City Hall Protest Calls for Landmarks Funding

Lost in the dust-cloud hovering above today's Upper East Side crane collapse was this morning's protest on the steps of City Hall, during which preservationists asked the city to restore $300,000 in funding to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

That commission is responsible for designating, and thereby protecting from alteration, city landmarks and landmarked districts.

“During the last two years, increased funding has enabled the LPC to hire more employees, and as a result, the commission designated 26 landmarks and four historic districts,” said Lisa Kersavage, director of advocacy for the Municipal Art Society, in a statement.

The jobs of five such employees are now at risk, thanks to proposed funding cutbacks, according to the Society.

The full release is below:

Municipal Art Society Urges City Council to Restore LPC Budget

The Municipal Art Society of New York, a non-profit membership organization that promotes a more livable city, joined nearly 60 preservation organizations for a news conference on the steps of City Hall to urge the City Council to restore funding for the Landmarks Preservation Commission. News conference participants included City Council Members Jessica Lappin, who sponsored the event, Tony Avella and Letitia James, as well as DC 37, Local 375.

For the past two years, the City Council has funded five additional positions to survey and research the city’s historic buildings and neighborhoods. These employees have surveyed 19,000 buildings in the past two years. These five positions are at risk of being cut as a result of reduced funding in the upcoming budget.

The MAS believes that these jobs, which would cost $300,000, are necessary to effectively uphold the LPC’s mandate of preserving the city’s heritage. Even with the increased funding, the LPC's budget is very small, accounting for less than one one-hundredth of one percent of the City's expenditures.

“During the last two years, increased funding has enabled the LPC to hire more employees, and as a result, the commission designated 26 landmarks and four historic districts,” said Lisa Kersavage, director of advocacy for the Municipal Art Society. “Communities throughout the city are calling for landmark designation, but if the City eliminates the property surveyors, the commission cannot operate effectively to protect historic buildings and districts.”

In 2006, the City Council, led by Council Members Jessica Lappin, Tony Avella and Diana Reyna, increased the budget of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) by $250,000 for the fiscal year. Consequently, the LPC was able to hire five new staff members dedicated to survey, research and designation. In 2007, in an effort led by Council Member Lappin, the City Council renewed the funding and increased it to $300,000, thereby enabling the LPC to keep the five additional staff members and continue the level of designation work necessary in today's building boom.

MAS recently created a brief movie on this budget issue that can be found at http://mas.org/viewcategory.php?category=4. The movie explains the need for the budget restoration, and also shows pictures of buildings surveyed in all five boroughs.

The Municipal Art Society of New York is a private, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote a more livable city. Since 1893, the organization has worked to enrich the culture, neighborhoods and physical design of New York City. It advocates for excellence in urban design and planning, contemporary architecture, historic preservation and public art. For more information, please visit www.mas.org. For more information about The Campaign for a Grand Moynihan Station, visit www.newpennstation.org.

Groups in Support of Sustaining the LPC Budget

93rd Street Beautification Association

Bay Improvement Group

Bayside Civic Database

Bayside Historical Society

Brooklyn Heights Association

Cambridge Place Action Coalition

Carnegie Hill Neighbors

Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation

City Lore

Cobble Hill Association

Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights

Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side

Ditmas Park Association

DOCOMOMO US New York/Tri-State

The Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District

DUMBO Neighborhood Association

East Village Community Coalition

Fiske Terrace Association

Fort Greene Association

Four Bough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance

Friends of First Avenue Estate

Friends of Terra Cotta

Friends of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans

Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct

Friends of the Upper East Historic Districts

Fulton Ferry Landing Association

Greenwich Village Community Task Force

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Historic Districts Council

Historic Neighborhood Enhancement Alliance

Jackson Heights Garden City Society

Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association

Kew Gardens Improvement Association

Landmark West!

Merchant’s House Museum

Metropolitan Historic Structures Association

Modern Architecture Working Group

Municipal Art Society

New York Landmarks Conservancy

New York Preservation Alliance

North Shore Waterfront Greenbelt

Place Matters

Preservation League of Staten Island

Preserve & Protect

Queens Civic Congress

Rego-Forest Preservation Group

RESTORE

Richmond Hill Historical Society

Riverdale Historic District

Senator Street Historic District

Society For Clinton Hill

Society for the Architecture of the City

Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance

Tottenville Historical Society

Tribeca Community Association

West 54-55 Street Block Association

West 122nd Street Block Association

West Brighton Restoration Society

Williamsburg Greenpoint Preservation Alliance