De Blasio vs. NYC’s historic buildings
Pastis was an authentic Parisian brasserie located on a once obscure corner in the West Village where 9th Ave., Little West 12th St. and Gansevoort St. collide. Even the intersection felt Parisian — a carrefour rarely found in New York. Then, in 2014, Keith McNally’s popular café was pushed out by intensive redevelopment permitted by the city — redevelopment that has decimated the classic 19th century industrial design that Pastis so colorfully embraced.
Such is the vicious cycle now threatening beautiful buildings and places across the city. And the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the last line of defense for protecting historic New York, is rolling over rather than pushing back.
In the case of Pastis, because LPC allowed a developer to more than double the commercial space, the restaurant could no longer afford to occupy the corner. A new glass structure now perversely rises above the historic walls. Adjacent Gansevoort St. is also being ripped apart, despite being landmarked and listed on the New York State and National Registries of Historic Places.
This is a big deal because there are more than 140 historic districts across the five boroughs, and they could all be vulnerable to district-wrecking redevelopment. Those under the most pressure include those on the Upper West Side, Ladies’ Mile, SoHo and in Greenwich Village.
Two key players are responsible for LPC contradicting its own mandate: Chairwoman Meenakshi Srinivasan — who openly questions the LPC’s right to tell architects what to do — and Mayor de Blasio, who is promoting redevelopment at the cost of the city’s architectural heritage.
A recent study commissioned by the New York Landmarks Conservancy showed the Landmarks Commission in a typical year approved more than 99.5% of all applications in historic districts.
In spite of having created several new landmark districts since taking over LPC in 2014, Srinivasan’s commission is shepherding new design she thinks is compatible with existing historic areas. It is not.
Perhaps Srinivasan’s failure has something to do with her background. De Blasio named her after a stint as chair and commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals, an agency known for granting zoning variances to expand development rights. Before that, she worked at the Department of City Planning promoting development. Though an architect, she is not a preservationist. Strangely, only two such professionals sit on the commission.
One of Srinivasan’s first actions upon taking over LPC, according to sources inside the commission, was instructing her staff to take off their preservation hats. The agency has since seen a significant exodus of experienced staff and landmarked areas compromised.
In the Greenwich Village Historic District, a post-modern mansion approved for 145 Perry St. — built by a billionaire hedge-fund manager — was approved, despite having nothing to do with the district. In the East Village, LPC ignored requests by preservationists to landmark a group of BeauxArts apartment buildings, permitting development of a new graceless hotel. And what is a glass tower doing on the riverfront in Dumbo, whose very character is 19thcentury New York?
Determining appropriate design should be simple. A new building should share the rich aesthetic characteristics that led to district designation. That leaves plenty of options for any imaginative architect.
Additional process problems: Many commissioners’ day jobs require good relations with LPC, creating conflicts of interest; and LPC’s chronic failure to acknowledge the value of ordinary buildings in districts. The commission often fails to look beyond a building’s mere facade to uncover its historic worth.
LPC uses historic reports — some written more than 50 years ago — as guidance. But these reports never get updated, so LPC can’t know when once abundant building types become rare due to widespread destruction. Example: the current demolition of the earliest pure purpose parking garage at 11 Jane St. in the Greenwich Village Historic District.
Early parking garages played an important role in the city’s evolution. And 11 Jane was remarkable engineering for its day, which inspired a new generation of such structures.
Before we lose more of our architectural history, LPC needs to be made more independent — with leadership that’s committed to preserving the less than 5% of the city under its watch, whose character made New York, New York.