richard Moses, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative

Arlene Simon, LANDMARK WEST!

###