Longtime Landmarks Staffer Eyed to Be LPC Chair

A longtime Landmarks Preservation Commission staff member has been nominated by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to lead the agency as its new chair.

Lisa Kersavage, who is currently serving as LPC’s executive director, was given the nod Wednesday by the mayor as part of a swath of new city appointments. She will have to face a city council vote before she is appointed.

Since former chair Sarah Carroll’s retirement in August last year, commissioner Angie Masters has been acting as interim chair of the agency. Kersavage would be the second former LPC staffer to serve as chair (Carroll was the first).

Kersavage, who has more than 20 years experience in preservation and urban planning, has worked at LPC for more than a decade. She was appointed to the ED role in 2019, at the time replacing Carroll who had been appointed to chair the agency.

Previously, Kersavage worked as LPC director of special projects and strategic planning, helping clear a 50-year backlog of landmark designations — a controversial move at the time — and work with other agencies to identify possible landmarks, resulting in nearly 40 new designations, according to City Land. Other major initiatives Kersavage worked on include the Historic Data Project and the creation of NYC’s interactive landmark maps.

Prior to her time at LPC, Kersavage worked at the Municipal Art Society, the Van Alen Institute, the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, and Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, according to a press release sent out by the city.

In the release, Kersavage said she is honored to be nominated for the role and to “work to advance the mayor’s agenda to make government work for all New Yorkers at LPC.”

“I look forward to working with Deputy Mayor Bozorg, LPC’s commissioners, the agency’s dedicated staff, and communities across New York City to ensure that as we advance LPC’s mission to protect and preserve New York City’s significant places we do so equitably and efficiently, while also advancing citywide goals,” she said.

Last year saw a major shakeup at Landmarks, with Carroll’s surprise departure and that of longtime commissioner and Vice Chair Fred Bland (who left at the same time), as well the departures of Diana Chapin and Jeanne Lutfy. Three new commissioners joined the agency, and Commissioner Angie Masters was instated as the acting chair. Masters is currently the only female commissioner on the panel of nine.

In recent years, the agency has come under fire by the preservation community for allegedly favoring development at the expense of protecting existing landmarks and designating new ones.

Related Stories

• Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sarah Carroll Retires
• After Years Shaping Brooklyn, Architect Fred Bland Leaves LPC
• Brooklyn Got Two New Historic Districts, But No Individual Landmarks in 2025

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