Landmarks Commission: Slow, Overtaxed

The NY Times begins a series on the Landmarks Preservation Commission's workings. The Times finds an "overtaxed agency that has taken years to act on some proposed designations, even as soaring development pressures put historic buildings at risk." While the LPC says necessary work to research requests cannot be put under deadlines, there is the proposal to enlarge the Park Slope historic district that has been lingering for 7 years. (A judge ordered the LPC to work faster, since letting proposals "languish is to defeat the very purpose of the L.P.C. and invite the loss of irreplaceable landmarks.") Many preservationists chime in about LPC Commissioner Robert Tierney--one says, "He’s a guy who’s had no demonstrable interest in historic preservation, who has the most important preservation job in New York City." Photo of Silver Towers, which was landmarked last week