Justin Stec

The Future of Urban Preservation

The New York Times recently dipped its big toe in the warm—but potentially dirty—bathwater of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Not only did the paper discover a 7 year delay in the decision to expand the historic district of Park Slope, a quaint urban hood of growing and established luxury near Prospect Park in Brooklyn; it also unearthed a new luxury condo on the Upper West Side, the closing of a hospital in Greenwich Village and the demolition of a church in Bay Ridge.

All these articles seem to suggest that if only the LPC acted faster, perhaps some of the hasty destruction of the city's fabric could have been prevented. But the main problem is that the LPC has no clear consensus anymore—it is split politically and socially between those who want their historic buildings (and their lifestyle) unchanged and those who want modern conveniences with glass, floor to ceiling windows, and the ability to walk around those dynamic hoods. This debate isn't between big bad developers and poor home-owners, but between people who have already enjoyed a tremendous life-style advantage and those that want in. Both groups bring a full wallet to the table.

The other problem is that landmark and historic status make neighborhoods more sought after, and thus increase the appetite of rapacious developers. Take a look at TriBeCa, a district in lower Manhattan, or DUMBO, a location "Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass," in Brooklyn: both were recently granted historic neighborhood status (in the early 1990s and 2007, respectfully), both are now exclusive enclaves, and both used to be industrial. Of course, there are other factors, but one thing is certain: this isn't a fight between the bourgeois and proletariat, it's about one group of powerful people and another group of powerful people, all clamoring after the same piece of land.

Some observers claim that Bloomberg appointed a fellow business crony, Robert Tierney, under a clear and absolute mandate to tear down and redevelop the city with as much speed, aplomb—and private money—as possible. But firing the head honcho is not a solution. The LPC has been worn down by a tremendous growth in NYC's population, and it needs to be reconfigured and reimagined before it can undertake better urban preservation.

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Posted at 7:06 PM, Dec 05, 2008 in
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