Landmarks agency failing its job
How many private meetings between a developer applicant and the chairman, lawyer and staff of the Landmarks Preservation Commission does it take before the pattern is considered corruption?
As part of their lawsuit to overturn the Landmarks Preservation Commission approval of an exceedingly high tower at the South Street Seaport — two shorter versions were previously turned down as inappropriate — the community opposition group discovered through Freedom of Information Law requests that more than 40 private meetings took place between the developer, the Howard Hughes Corp., the landmarks commission staff and representatives of various city agencies, including City Hall.
Private meetings between staff and developers have historically been a commission practice, especially led by the commission’s longtime lawyer Mark Silberman. But those meetings have become more frequent in recent years and parallels the exceedingly friendly attitude toward developers.
When the local South St. opposition asked for a meeting with the commission chair, Silberman wrote a letter explaining the commission has to meet with the developer to “make sure they understand the rules and procedures” and explain the law but the community gets its chance only at the one public hearing. Commissioners were met with individually about the Seaport. So much for transparency and aboveboard procedures. So far, the opposition lawsuit won in state Supreme Court, but an appeal is expected.
The commission’s record these days is going from bad to worse. Several designated buildings in Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side and Harlem have been demolished due to deterioration and purposeful owner neglect with no landmarks commission effort at enforcement.
Last year, a very important Victorian house on Willoughby St. in Brooklyn went down after a long delayed designation. The reason given by the commission? A miscommunication between the Buildings Department and the commission. It is unacceptable and easily avoidable. In fact, the commission purposely delayed the designation vote on this high-style turreted 19th century mansion just past the deadline allowing the developer to implement a demolition permit without interference from landmarks.
The fate of the incomparable 1884 Romanesque West Park Church on 86th St. and Amsterdam hangs in the balance as the commission goes through the motions of delaying a decision on the hardship application by the New York Presbytery who wants to sell it to a developer for a reported $30 million. The congregation is gone but a lively and varied performing arts center is thriving and growing. The church has been central to the history of both the city and the Upper West Side with some of the city’s oldest and most iconic names associated with it, like Phelps, Dodge and more. There is little confidence the commission will do the right thing without a lawsuit.
To add to the commission’s dismal record in recent years, the city has lost some of its most celebrated and unique interiors because Silberman, in particular, has long resisted designating interiors. Lost: The incomparable Raymond Hood Art Deco McGraw Hill lobby with its unique black and green baked enamel panels; the lavish Toy Building (200 Fifth Ave.) lobby was replaced with a White Box; the unique Noguchi ensemble sculpture of aluminum louvers was partially removed from the lobby of 666 Fifth Ave.
In 2012, when the World Monuments Fund put the unique interior of 510 Fifth Ave. on their Most Endangered Watch List, Silberman invited WMF Executive Vice President Lisa Ackerman for a meeting with him and then Chair Robert Tierney to complain that they weren’t informed and included in the process, something WMF does not do.
510 Fifth is a remarkable early mid-century modern glass box carefully designed inside and out by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Instead of protection, the commission approved drastic interior changes — moving street entrance, changing escalator direction, creating a new interior wall, altering ceilings that were all consistent and similarly lit — all critical to the overall iconic design. Changes ruined its uniqueness to accommodate a developer whose retail tenant went out of business six months later.
Compromising the law goes on. Designation reports are written to allow things not consistent with designation. Standards once followed are compromised. Individual commissioners are met with privately. In December, more than 50 community representatives showed up at City Hall to protest demolitions of both designated and pending landmarks around the city. Commission leadership is impervious. Erosion continues of the city and the character of the neighborhoods that define it. The Landmarks Preservation Law promised better.