Fall Newsletter 2022

Inside This Issue

• Greetings from the Chair
• Mayor Adams Reappoints Sarah Carroll as LPC Chair
• Queens Has Two New Historic Districts
• New Business Express Initiative Launched to Support NYC's Economic Recovery
• LPC Designation Photo Collection Is Now Available Digitally
• Staff Profile: Meet our New Senior Technical Advisor
• Jarmulowsky Bank Building Restoration Complete
• New Archaeology Book Co-Authored by LPC Staff Released
• Interactive Story Map Celebrates LGBTQ+ Landmarks
• LPC Hosted Summer Interns

As we move into the holiday season, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be re-appointed by Mayor Eric Adams to chair the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Having dedicated my career to protecting the heritage of the city I love; it has been an incredible honor to lead an agency with such an important mission and such incredibly talented and committed staff these past four years.

My priorities are to continue incorporating equity in every aspect of what we do, from equitable representation in our designations like our recently designated historic districts in Cambria Heights to making our work accessible to all. This includes the use of digital tools like story maps and our new digital photo archive, increased outreach and educational programming, and targeted assistance programs like our Business Express Service. You can read more about our recent work in this issue.

Landmarks are a significant factor in New York City being a global destination and we need to make sure they are protected and that they can adapt to the pressing social needs facing our great city, from renewing the economy to becoming environmentally sustainable. I am reinvigorated and ready to work in partnership with all stakeholders as we continue to think about the role of preservation in the vibrancy, recovery, and dynamism of the city.

Wishing you all the best,
Sarah Carroll

On August 5, 2022, Mayor Adams nominated Sarah Carroll for re-appointment as commissioner and Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. A lifelong preservationist and a native New Yorker with more than two decades of professional experience protecting historic resources in New York City, she has served as LPC Chair since October 2018.  Read the press release here.

On September 7, 2022, Chair Carroll testified before the City Council Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections, where she cited her expertise and passion for preservation as well as her commitment to focusing on diversity and inclusion in designation. The City Council voted to confirm her reappointment on September 14, 2022.

On June 28, 2022, the Commission designated the Cambria Heights-222nd Street Historic District and Cambria Heights-227th Historic District in Queens. With their Tudor and Storybook-style design, the historic districts' row houses are among the architectural highlights of the Cambria Heights neighborhood and southeastern Queens.

Built in 1931, the districts contain remarkably intact rows of houses facing each other along two blocks in the Cambria Heights neighborhood. The Cambria Heights – 222nd Street Historic District contains 46 row houses between 115th Road and 116th Avenue and the Cambria Heights – 227th Street Historic District, five blocks away, contains 50 houses between 116th Avenue and Linden Boulevard. Read the press release here.

On August 3, 2022, LPC launched a Business Express Service that will serve as a one-stop shop for business owners in landmark buildings making it easier for them to get their permits. This initiative supports the Mayor's "Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent Blueprint for New York City's Economic Recovery."

The LPC Business Express Service includes a dedicated hotline and team of preservationists who will offer pre-application consultation and focused application review to support businesses located in storefronts and other street-level commercial spaces in the City's designated buildings and historic districts, including restaurants, retail stores and offices. As part of the launch for LPC Business Express Service, staff will be holding virtual Open Office Hours for business owners and their representatives every third Thursday of the month. Read the press release here.

On August 18, 2022, LPC launched the LPC Designation Photo Collection, a digital photo archive of New York City’s designated landmarks and historic districts. The digital photo archive allows the public to easily search and explore high-resolution images of designated buildings and sites throughout the five boroughs, and property owners, architects and contractors can now easily search and download designation photos as they consider work on these properties.

Until now, LPC’s designation photos had only been available by request, and now they are accessible to all in a digital format that is easy to access. The LPC Designation Photo Collection, is available at https://nyclandmarks.lunaimaging.com/. Read the press release here.

Leanne Pollock, a senior preservationist in LPC’s Preservation Department, was appointed Senior Technical Advisor in June 2022.  Leanne has served as a Preservationist since April 2016 and has been managing the Broadway Theaters, and Sunnyside Gardens special desks since 2016 and the Guggenheim Museum and Rockefeller Center special desks since March 2022. In her new role, Leanne will be involved in developing and leading the Preservation Department’s application service initiatives, including our new Business Express Service and team. She will also be working with LPC senior staff and technical staff from sister agencies for awareness and collaboration on various LPC and Citywide initiatives including zoning and sustainability measures.

Here’s a short Q&A with our new Senior Technical Advisor.

Q: How did you get into preservation?
A: I’ve always loved history and was that kid who was actually excited to visit museums and battlefields on family vacations (and still am known to stop the car spur of the moment on road trips if we pass an interesting historic marker or site). I went to college in Williamsburg, Virginia and studied archaeology and material culture. My first job after graduation was in a planning department where, in addition to my normal planning duties, I helped map historic resources, review archaeological studies in advance of new development proposals, and work with the local historical commission to relocate and restore an old train depot that was slated for demolition. When I relocated to New York City, I jumped at the chance to work at LPC and really focus on preservation full time.

Q: What do you like most about being a preservationist?
A: My favorite part is learning about the history of buildings and neighborhoods, how they have evolved over time, and getting to go on some really interesting site visits. New York City has such a rich and layered past and you can learn so much from its physical development throughout time. I like being part of protecting that history and keeping it around for future generations. I also really like working with design professionals and owners who are equally excited to research and restore their buildings, finding little hints of a building’s past through physical evidence, and finally seeing all the up-front design work come to fruition at the end of a project. Lastly, I like that restoring/re-using existing building stock is the original “green” and sustainable building practice, while at the same time helping to retain the neighborhood’s character. 

Q: What aspects of this new role are you looking forward to the most?
A: I’m most looking forward to coordinating with our sister agencies to learn about what they do, how they do it, and figuring out ways that we can all work together to more efficiently serve the residents, businesses, and visitors of New York City. I also really just love to talk with people about their projects and find solutions that meet their needs while helping their historic building shine. I’m looking forward to taking a more focused and frontline role in this respect and working with a great team of fellow preservationists who are also eager to help through LPC’s Business Express Service and Open Office Hours.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in this new role?
A: Well, first and foremost, I’m hoping to spread the word about the suite of services we’re offering under our Business Express initiative. We’ve gotten applications from design professionals at projects in more established historic districts, but I’d love to work with more business owners in our newer historic districts and in the outer boroughs and show that we’re here to help find solutions and get their projects moving. So, give me a call! In the long-term, I hope to help foster stronger connections with other city agencies so there’s more effective cross-communication about new policies and programs and so we know who to put applicants in touch with to get what they need to open or stay open.

On October 26, 2022, Chair Sarah Carroll, staff and Commissioners got to see the recent restoration and adaptive reuse of the Jarmulowsky Bank Building, now the Nine Orchard Hotel. The Commission approved the restoration of the façade, which had deteriorated over the years, and rooftop modifications in 2012 to return the structure to its original 1912 glory. In 2014, LPC approved the recreation of the signature dome, which was removed from the top of the landmark in 1990. Commissioners and staff were given a tour of the building, including the roof, where they got an up-close look at the dome and other recreated elements.

The book Buried Beneath the City, An Archaeological History of New York, an LPC collaboration, was released in September of 2022. Co-authored by LPC Archaeology Department staff (Director Amanda Sutphin, Dr. H. Arthur Bankoff and Dr. Jessica Striebel MacLean), the book uses artifacts from the NYC Archaeological Repository and information uncovered in archaeological investigations in the five boroughs to help understand and illuminate the history of the city and its people.

Illustrated with images of objects excavated in the city, Buried Beneath the City is an archaeological history of New York City and an introduction to urban archaeology. Read more about it here.

On June 16, 2022, in honor of Pride Month, LPC launched Pride: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Landmarks, an interactive story map highlighting individual landmarks designated for their association with people and organizations that made significant contributions to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) cultural and civil rights movements. Through narrative text, photos, maps, and multimedia content, the public can learn more about the important history behind these landmarks.

LPC's interactive story map, which is available here, features places like the Stonewall Inn, one of the most important sites associated with LGBTQ+ history in New York City and the nation, places associated with important groups who fought for equality and provided support like the Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse, the Women's Liberation Center and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, and the residences of two of the nation's most important African-American writers and civil rights activists – James Baldwin and Audre Lorde – whose literary work presented honest depictions of bisexual and same-sex relationships. Read the press release here.

This summer, LPC hosted seven summer interns, including high school students through the Summer Youth Employment Program, and college undergraduate and graduate students. They got the chance to work with staff in several departments to support LPC’s transparency and equity initiatives, including the Archaeological Repository, the Executive Department, the Research Department, the Communications Department, the Enforcement Department and on special projects like mapping and data creation through GIS (Geographic Information System) and cataloguing LPC’s photo archive of designated buildings. It was a privilege to have such incredibly talented youth on staff this summer and we wish them all the best in their studies.