Seven years after preservationists in Park Slope asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to extend their historic district east and south, they got tired of waiting and went the old fashioned American route: they took the LPC to court. The ruling came down from a State Supreme Court judge this month, reports the NY Times: “The judge called the agency’s inaction ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and ordered it to start making timely decisions on every designation request. To allow such proposals ‘to languish is to defeat the very purpose of the L.P.C. and invite the loss of irreplaceable landmarks,’ the judge, Marilyn Shafer, wrote.” The Times investigated operations at the agency, concluding that it’s “overtaxed,” with an “opaque” decision-making process and “spotty” record-keeping, but not for lack of trying. Many people appreciate the work they do, but it’s clear they can’t keep up with the demand, especially in the rapid-development days. Many requesting landmark status for buildings or neighborhoods reported being “stonewalled.” Commissioner Robert B. Tierney pointed out some of the LPC’s successes, Sunnyside Gardens, the Lewis Mumford-designed complex in Queens, and the Meatpacking district in Manhattan among them. “In fiscal year 2007, with one of the smallest budgets of any city agency, the commission designated 22 individual structures, 3 historic districts and 3 interiors as landmarks, for a total of 1,158 buildings — the most since 1990.” But those properties represent a fraction of the total requests.
An Opaque and Lengthy Road to Landmark Status [NY Times]