Council Pushing for More Openness at LPC

More transparency. That’s what a new bill introduced by Councilman Tony Avella last week would bring to the Landmarks process. Avella, who has been the most active Councilmember when it comes to preservation issues, wants to give the City Council the power to nominate properties for consideration–and he wants the LPC hearings at which the nominations are discussed to be open to the public. Much of the motivation for the bill comes from the feeling that Manhattan gets a disproportionate amount of the LPC’s attention at the expense of the outer boroughs. We’re all for openness and accountability–we’re just a little scared of putting such matters in the hands of such philistines as Simcha Felder and David Yassky. After all, look at what they did on 184 Kent last December.
Council: We’ve Got Your Landmarks [Queens Ledger]