Thursday, September 3, 2015

Landmarks law showdown next week

From Crains:

The way the law works now, anyone can ask the commission to consider a property for landmarking. If the commission takes up the case, it puts the item in question on its calendar, and can take as much time as it wants to make a decision. In the meantime, according to Mr. Berman, the property or structure cannot be demolished or altered without the commission's being notified by the Department of Buildings and given 40 days to act. Critics in the real estate industry liken that to a site being landmarked without the commission ever voting.

The bill would give the commission 180 days after an individual property is calendared to hold a hearing, and another 180 days to vote. It would have a total of two years to decide on an entire district.

Preservationist groups from across the city will argue that the bill would have a chilling effect on complicated applications that require more time to analyze, and would give anyone looking to demolish a building the tools needed to stall and circumvent the process altogether, as any proposal that is rejected wouldn't be eligible for consideration for another five years.

In more mundane scenarios, trouble forming a quorum during slow summer months or a clerical error in hearing notifications could cause weeks of delays and push an application over the deadline.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is Peter Koo's doing. Koo is really a Republican in Democrat's clothing and is pro overdevelopment. He does not even reside in Queens. His real home is in Nassau County...Port Washington to Great Neck, so he don't give a crap what his district looks like.
The proof of it is that his district looks like shit! He gets his campaign money from the real estate industry....possibly laundered overs ease Chinese money.

Anonymous said...

All politicians get money from real estate interests... even if they aren't perceived as friendly to the industry. The developers "hedge their bets" by spreading the $ around...

Anonymous said...

No pol in Queens does anything unless its okeyed by the organization.

I do not know what is worse - the casual nonchalant disregard they view us - simply as sheep whose wool (read taxes) is to be harvested, or the lack of any civic movement in the borough divorced from political control.

We all should be out there demanding our elected take a position on this, and those supposed self appointed umbrella groups as QHS, the boro historian, and Mitchel Grumblers little nest of minions that hide out at boro hall make their positions known.

A disgrace.

(sarc) said...

Let's landmark the entire City!
More regulations, more nonsense that building owners have to put up with, more bureaucracies...
Follow this to the end - more LARGE campaign contributions and graft to circumvent the nonsense.

Who are these people that suddenly realize your old dilapidated building is historic and has to be "saved". (I go to Church to be saved)
Now you are on the hook for all of this additional cost & regulatory burden.

If you think it is SO important - crack open YOUR wallet, buy it yourself AND you "restore" it to the way it was - try to make a profit to maintain it, pay the taxes, and everything involved!

Take a picture for goodness sake.

You cannot just live in the past.

"Let us close out eyes, Outside their lives go on much faster.
Oh, we won't give in, We'll keep living in the past." - Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson

Anonymous said...

Anonymous (sarc) said...
Let's landmark the entire City!
More regulations, more nonsense that building owners have to put up with, more bureaucracies...
Follow this to the end - more LARGE campaign contributions and graft to circumvent the nonsense.

Who are these people that suddenly realize your old dilapidated building is historic and has to be "saved". (I go to Church to be saved)
Now you are on the hook for all of this additional cost & regulatory burden.

If you think it is SO important - crack open YOUR wallet, buy it yourself AND you "restore" it to the way it was - try to make a profit to maintain it, pay the taxes, and everything involved!

Take a picture for goodness sake.

You cannot just live in the past.

"Let us close out eyes, Outside their lives go on much faster.
Oh, we won't give in, We'll keep living in the past." - Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson


Listen, dickbag: there is no immediate additional burden to property owners, as the properties are landmarked "as is"...what it does is stop indiscriminate destruction of good buildings.

Every major city in the United States has landmarking as an ordinance to save buildings and places that are important. It's about incorporating the past and present into the future rather than having everything bulldozed for crappy new construction.

There are neighborhoods in Queens that WANT landmarking, including my own Broadway-Flushing where more than 85% of the residents want it, so this isn't a situation where this is being done against the will of the people. They want to be landmarked and THEY WANT MORE REGULATION so that their neighborhood doesn't turn into a shithole.

Take your meds and crawl back into the cave you oozed out of.

- Broadway Flushing resident

Anonymous said...

I think that Ed K. Of Broadway is foaming at his Libertarian mouth again.

Anonymous said...

LOL!
Some real estate industry speculator shill is posting.
Take a selfie of yourself, fella.
Get the picture.

Anonymous said...

I am sure that the usual suspects...the preservationists...and the REBNY shills....will be attending that hearing.
Whoever has the most votes, money, or power will win the day.
Normally I show up for the preservation side. I will be sitting this one out. Too many headaches from butting my head against stone walls.
Koo will have his say....if anyone can decipher his Chinglish....then disgruntled people on both sides of the fight might actually see time limits set as a boon.
The rest will become history.

(sarc) said...

Hey Broadway Flushing resident

How about some civil discourse?

Remember this is the comment section – an exchange of ideas and Opinions.
Seems all opinions are welcome as long as they are in agreement with yours.

I just feel that when I buy a piece of property that I am bound by the zoning laws at the time of purchase.

So you want to have a bunch of people to tell me what to do with my personal property?
Sounds quite socialistic to me.
But you probably one of the few who voted for the current mayor.

No additional burdens?
How about permits and approvals?
What if I want to bulldoze and built a McMansion that falls within zoning and FAR regulations?
And suddenly you and the mob want to tell me no?

I’ve been in some of those homes – waste $15K and still have water leaks.
Damp musty basements.
So they paint the brick (of course some ugly color) paint peels and looks like crap 2 years later – the water is still coming in…
Bring in the bulldozers.

If I want to just paint or replace windows, rebuild the stoop, etc… - I am suddenly accountable to some additional bureaucracy for more permits approvals and FEES?

Sorry – no cave – I live in a paid off home.
Meds? All I take is tums when I read the news and this blog 

Curious – Are you a keyboard crusader in your father’s basement?