This week marks the start of an effort by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to address the backlog of 95 properties currently under consideration for landmark status — a process that has held some of these buildings in legal limbo for years. As a matter of fact, some of the buildings have been “calendared” for more than 20 years.
There are more than 33,000 buildings in New York City that have official landmark status, many of them residential apartments or homes in addition to commercial buildings, churches, bridges or other structures. By the end of this process by the LPC, a few more are certain to be added to the list, though the battle between private property rights and preservation will cause fireworks between the governmental action and property owners.
While there are benefits to historic landmark designations (property values can be enhanced) the care and cost of these landmarked properties can be a burden to landlords and tenants. But after the demolition of the old Pennsylvania Station in 1965, the city had to come up with a way to make sure many of the city’s other architectural gems did not go the way of the wrecking ball — or be subject to aesthetically criminal renovations.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, the first of four public hearings will address the backlog on 20 properties across Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The hearing starts at 9 a.m. and will be held at 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor in Manhattan. Three other hearings will take place Oct. 22, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12.
Among some of the buildings up for public comment, there are churches (Immaculate Conception Church at 378 East 151st Street in the Bronx) and Ukrainian Church in Exile (Holy Trinity Cathedral) at 177 South 5th Street in Brooklyn. Heck, even the Pepsi Cola sign in Long Island City is up for landmark status.
Fairway Apartments
As far as residential properties up for consideration this week at the LPC hearing, there are a few noteworthy addresses, including the Fairway Apartments at 76-09 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, which holds 83 apartment units in the six-building complex, and the Spanish Towers, a series of townhouses along 75th Street in Jackson Heights.
Spanish Towers
There’s also an historic district in Douglaston, Queens that is up for review. The grouping includes 18 single-family homes, a school and an apartment building, among other structures. The New York Times wrote about the Douglaston enclave in a story that compellingly outlines the tension in this kind of landmark action.
“This is the crucible of Douglaston,” said Paul Graziano, a preservation consultant based in Queens who is leading the extension effort.
It is also a crucible for the fierce debate over historic preservation, a debate as enduring as the buildings the city set out to protect with the passage of the landmarks law 50 years ago. That debate raises difficult questions: Should properties be protected at all costs, even from their owners? Does landmark status increase the value of a property, or decrease it? Does protecting the past impede the future, or propel it?