Preservation Summit Follow-up

On Thursday, April 17th, preservationists descended on the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in Midtown Manhattan, for an update on the Citizen Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation’s (CECPP's) progress in reforming the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), and to give feedback on current initiatives.

Highlights included:

* A review of LPC's budget, which in 1991 was $3.6 Million. The Mayor has proposed a $4.3 Million budget for LPC for 2009. This is $300,000 less than their current budget and, when adjusted for inflation, represents a $1.5 Million cut to their operating budget (in 1991 dollars). CECPP updated summit attendees on their collaborative work, with other preservation organizations, to increase LPC's budget. Attendees were also given a draft letter to send to Mayor Bloomberg, requesting that the Mayor's proposed cuts be restored. If you would like to send your own letter to the Mayor, a copy of the draft is available here.

* An update on CECPP's new lawsuit to bring transparency to the landmark designation process. More information on this lawsuit to compel LPC action on longstanding Requests for Evaluation on potential landmarks and historic districts is available
here.

* A summary of CECPP's efforts to introduce legislation that will make the landmark designation process more open and fair. You can look at the legislation, which is currently being drafted by the City Council, by clicking on this link (PDF).

Right now, the legislation appears to be stalled in the drafting process at the City Council. Help encourage Council Speaker Quinn to complete the draft and introduce the legislation for public review! Download our draft letter (here) and send it!

* A new initiative for reviewing the qualifications of future landmark commissioners! Former Landmarks Commission chair, Gene Norman, announced that he was spearheading the creation of a formal, independent committee, consisting of former Landmarks Commissioners, to interview and evaluate future Commissioners. The process will be similar to the one used by the New York Bar Association in vetting judges. Details on this exciting program are available here

For photos of the summit, check out our Flickr page. For copies of handouts, click on this link and download any documents that you need.

To support CECPP and our campaign to address the landmarks emergency and preserve the places that matter most to New Yorkers, please click on the "Make a Contribution" link on our web site. We need money, not a lot, but enough to keep us going for as long as it takes to achieve our goal of a functioning, politically independent LPC!

An Internal Memorandum Revealed

Today, we are posting an internal memorandum (prepared by a then-employee of the Municipal Art Society but never approved or released by MAS) which gives a thorough review of the current problems with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and provides well thought-out recommendations for reforming it.

The report looks closely at current issues with the Commission (like making important application decisions behind closed doors), ways to increase revenue (especially important these days in the face of continued budget stress), emerging preservation issues and the need to make timely commissioner appointments to ensure Commission independence ( we know a little something about that ).

One telling passage:

The Commission should carefully examine its own current practices with regard to designation to make sure that both the letter and the spirit of the Landmarks Law are being carried out. Once it has done so, it should clarify the workings of the process for the public; otherwise it may soon find itself challenged by an unlikely adversary: the preservation advocates who have been the city's greatest supporters of landmark designation.

As far as we know, this report was written in 2003. The Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation's campaign was launched in 2006, so it looks like their prediction came true! You can read the report in full here .

Note: The condition of the copy we are posting is a bit rough, as it has been marked up with pen and poorly scanned. We hope that you find it informative, nonetheless.

Lawsuit Update

On Tuesday, January 9th, the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation filed additional papers in support of our lawsuit, CECPP v Bloomberg. Among the documents presented was a supportive Affidavit by Charles Platt, former Landmarks Commissioner (1979-1984) and nephew of Geoffrey Platt, founding Chairman of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

In general, Platt's statement discussed the original intent for Commissioners to be more independent through the use of staggered, 3 year appointed terms. We won't go into details, since his statement is short, but you can read it for yourself here .

In Platt's words "In the spirit of those who worked so long and unselfishly to protect and preserve New York City's heritage, I urge the Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the Mayor to fill the existing and future vacancies on the Landmarks Preservation Commission with staggered terms in order to fulfill the wise intent of the drafters of the Landmarks Law.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Landmark Disparity

If you haven't already seen it, the Municipal Art Society web site is host to a great map, developed by the MAS Planning Center, which gives the location of every landmark in the city. The map shows each of the 51 City Council Districts, allowing the user to see which districts host the most landmark sites. After a few seconds, it is easy to see that few landmarks have been designated outside of a select few districts in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Perhaps the Observer should have reviewed these maps before responding to Tom Wolfe.

The maps can be downloaded here .

Historic Districts and Property Values

In September 2003, the city's Independent Budget Office (a city agency charged with a watchdog role over the budget and city agency performance) issued an interesting report entitled The Impact of Historic Districts on Residential Property Values. The findings confirmed what every preservationist already knows, that landmarks are good for the city's economy.

The findings include:

• All else equal, prices of houses in historic districts are higher than those of similar houses outside historic districts.

• Although prices for historic properties have at times increased less rapidly than for similar properties outside historic districts, overall price appreciation from 1975 through 2002 was greater for houses inside historical districts.

To view the report, click here .

Important Preservation Reports

Over the next few weeks, the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation will be posting some of the important reports that helped to inform and inspire our campaign. Look for links to these reports in the left column of this page, along with blog posts announcing their "arrival." Today, we are posting a copy of the Report Problems Experienced by Community Groups Working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission by the Women's City Club of New York .

The Report was developed in 2003 in response to frustrations by landmark advocates following hearings on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. After the hearings, the Women's City Club gathered advocates together to find a way to express their common concerns about the Landmarks Preservation Commission and to develop a common agenda for reform.

We hope you find this detailed, well-drafted report as informative as we did.

Access Problems Experience by Community Groups Working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission here .