Winter 2019

Inside This Issue

• Greetings from the Chair
• New on the Commission's Calendar
• LPC Designates a New Historic District in Inwood
• Proposed Rule Changes Approved and Adopted
• Raising Awareness about Preservation
• Making it Easier to Navigate our Processes

As we begin a new year, I reflect on how our work this past year has measured against the agency’s mission and responsibilities. I am proud to say that we are busy on all fronts. We have been active identifying opportunities to designate the most significant representations of the historic development of our great city and to recognize the people and places that have contributed to that history. We also continue to refine how we regulate to further improve the efficiency and transparency of our regulatory process, and are out in communities educating and promoting preservation as a vital part of what makes this city so special.

Over the past year, we designated 501 buildings and sites, including 12 individual landmarks, 3 historic districts, and 1 scenic landmark. I am especially proud of designations such as the postmodern AT&T Building, which marked a turning point in the history of 20th century architecture; the iconic Coney Island Boardwalk, as much a part of our culture as it is a part of our city’s history, and the Central Harlem-West 130th-132nd Streets Historic District, which reflects the rich social, cultural and political history of Harlem’s African-American community. In 2019, we are already looking at other diverse areas with rich cultural and social history and areas less represented by landmarks. On January 22, 2019, the Commission calendared four historic districts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Sunset Park North, Central Sunset Park, Sunset Park 50th Street, and Sunset Park South (Read more about it below). These districts represent the diverse history, culture and development of this neighborhood in Brooklyn. We expect to bring forward other proposed designations this year.

I am also delighted that, after a year of public engagement and ultimate support from almost all stakeholders, the Commission unanimously approved amendments to its rules in December (Read more about it below). The updated rules will increase ease of use, transparency and efficiency for all members of the public, from homeowners and small businesses who file for permits with LPC, to community boards and preservation groups, who weigh in on these projects. They will also help encourage support for landmark designation, as we often find regulatory concerns are the most common reasons people object to designation.

Over the past couple of months, we have been working to significantly increase outreach and raise awareness about preservation and our work. We have worked in partnership with the New York Landmarks Conservancy, elected officials and community organizations, and have met with owners from Addisleigh Park in Queens to the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill, the Central Harlem, Mount Morris, and St. Nicholas Historic Districts in Harlem (Read more about this below).

Preservation works best when we have a productive relationship with all stakeholders involved. I look forward to working in partnership with property owners, preservation groups, community boards and elected officials to promote preservation as a norm and ensure that the buildings and places that make this city so special and reflect its history are preserved and remain a vital part of New York’s future.

Wishing you all the best,

On January 22, 2019, the Commission unanimously voted to calendar 4 historic districts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Sunset Park North, Central Sunset Park, Sunset Park 50th Street, and Sunset Park South. These areas contain the most cohesive and intact concentrations of high quality architecture in Sunset Park and together represent the neighborhood’s primary periods of historical and residential development.

The Commission also voted to calendar the First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York, one of few religious properties designed by the distinguished New York City architect Emery Roth. It is also significant for its association with the Hungarian-American community who settled in the Yorkville neighborhood and reflects the larger story of immigrant life in Yorkville.

Calendaring is the first formal step in the designation process. Once calendared, LPC will hold a public hearing on the proposed designations at a future date, followed by a public meeting during which the Commission will vote on the designation.

On December 11, 2018, the Commission designated the Park Terrace West-West 217th Street Historic District in Inwood, Manhattan. This historic district features a picturesque enclave of early 20th-century houses that stand out among the neighborhood’s apartment buildings.

The Park Terrace West-West 217th Street Historic District is comprised of 15 two-story houses, all either free-standing or semi-detached, with yards and garages, more commonly found in the city’s other boroughs. The small scale of the houses and the suburban quality of the district is due to the later development of this part of Inwood, which was occupied by large estate properties or farms that were not sold until the 20th century. Read more about it here.

On December 11, 2018, the Commission approved a proposal to update and amend some of its existing rules, as well as adopt new rules, to increase ease of use, transparency and efficiency for all members of the public, from homeowners and small business owners who file permits with LPC, to community boards and preservation groups, who weigh in on these projects. We had a robust year-long public process, including two public hearings, public briefings and four months of comment periods, which helped inform a revised proposal.

These rule changes, which became effective on January 22, 2019, are important because they will streamline LPC’s process for approving every day work on designated properties and encourage support for landmark designations by making the Commission’s policies and practices clearer. Read more about it here.

Over the past three months, LPC has been working with elected officials, community boards and other stakeholders to help raise awareness on the agency’s work and the importance of preservation. On October 24, 2018, we hosted an information session for historic property owners in Addisleigh Park with Council Member I. Daneek Miller on our Historic Preservation Grant Program, which offers grants from ranging between $10,000 and $30,000 for façade restoration. In partnership with Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and the New York Landmarks Conservancy, we held an info session on landmark regulation and financial aid opportunities for restoring historic properties for property owners in Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District and Extensions on December 20, 2018. On January 24, 2019, we hosted an info session on historic preservation with Manhattan Community Board 10, the Borough President and the Landmarks Conservancy for property owners within the Central Harlem, Mount Morris and St. Nicholas Historic Districts and Extensions. We will continue to increase outreach about the benefits and responsibilities of preservation.

In an effort to make information on our regulatory work more accessible to the public and assist owners of landmark properties, we are creating guides and fact sheets to help applicants get their permits for work as quickly as possible. In November, we launched a fact sheet with guidelines for filing applications for storefronts in historic districts available on our website here, and in January, we released a Fact Sheet on the Public Hearing Process and the Community Board Review Process, available on our website here. This fact sheet will help owners and applicants prepare and develop their schedule before they begin their application process and stay on schedule throughout the process, and will be a tool for Community Boards, who review applications that go before the Commission at a public hearing.