LPC unexpectedly calenders Old St. James Church

Looks like the vote was unanimous. What took you guys so long?

Legislation introduced to eliminate LPC backlog

From Curbed:

A bill making its way through the City Council would impose deadlines on the 50-year-old Landmarks Preservation Commission in regards to designating landmarks and historic districts. While its sponsor says the bill is supposed to make things more efficient and help the commission deal with its backlog, advocates are concerned that it would hamstring the LPC, and eliminate dozens of items that are being considered as landmarks.

Intro. 775, authored by Queens Councilman Member Peter Koo and Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield, would impose deadlines on this process. For individual and interior landmarks, the commission would have 180 days to hold a public hearing once an item is calendared and then another 180 days to take action (vote to designate or vote not to designate) once the public hearing is held. For historic districts, it would be one year from calendaring to public hearing and then another year from hearing to designation vote.

The bill, which goes before the council on September 9, also aims to deal with the nearly 100 items (94 buildings and two districts) backlogged at the LPC. Eighty-five percent of these items have been calendared for more than 20 years. Earlier this year, the LPC had proposed de-calendaring all of the backlogged items, but, unsurprisingly, that was met with much public disdain. Instead, the commission backed off and devised a schedule to deal with those items at public hearings organized by borough. The bill would give the LPC 18 months to deal with the entire backlog, but any backlogged items not addressed during that time period would be automatically de-calendared.

There's one more provision in the bill. If the commission fails to designate an item, be it a landmark or a historic district, the property in question would be barred from reconsideration for five years.

Queens properties to get LPC hearing

From the Times Ledger:

Preservationists were outraged in December when the Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City and seven other historic sites across the borough were put in jeopardy after the chairwoman of the Landmarks Preservation Committee proposed to remove them from consideration for protection. The blowback was so fierce that Chairwoman Meenakshi Srinivasan reversed course less than a week later and decided not to “de-calendar” them and to consider a new plan to deal with a backlog of nearly a hundred buildings and sites citywide.

The LPC announced last week that its Backlog Initiative would begin addressing the properties with a public comment period and then a special hearing on the 95 properties that were placed on the commission’s calendar decades ago.

Each property, including the Douglaston Historic District, the Old Calvary Gatehouse in Sunnyside, the Bowne Street Community Church in Flushing, the Spanish Towers and the Fairway Apartments in Jackson Heights, the First Reformed Church and Sunday School of College Point and the Ahles House in Bayside will each get a months-long process of public review and hearings.

Throughout the period the public is welcome to submit written statements to backlog95@lpc.nyc.gov. Those statements will be entered into the record and be distributed to the LPC commissioners.

All Queens properties will be addressed at a public hearing on Oct. 8. Speakers will be allowed to testify for three minutes and can register by e-mail at backlog95@lpc.nyc.gov.

The LPC will vote for or against designation of each property in 2016. The commission can also choose to issue a “no-action letter” for some items, which would remove them from consideration but would not disqualify them from landmark designation in the future.

LPC releases plan to address backlog of calendared sites

After Public Comment Period, Agency to Hold Special Hearings for 95 Sites

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has released a plan to address the agency’s backlog of buildings and sites that were under consideration for designation and were not acted upon, many of which have been on the Commission’s calendar since the 1960s. The backlog includes 95 properties that were placed on the Commission’s calendar prior to 2010, of which 85 percent were calendared 20 or more years ago. Backlog95 is a plan which allows public review and comment on the backlog properties, and which includes an efficient public hearing process that will ensure timely Commission decisions regarding the backlog items.

In response to the Commission’s request for input regarding the backlog properties with a comment period ending on May 1, 2015, the agency received over 200 responses on how the backlog of calendared sites should be addressed. The Commission has considered feedback from a wide cross-section of stakeholders— including preservationists, architects, developers, community boards, property owners and elected officials, including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer— to establish a plan that addresses the backlog efficiently with input from the public on the 95 sites.
The plan includes three phases: (1) a Public Review Period; (2) Special Hearings dedicated to Backlog Items; and (3) Public Meetings for Commission Decisions. The Commission projects that the backlog of calendared items, most of which date to the 1960s and 70s, will be resolved by the end of 2016.
Details of the Backlog95 Initiative can be accessed on the LPC website.

“Last fiscal year, the Commission designated over 2,000 buildings and sites throughout the city in record timeframes, and I hope to extend this level of efficiency to every aspect of the agency,” said Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan. “In that spirit, we are focused on addressing this backlog of properties that, for decades, have been languishing on the Commission’s calendar, creating uncertainty for both property owners and the preservation community. We have received considerable feedback, and have formulated a plan that will ensure fairness and transparency, while allowing significant public input.”

Public Review Period
In order to encourage informed testimony, beginning July 8, 2015, there will be a minimum three-month review period, during which interested parties can review background materials, available for download on the LPC website, on the backlog items. Background materials include fact sheets with maps and summaries of each property, and 15,000 pages of publicly accessible portions of LPC research files, which provide available information on the history of each property. Throughout this period (and through to one week after the special hearings), the public is welcome to submit written statements to backlog95@lpc.nyc.gov, which will be entered into the record and distributed to LPC Commissioners.

Special Public Hearings Dedicated to Backlog Items
The Commission will hold four special hearings on October 8, October 22, November 5 and November 12, 2015. The hearings will be organized by borough and grouped by Community Districts, with roughly 5 to 12 items per group.

Subsequent Decisions
At public meetings, to take place in early 2016, staff will present summaries of the testimony and written submissions for each item. At that time, Commissioners will consider:

1. Prioritizing designation for some items (by December 2016); or
2. Removing from the calendar by voting not to designate; or
3. Removing from the calendar by issuing a no action letter.

A no-action letter is an administrative process that allows items to be taken off the calendar without prejudice, and with no judgment on the merits for designation. Such items could be brought forward at a later time for designation. Denying designation is based on the merits of the property – for example, a property may be heavily altered or found to lack the significance to merit landmark designation.

Koo doing LPC chair's dirty work

From the Queens Chronicle:

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Fushing), chairman of the Landmarks Committee, has introduced a reform bill that will reduce the time it takes for the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider potential sites.

The legislation (Int. 775) imposes a timeline on the designation of landmarks and historic districts.

“Landmarking in New York City is an arduous process that has kept many properties in a state of perpetual limbo, unable to reap the benefits of an actual landmark designation,” Koo said. “Since the creation of the landmarks law 50 years ago, many potential landmarks have languished on the LPC calendar for as long as 49 years with no end in sight.”

He called that inaction “unacceptable.” The legislation would give the LPC 18 months to clear that backlog.

You may recall that last year when the LPC chair announced that she was clearing up the backlog there was a shitstorm and she backed down. So she found a stooge to do this for her.

LIC Clock Tower to be calendared

From Brownstoner:

Awesome news for preservationists in Queens! This Tuesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission will calendar the LIC Clock Tower — officially known as The Bank of the Manhattan Company Long Island City Branch Building — to be considered for landmark status. Located at 29-27 Queens Plaza North, preservationists have rallied around this neo-Gothic structure, built in 1927, which is not protected from demolition. And recently, news came out that the owners of the clock tower, Property Markets Group, planned to develop 830,000 square feet on the surrounding land.

Sounds like someone wants those air rights for the adjacent property.