LPC Chair Robert Tierney Guest of Conservancy Public Policy Committee
Conservancy Board Member Frank J. Sciame, Jr., left, Board Chair Stuart N. Siegel, and LPC Chair Robert Tierney
Robert Tierney told members of the Conservancy’s Public Policy Committee that his proudest accomplishment during the seven years he’s chaired the Landmarks Preservation Commission has been the steady increase in designations of individual landmarks and historic districts across the City, and especially those outside of Manhattan. Tierney met with the Committee, which reviews policy issues including proposals for new construction in historic districts and additions to individual landmarks, in early April.
During Tierney’s term the Commission has designated over 2,000 buildings, including a record 24 historic districts. Tierney also spoke about the range of landmarks. With over 11,200 buildings designated, Brooklyn is fast approaching Manhattan (11,600) as the most landmarked borough. The Commission has also reached out to designate more individual buildings in Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx, as well as different types of historic districts: the Grand Concourse district in the Bronx will feature Art Deco apartment buildings, while the Addisleigh Park district in Queens is a middle-class neighborhood with a suburban feel, composed of 20th-century detached houses, many of which were the homes of prominent African American stars of sports of entertainment. The Commission has made many themed designations in the last year, highlighting mid-century Modern landmarks, buildings that represent abolitionist history, or New York’s industrial past, and a group that the Conservancy has long championed: the Federal houses.
Tierney outlined other successes and challenges that the LPC has seen in the recent years. Technological advances have made designation reports and maps easily available to the public. The LPC’s legal staff has taken on several cases using new tools of enforcement such as the 2005 demolition by neglect law. Action in the Windermere case led to new ownership of that 1881 apartment building, which had long been on the Conservancy’s Endangered Buildings list, as well as a $1 million fine.
In FY 2010, the LPC’s budget was $4.5 million. For 2011, the City has requested a reduction of approximately $200,000. Tierney believes that amount can be decreased by staff attrition, but he contends that the agency will remain essentially intact, able to continue its landmark pace in designating New York’s historic buildings.
