Press Release

For Immediate Release: December 16, 2025
Contact: lpcpressoffice@lpc.nyc.gov, 212-669-7938

LPC Advances Key Initiatives to Support Economic Growth, Housing Creation, and Improve Efficiency, Transparency, and Accessibility of Agency Processes in 2025

NEW YORK – The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) today marked the end of 2025 by highlighting a list of key agency accomplishments over the past year, including continued advancements in the Commission's efforts to increase the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of agency processes, new designations that continue to safeguard the city's historic resources, and a series of regulatory initiatives and Commission approvals that support the creation of new housing for New Yorkers, enhance the city's iconic cultural institutions, and drive economic growth citywide.

"We took office with a simple promise: to 'Get Stuff Done,' and, four years later, our administration can say we delivered that every day for working-class New Yorkers," said New York City Mayor Adams. "We drove shootings to record lows and pushed jobs and small businesses to record highs. We rewrote the playbook on homelessness and mental health to finally get New Yorkers living on our streets the help they need, and, after decades of half-measures, passed historic housing legislation to turn New York into a 'City of Yes.' We overhauled the way our students learn to read and do math, cut the cost of child care, and forgave medical debt. We eliminated taxes for low-income families, launched free universal after-school programming, and landmarked hundreds of new buildings and sites to preserve and uplift our city's diverse history. We got scaffolding off our buildings, trash bags off our streets, and opened up new public spaces for New Yorkers to enjoy. The haters may have doubted us, but the results are clear. On issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the better; it will stand the test of time because we made New York City the best place to live and raise a family."

"As Vice Chair, I've worked closely with LPC staff and my fellow Commissioners to advance the agency's mission, and together we've approved critical projects to help the city's landmark sites adapt to meet modern needs, designated new landmarks and historic districts, and made the agency's processes more efficient and accessible." said Landmarks Preservation Commission Vice Chair Angie Master. "I'm proud of the Commission's achievements this year, which will continue to safeguard the places that tell New York City's shared history while helping position the city for the future."

Over the past year, LPC approved more than 10,000 permits for work on designated properties, including several notable projects that will help create new housing, enhance New York City's cultural institutions, and drive economic growth citywide:

Kingsbridge Armory: LPC approved work that will support the historic site's adaptive reuse as a state-of-the-art venue for entertainment, recreational space, cultural and commercial space, and will create new affordable housing in a later phase. Backed by $216 million in city, state, and federal investment, and led by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the redevelopment is expected to add $2.9 billion to the City's economy and create nearly 3,600 jobs.
The Met's new Tang Wing: Commissioners approved architect Frida Escobedo's design for the new wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (an individual landmark) that will expand gallery space and increase accessibility, all within the footprint of the existing wing.
LPC approved several adaptive reuse projects in the Governors Island Historic District as part of the city's innovative plan to develop vacant sites into a hub for urban climate solutions, including Buttermilk Labs, with commercial space for climate-focused businesses and non-profits, and the Climate Exchange, a center for climate research, education, and training for green jobs, first announced by Mayor Adams and led by SUNY Stony Brook.

In 2025, LPC designated an array of new landmarks:

Five buildings in Midtown South Manhattan related to the garment industry: Barbey Building, Fashion Tower, Furcraft Building, 29th Street Towers, and Lefcourt Clothing Center, all designated as individual landmarks in August. LPC's designation of these buildings was done in coordination with the Department of City Planning's Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, adopted by the City Council in August, which will allow for the creation of nearly 10,000 new homes in a neighborhood where housing was previously largely prohibited.
The (Former) Whitney Museum of American Art, designated in May as both an individual and interior landmark. Designed by architect Marcel Breuer and Associates, the Brutalist-style building is an enduring emblem of modern urban architecture. LPC recently approved sensitive renovations to the iconic modernist building that allowed for its thoughtful conversion as the new global headquarters of Sotheby's.
Manhattan's Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex, designated in May as an interior landmark. An important late work by modern architect Paul Rudolph, this unique residential duplex occupies the third and fourth floors of the Modulightor Building, which was designated as an individual landmark in 2023.
Two new historic districts in Flatbush, Brooklyn: Beverley Square West Historic District and Ditmas Park West Historic District, which feature distinctive homes built around the turn of the 20th century as Flatbush transitioned from a farming village to an early suburban development.

Increased Agency Efficiency, Transparency, and Accessibility

In 2025, LPC continued to advance its efficiency goals, celebrating the first year of operation for Portico, the agency's web-based permit application portal with the release of new analysis showing that Portico has driven a dramatic increase in the efficiency of the agency's permitting process – making it both faster and easier for property and small business owners in landmark buildings to get the permits they need.
LPC also launched several new and updated resources designed to make it faster and easier for users to access key agency information, including an updated Permit Guidebook, which helps applicants file applications that include the correct materials so that the agency can more quickly issue permits, plus two enhanced online mapping tools – the Discover NYC Landmarks Map and the Archaeology Report Finder – that make it even easier for users looking for information on a given landmark site.

Provided Funding and Support for Low-to-Moderate Income Landmark Building Owners

In October, LPC awarded three new grants to homeowners and non-profits citywide through its Historic Preservation Grant Program (HPGP), and announced the completion of restoration projects for three properties in the Alice and Agate Courts Historic District – the latest in a series of grant-funded work that has had a transformative impact on the historic district. LPC's grant program provides critical funding and ongoing support for low-to-moderate-income homeowners and non-profit organizations looking to repair and restore their landmark properties.

Adams Administration Achievements

During the Adams Administration, LPC advanced initiatives that have increased the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of the agency's work, helping create a stronger, more equitable New York while safeguarding the city's rich history and distinctive streetscape.

Designated 7 historic districts, 24 individual landmarks, 4 interior landmarks, and one scenic landmark, totaling more than 800 buildings and sites across all five boroughs, many furthering LPC's Equity Framework, including:

Significant gains in designations that represent New York City's diversity and designations in areas less represented by landmarks, with new landmarks like Staten Island's Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, the John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie Residence in Queens, and (Former) Colored School No. 4.
A record number of new landmarks in the Bronx, including Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved People's Burial Ground, the Bronx Opera House, and Old Croton Aqueduct Walk, the borough's first scenic landmark.
Two historic districts in Cambria Heights, Queens, Harlem's Dorrance Brooks Square Historic District (the first named after a Black New Yorker), and Linden Street Historic District (the first historic district in Bushwick).
New interior landmark designations that safeguard some of the city's most beautiful and architecturally significant interior spaces like 1 Wall Street's "Red Room," Temple Court Building (now Beekman Hotel) Atrium, the (Former) Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex.

Approved more than 41,000 permits in four years for work citywide, including:

Creating more housing for New Yorkers as part of the Adams Administration's Office Conversion Accelerator program, including the residential conversion of the Flatiron Building.
Collaborating with sister agencies to assess and approve measures in Prospect Park and Central Park aimed at addressing climate-driven flooding and enhancing the resilience of these scenic landmarks.
Approving projects that support the city's iconic cultural institutions and public spaces as they adapt to contemporary needs while preserving their historic character by approving work like the restoration of Harlem's Apollo Theater and Central Park's Delacorte Theater and expansion of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, restoration and accessibility improvements at Manhattan's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Riverside Park, Rockefeller Center's new "Top of the Rock" attractions, and restoration work at 1 Wall Street's "Red Room," once again open to the public as part of Printemps New York.

Launched important initiatives to:

Help grow the city's economy by supporting small business owners through LPC's Business Express Service, a one-stop shop for business owners in landmark buildings.
Strengthen enforcement tools to preserve vulnerable landmark buildings by partnering with the Department of Buildings (DOB) to launch the Vulnerable Buildings Action Plan.
Expand awareness of the city's diverse history through innovative projects like the Brooklyn Abolitionist Heritage Walk, which explores Brooklyn's history as a critical neighborhood for the National Abolitionist Movement and the Underground Railroad.
Advance New York City's climate resiliency and sustainability efforts through new rules that make it easier and faster to get permits for building updates that improve the sustainability and resiliency of designated properties, and the launch of the LPC Climate Resiliency Initiative to enable more agile and efficient response mobilization in the aftermath of any future climate-related weather events.
Increase transparency and accessibility of LPC resources through the launch of a new LPC Permit Guidebook and mapping tools, and the launch of the LPC Designation Photo Archive.
Connect with landmark building owners and the public at more than 100 events citywide, including hosting information sessions across all five boroughs, plus online educational seminars on topics like using LPC's new online permitting portal, Portico.

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About the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is the mayoral agency responsible for protecting and preserving New York City’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites. Since its creation in 1965, LPC has granted landmark status to more than 38,000 buildings and sites, including 1,470 individual landmarks, 125 interior landmarks, 12 scenic landmarks, and 159 historic districts and extensions in all five boroughs. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/landmarks and connect with us at www.facebook.com/NYCLandmarks, www.instagram.com/nyc.landmarks/ and www.x.com/nyclandmarks.