City Council Alert: Hearing on Int. 542

Today (Tuesday, October 23rd) at 11:00 A.M., the City Council's committee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses will hear testimony on Intro. 542, a bill proposed by Council Member Rosie Mendez and sponsored by 23 members of the Council, which would improve communications between the Department of Buildings and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Specifically, it requires:

...the landmarks preservation commission to issue notice to the department of buildings when a property is under consideration for designation as a landmark, requiring the department of buildings to issue notice to the landmarks preservation commission when permit applications for buildings under consideration for designation as a landmark are received, and revoking permits previously issued by the department of buildings when a property is designated as a landmark.

The use of Department of Buildings permits to modify and/or tear down buildings being considered for landmark status has been a controversial practice for years. The question is, does this bill go far enough? What is your opinion? Feel free to comment (below) or email your comments to Citizens@savelpc.org.

October 2nd Fundraiser

Preservation advocates and interested citizens gathered on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for an update on CECPP's programs and to raise funds for our future efforts. We were pleased to be joined by former Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Gene Norman, City Council Member Tony Avella and author and preservation advocate, Tom Wolfe. Many thanks to Katherine Forer (CECPP's dedicated summer intern) and the Forer family for hosting this wonderful event.

As you know, even though CECPP is a small group of individuals rather than a large non-profit organization, it takes funding to move our advocacy efforts forward. We have accomplished a lot over the past year but we need your help to keep it going. If you would like to contribute funds to CECPP's campaign, you can do so online by clicking on the Make a Contribution button on the bottom-left portion of our website or by mailing a check to: CECPP, Neighborhood Preservation Center, 232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003

Photos of our October 2nd event are available here.

Photo (Right):Left to Right: Council Member Avella, Mike Seymour, Tony Wood, Former Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Gene Norman, Author Tom Wolfe