The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner[1] following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for the construction of the current Madison Square Garden. According to the Landmarks Preservation Law, a building must be at least thirty years old before the Commission can declare it a landmark.[2] City law also allows for the Commission's decision to be overturned if an appeal is filed within 90 days.[3]
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The goal of New York City's landmarks law is to preserve the aesthetically and historically important buildings, structures, and other objects that make up the New York City vista. The Landmarks Preservation Commission is responsible for deciding which properties should be subject to landmark status and enacting regulations to protect the aesthetic and historic nature of these properties. These regulations are generally designed to allow property owners to continue to use and maintain their properties, while preserving the important design characteristics of the properties. The commission preserves not only unique buildings, but the overall feel of neighborhoods that are designated as historic districts.[4] The commission is responsible for overseeing a range of designated landmarks ranging from the Fonthill House in the North Bronx, built in 1852 for the actor Edwin Forrest, to the 1670s Conference House, where Benjamin Franklin and John Adams visited Staten Island.
Decisions that the Commission makes include intricacies ranging from siding in Clinton Hill to signage in TriBeCa to the color of bricks for an apartment tower on the Upper West Side.[5] The role of the Commission has evolved over time, especially with the changing real estate market in New York City. As of 2006, the Commission set a goal of designating 16 individual landmarks and historic districts per year.[5] In addition to decisions about buildings' preservation, the Commission must decide whether new uses, or changes are compatible with the landmarked building.[6]
The Landmarks Preservation Commission's first hearing occurred in September, 1965 over the future of the Astor Library on Lafayette Street and the building was given a new use and preserved as The Public Theater.[7] 25 years later, the Commission was cited by David Dinkins as having preserved New York City's municipal identity and enhanced the market perception of a number of neighborhoods. This success is believed to be due, in part, to the general acceptance of the commission by the city's developers.[4]
The Commission was headquartered in the Old New York Evening Post Building from 1980 to 1987.[8]
In 1989, when the Commission and its process was under review following a panel created by Mayor Koch in 1985,[9] a decision was made to change the process by which buildings are declared to be landmarks[10] due to some perceived issues with the manner by which the Commission operates[1] as well as the realization that the destruction feared when the Commission was formed was no longer imminent.[9]
In its first 25 years of existence, the Commission designated 856 buildings, 79 interiors and 9 parks or other outdoor places as landmarks, while declaring 52 neighborhoods with more than 15,000 buildings as historic districts.[1]
As of May 11, 2010 the LPC has granted landmark status to over 27,000 buildings including 100 historic districts, 1,265 individual landmarks, 110 interior landmarks, and 10 scenic landmarks in all five boroughs. Some of these are also National Historic Landmarks (NHL) sites, and many are National Registered Historic Places (NRHP).
One of the most prominent decisions in which the Commission was involved was the preservation of New York City's Grand Central Terminal with the assistance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.[11] In 1978, the United States Supreme Court upheld the law in Penn Central Transportation Co., et al. v. New York City, et al., stopping the Penn Central Railroad from altering the structure and placing a large office tower above it.[12] This success is often cited as significant due to the Commission's origins following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station, referred to by some as architectural vandalism.[1]
In 1989, the Commission designated the Ladies' Mile Historic District.[13] 1990 marked the first time in the Commission's history that a proposed landmark: the Guggenheim Museum, one of the youngest declared landmarks, received a unanimous vote by the Commission members.[2] The vast majority of the Commission's actions are not unanimous by the Commission members or the community with a number of cases including: St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Bryant Park and a number of Broadway theatres resulting in challenges.[14] One of the most controversial properties was 2 Columbus Circle, which remained at the center of a discussion over its future for a number of years.[15]
Cultural landmarks, such as Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn are recognized as well, not for their architecture, but rather for their location in a designated historic district.[16]
In a heatedly discussed decision on August 3, 2010, the Commission unanimously declined to grant landmark status to a building on Park Place in Manhattan, and thus did not block the construction of Cordoba House.[17]
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