Rally Today at City Hall for More LPC Funding
The Landmarks Preservation Commission currently receives an operating budget of only $4.3 million a year; unfortunately, this doesn’t cut the mustard for a group that’s supposed to be protecting currently landmarked areas, considering the designation of new districts and processing the numerous applications for exterior work by home and business owners. A huge coalition of…
The Landmarks Preservation Commission currently receives an operating budget of only $4.3 million a year; unfortunately, this doesn’t cut the mustard for a group that’s supposed to be protecting currently landmarked areas, considering the designation of new districts and processing the numerous applications for exterior work by home and business owners. A huge coalition of local preservation groups that includes organization like the Historic Districts Council and the Municipal Arts Society (complete list on the jump) has banded together to push for the city to increase LPC’s budge by $1 million. That effort culminates today at 12:30 on the steps of City Hall where concernced citizens will rally alongside City Council Members Tony Avella, Jessica Lappin and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
Lobby Day Fact Sheet [Save LPC]
Photo by beardsdaniel
Participating Groups
10th & Stuyvesant Streets Block Association, American Institute of Architects, NYC Chapter, Bay Improvement Group, Bay Ridge Conservancy, Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association of Far Rockaway, Boerum Hill Association, Brooklyn Community Board 13, Brooklyn Community Board 2, Brooklyn Community Board 6, Brooklyn Heights Association, Brownstone Revival Coalition, Cambridge Place Action Coalition, Carnegie Hill Neighbors, Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation, Cobble Hill Association, Committee to Save The RKO Keith’s Theatre of Flushing, Committee to Save the Trylon Theater, Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side, DOCOMOMO US New York/Tri-State Chapter, DUMBO Neighborhood Association, East Side Rezoning Alliance, East Village Community Coalition, Fiske Terrace Association, Fort Greene Association, Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, Friends of First Avenue Estate, Friends of Terra Cotta, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, Friends of West Park, Fulton Ferry Landing Association, Gramercy Neighborhood Associates, Greenwich Village Community Task Force, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Historic Districts Council, Historic Landmarks Preservation Center, Historic Neighborhood Enhancement Alliance, Jackson Heights Garden City Society, Juniper Park Civic Association, Juniper Valley Park Conservancy, Landmark West!, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association, Manhattan Community Board 1, Manhattan Community Board 5, Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force, Merchant’s House Museum, Metropolitan Historic Structures Association, Modern Architecture Working Group, Municipal Art Society, New York Landmarks Conservancy, New York Preservation Alliance, North Shore Waterfront Greenbelt, Park Slope Civic Council, Preservation League of Staten Island, Preserve & Protect, Queens Civic Congress, Queens Community Board 4, Queens Preservation Council, Rego-Forest Preservation Council, Richmond Hill Historical Society, Senator Street Historic District, Serpentine Art and Nature Commons, Society for Clinton Hill, Society for the Architecture of the City, The Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, Tribeca Community Association, Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, West 54 – 55 Street Block Association, West Brighton Restoration Society, West Cunningham Park Civic Association, Westerleigh Improvement Society, Women’s City Club of New York, World Monuments Fund.
They don’t need more money, they need to get some balls and stop being at the beck-and-call of powerful groups be it developers or community “activists.”
Actually it is a common misconception that Landmarks does not concern itself with the rear of buildings that are not visible from the street. If you read the rules carefully, certain “significant features” are protected whether or not they are visible. Such things as bay windows, stained glass windows, columned rear porches and fancy skylights are all protected even if they are not visible from the street. NYC has one of the toughest preservation laws in the country so be forewarned.
Unless the back of your property can be seen from the street, LPC doesn’t concern themselves with the back of the house.
I believe they have a booklet available, and/or information on their website that details landmarked area restrictions and rules, as well as how to go about getting their permission.
So tell me, because I’m going to replace the windows on the rear of my house in a landmark district: If I’m replacing old windows with identical but energy-efficient new windows, I need Landmark’s permission? Seems ridiculous to have to go through that process when nothing of substance is changing on the rear of the house.
If LPC stopped hassling people about changes to windows and other cosmetic details in the REAR of their landmarked homes, it would have more time and money for important issues.
yeeeeeeeeeeeh! Lets keep the city exactly the way it is. Like a antique shop.
poor lpc they’re so overworked…..they should receive more funding so that more examiners can be hired to review apps.
If the city is going to require homeowners to conform to the landmark codes, it’s encumbent upon it to provide adequate resources to respond to applications, questions, etc. How about $2 million more?