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The Landmarks Preservation Commission is once again considering a number of buildings and areas for potential landmarking or historic district designation, such as the Webster Hall, Fisk Terrace-Midwood Park in Broolyn, and One Chase Manhattan Plaza. You can see the list here - PDF.
Of course, there are some unintended consequences, like the total destruction of some buildings. When the LPC announced it was considering expanding the NoHo historic district, the former screw factory at 30 Great Jones St. was destroyed by developers before it could be landmarked.
Across the river, some Queens residents feel their borough gets the short end from the LPC. A study showed out of the 12,495 buildings, Queens "has the fewest stand-alone landmarks — 69 — of any borough, just a tenth of Manhattan's." However, many are unimpressed with the Queens effort to landmark buildings. Example: A gorgeous building about to be leveled for another tower in Long Island City, Queens.
And an interesting note about expected-to-be landmarked One Chase Manhattan Plaza. Not only is it the home of one of the oldest U.S. banks, the building influenced the downtown skyline significantly as NYC transitioned from a physical commercial port to a financial port. Former Chase chairman David Rockefeller also helped found the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, to rid downtown of its gritty historical low-rent low-rise, sea-dependent shabbiness, and replace it with things like the World Trade Center.
NYC: Chase Manhattan Plaza - Sunken Garden, by wallyg at flickr
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They should landmark all of Manhattan. And don't let anyone new move here. Because change is bad.
Change is not all bad. Some change is bad, and that includes tearing down the visually stunning physical remnants of your city's incredibly rich history to put up butt-ugly glass-and-steel condos all over the place.
Too bad it is landmarked because just the other day I was thinking what a disaster that plaza is. It's elevated above street level which makes it uninviting. Being elevated also removed any possibility of sidewalk retail or cafe space below and yet they did nothing in the plaza, not even landscaping. Aside from one large piece of modern art is completely concrete and quite wind swept.
I think that last sentence is very key. While it's crucial to preserve the history of New York we have to remember that not everything is worth preserving. I'm sure there would be some group out there who would want to preserve the "gritty historical low-rent low-rse sea-dependant shabbiness" of the pre-One Chase Manhattan Plaza New York, but look what went up in it's place. Not all progress is bad. Sometimes we get new landmarks that will last even better than what they replace. The city is constantly evolving and that's what makes New York so great. Let's preserve but not strangle the city.
Mr. Hogarty, a correction: Fisk Terrance/Midwood Park and Webster hall are not being considered, they we DESIGNATED today.
You should correct this.
Broadway-Flushing rejected.
It's in Queens, of course, which means the LPC and the City considers it the home of bedroom barracks for the future 1 million population explosion.
www.forgotten-ny.com
I love the idea of the landmarking system but mother of god, does it get used on some homely-ass buildings from time to time.
Spiny got it right.
Not all change is bad, but if "progress" means tearing down venerable & solid buildings that have weathered a century-plus in this city to put up ugly utilitarian towers and gaudy "moderne architecture", then forget progress - let's stay static until we can sort out our priorities.
If the developers keep going the way they want to, this city will turn into a homogeneous mess of ugly, soulless crapitecture lacking in any aesthetic merit - lacking in any merit whatsoever, in fact, except for lining the pockets of money-hungry developers.
The former Abraham and Straus (now Macy's) store in downtown Brooklyn should be included on the list of buildings to be landmarked. The Art Deco store incorporates an earlier cast-iron building from the late 1800s. The first floor Art Deco entrances and elevator lobby should receive special protection in addition to any landmarking of the exterior.
I agree with Kingston- the vast majority of new buildings (and especially new houses) are butt-ugly and completely out of character with their neighborhoods. Is it that hard for an architect to design a house which at least tries to blend in with its surroundings? Is it an ego trip, designing something which sticks out?