Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Lots O'Landmarks

The LPC must be very proud of itself this morning:

TWO ITALIAN GOTHIC-STYLE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN HARLEM DECLARED NEW YORK CITY LANDMARKS

SEVEN OF STATEN ISLAND’S 19TH -CENTURY RESIDENCES AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES PLACED ON THE PATH TO LANDMARK DESIGNATION

COMMISSIONERS GRANT LANDMARKS STATUS TO THE FORMER HORN & HARDART AUTOMAT ON MANHATTAN’S UPPER WEST SIDE

The Day They Talked About Landmarking a Topless Bar

And a city council subcommittee unanimously approved the designation of 2 Upper East Side buildings. Hey guess what? Queens has lots of tenements older than 1915.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Explain to me how the Hackett building is more significantly altered than Horn and Hardarts? H&H has new awnings and crappy signs slapped all over the first floor, yet it now a landmark, and Hackett is being hacked to pieces.

I guess this is what you get for putting an asshole with no formal education in architecture or urban planning in charge of landmarking.

Was this inexcusable appointment of Tierney just an incompetent decision, or a underhandedly crafty move on the mayor's part?

After all, with fewer landmarks, there can more room in places like Queens to wharehouse the future overpopulation of the city. Isn't that his plan?

Anonymous said...

Once again, like a giant cash register at LPC, the tally of landmarks are rung up for the day: It's 3 for Manhattan; 7 possible for Staten Island; And Queens, (ha, ha, ha,) why of course........NO SALE! No surprise!

Anonymous said...

Ask the leadership of our preservation community in Queens: they have been hearing this crap for decades and all they do is hope and pray and write letters and run after landmark commissioners (a la chicken run) and 'mention' this to HDC ...

we need new blood.

Anonymous said...

Urban architecture always takes preceedent over the suburban architecture of LPC's country cousins! If the Hackett Bldg. had been built in the Art Deco style, it would still be standing. If it were one of those dime-a-dozen brownstone row houses (some were even considered ugly for their time period) , that would be even better. Those parochial- minded snobs at LPC don't care much for our provincial architecture!

Anonymous said...

No, this is because we have weak leadership in Queens that permits this to happen. They don't bring home the bacon. No one expects them to ... until now.

We should demand that our local leadership in preservation either lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Anonymous said...

I would like to know who sets the agenda at the annual HDC conferences? Why is stuff like this never mentioned? What a disappointment!

Anonymous said...

HDC is primarily the tail of the dog that's wagged by Manhattan preservation interests!

Anonymous said...

Then its time they change. I get dues letters from them. I get requests to add my name to their agendas.

So lets make this a two way street. The first step is to insist that Queens reps on their advisory committee and board push our agendas.