Press Release

For Immediate Release: April 17, 2025
Contact: lpcpressoffice@lpc.nyc.gov, 212-669-7938

LPC Launches 60th Anniversary Celebration With Special Events, Initiatives Exploring Six Decades Of Commission's Work Safeguarding New York City's Historic Resources

Agency Kicks Off Year-Long Celebration with Updated 60th Anniversary Story Map and Special Forum on Preservation, Housing, and Innovative Architecture in a Historic Context

NEW YORK –  Today, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) kicked off a year of special events and initiatives celebrating the agency's 60th anniversary with the launch of an updated interactive story map featuring highlights from the Commission's work over the past six decades, including legal milestones related to preservation in New York City, plus notable landmark designations and innovative design at landmark sites approved by LPC throughout the years.

The updated story map is just one of several agency initiatives planned for the coming year in honor of the Commission's diamond anniversary. On April 24th, LPC and the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation (NYLPF) will co-host a special forum, Making History: The Landmarks Preservation Commission at 60, exploring how Commission practices safeguard the city's historic resources while advancing citywide goals, including economic growth, housing, and placemaking.

The forum features a pair of panels exploring top issues in preservation today. The first panel examines a range of approaches and strategies that support housing creation and preservation, while the second highlights innovative design in a historic context and delves into notable examples from recent work in New York City landmark buildings and sites. Featured speakers, panelists, and moderators for the event include Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce; Dan Garodnick, Department of City Planning (DCP) Director; Jed Walentas, Principal, Two Trees Management, and Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) Chair; Jonathan Gouveia, Executive Vice President for Real Estate Development for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA); and some of the city's leading architects, including Morris Adjmi, Founder, Morris Adjmi Architects; Frederick Bland, Partner Emeritus, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners and LPC Vice Chair; Vishaan Chakrabarti, Founder and Creative Director, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism; Stephen Chu, Principal, Ennead Architects and LPC Commissioner; Mark Ginsberg, Partner, Curtis + Ginsberg Architects and LPC Commissioner; Anne Holford-Smith, Partner, PBDW Architects and former LPC Commissioner; and John Woelfling, Partner, Dattner Architects.    

The forum will be livestreamed via Zoom; those interested in viewing can find more information, including registration information, on LPC's website: https://on.nyc.gov/LPC_at_60_Forum

"Preservation plays a critical role in the ongoing success of our city, supporting economic growth and building community pride through our shared history," said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión, Jr. "As we celebrate LPC's 60th anniversary, we honor the Commission's important work over the past six decades, and look forward to the milestones still to come as we work together to ensure that New York's history, and the history of all New Yorkers, is preserved and protected for future generations."

"60 years ago, the Landmarks Law granted the Commission the regulatory power to safeguard the city's precious historic and cultural resources, and the flexibility to permit these resources to adapt to modern needs and conditions, and the result has been a more vibrant, dynamic New York City, whose iconic skyline and storied streetscapes continue to thrill visitors and residents alike, drive economic growth, and contribute to our shared sense of community," said Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sarah Carroll. "As we celebrate LPC's 60th anniversary over the coming year, we honor the power of preservation as a creative force here in New York City, protecting the historic buildings and neighborhoods that make our city unique while also empowering our landmark buildings to adapt, finding new uses for historic structures, allowing for cutting-edge design in historic contexts, and ensuring our city's landmark sites continue to thrive and serve New Yorkers for generations to come." 

"LPC's 60th anniversary is a moment to honor our city's rich historic legacy while also looking to the future and the opportunities that lie ahead," said New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation Chair Tom Krizmanic. "We look forward to joining leaders in the field of architecture, policy, and design at April's special forum for an important and engaging discussion as we work together to shape the next chapter of preservation in New York City."

The new 60th anniversary story map is available now on LPC's website, and traces LPC's history back to its founding, taking users through key agency and legal milestones across each of the six decades since the Commission was established. It has been updated to include some of the most notable landmarks designated in recent years by LPC, including Kimlau War Memorial, the first New York City landmark to specifically recognize Chinese American history and culture; Aakawaxung Munahanung (Island Protected from the Wind) Archaeological Site, the first city landmark specifically recognizing the many generations of Indigenous peoples who lived here; (Former) Colored School No. 4, the only known surviving building in Manhattan that exclusively served Black Americans during the period of mandated racial segregation in New York City schools; and Old Croton Aqueduct Walk, the Bronx's first scenic landmark.

Future initiatives planned to commemorate the Commission's 60th year include additional interactive story maps, including one celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary, as well as online exhibits featuring highlights from the city's archaeological collections.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission was created when New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner signed the city's Landmarks Law on April 19, 1965. The groundbreaking legislation was enacted in response to the loss of some of the city's historically significant buildings, most notably the original Pennsylvania Station, which was demolished in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden and an underground commuter railroad station.  

At the time, a larger grassroots preservation advocacy movement had been growing both nationally and at the local level, and the loss of the historic train station was the tipping point. The New York City Landmarks Law that followed enshrined legal protections going forward for the city's historic resources deemed meritorious, establishing the Landmarks Preservation Commission to safeguard the city's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation.

In the 60 years since, the Commission has granted landmark status to more than 38,000 buildings and sites citywide, including 1,464 individual landmarks, 123 interior landmarks, 12 scenic landmarks, and 157 historic districts and extensions in all five boroughs, and today is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation and a critical part of the ecosystem of New York City.  

In addition to designating new landmarks, LPC regulates the city's landmark buildings and sites after designation, and over the last 60 years has issued hundreds of thousands of permits approving work on historic buildings and new buildings in historic districts. 

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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 more than 38,000 buildings and sites, including 1,464 individual landmarks, 123 interior landmarks, 12 scenic landmarks, and 157 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 .

About the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation (NYLPF)

The New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports work that relates to the designation of New York City landmarks, including the well-recognized Bronze Plaque Program for individual landmarks, the Street Sign Program, and the Historic District Marker Program. For more information, visit http://www.nylpf.org.