Urgent Call To Action!

Intro 775, set for a September 9 hearing, will harm preservation efforts!

SAVE CHELSEA has joined many other preservation and neighborhood organizations in opposing Intro 775, which is a bill that would seriously interfere with the designation work of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is about to begin its way toward enactment by the New York City Council. Below, learn more about Intro 775, and how you can help to block its passage.

Here's what is being proposed: Intro 775, authored by the City Council's Landmarks Committee Chair Peter Koo and Land Use Committee Chair David Greenfield, would prohibit landmark designation of any property under consideration by the LPC for more than a year or any district under consideration for more than two years without a final decision by the LPC. After automatically being jettisoned from consideration when that time has elapsed, the property would not be eligible for reconsideration for five years. A lot can happen in five years--demolitions, inappropriate alterations, stripping of decorative elements.
 

Councilmember Peter Koo.

Image Credit: William Alatriste / New York City Council
 

The rationale offered for Intro 775 is that it would ensure a predictable process within appropriate time frames. If such legislation had been in effect since the establishment of the LPC in 1965, nearly half of New York's individual landmarks and historic districts would not have been designated. How many of these historic properties might have been destroyed or inappropriately altered is anyone's guess.

The bill does nothing to address contributing factors that prolong the process. It does not, for example, provide for more resources for the LPC, the city's smallest agency. With fewer staff members than any other agency, it is charged with evaluating potential landmarks throughout the entire city as well as having oversight responsibilities over more than 33,000 properties that are already designated. The research required to write the highly detailed designation reports for consideration by the LPC takes an unpredictable length of time. While providing no additional resources to ensure that the agency can with due diligence pursue the work required within the proposed firm time constraints, Intro 775 might discourage the LPC from taking on difficult designation requests for fear of not meeting the deadlines. Developers, on the other hand, might be encouraged to employ tactics to slow the agency's work and run out the clock.

Intro 775 is scheduled for a hearing at

City Hall in the City Council Chambers on

Wednesday, September 9, at 11 a.m.

Please join the opposition by attending and speaking against this detrimental proposal. Even if you don't speak, being there is important. A massive show of opposition is needed because of the potential committee vote that day to move the bill onto the agenda of the full City Council. To read the letter of opposition signed by Save Chelsea and numerous other New York City organizations, click the button at the bottom of this e-mail.

But first, please make your opposition to Intro 775 known to the committee members listed below who will be hearing the proposal; they may be deciding even now how they will vote. You have several options:

• Send emails detailing your objection. (This is particularly recommended if your Council member is listed below.)

• Write a letter as simple and short as "I am opposed to Intro 775 in its present form. It will place unnecessary burdens on the staff of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission."

• Go to the link below provided by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation to join a list of those in opposition: [Link]
   

District 3 City Council Representative, Corey Johnson

corey.johnson@council.nyc.gov

The City Council Land Use Committee Members

Hon. Peter Koo: pkoo@council.nyc.gov

Hon. David G. Greenfield: dgreenfield@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Rosie Mendez via her chief of staff: vdiaz@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Daniel Garodnick via his chief of staff: ikramer@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Benjamin Kallos via his chief of staff: jtowsen@benkallos.com

Hon. Inez Dickens via her chief of staff: lmayes@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Ydanis Rodriguez: yrodriguez@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Andrew Cohen via his chief of staff: dajohnson@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Ritchie Torres via his chief of staff: SMcDonald@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Maria del Carmen Arroyo via her chief of staff: jotero@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Annabel Palma: apalma@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Mark Weprin via his chief of staff: rwimpfheimer@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Ruben Wills: rwills@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Donovan Richards: drichards@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Stephen Levin: slevin@council.nyc.gov

Hon Antonio Reynoso via his chief of staff: jgutierrez@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Brad Lander via his chief of staff: rgoodman@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Darlene Mealy via her chief of staff: gdavis-elliott@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Vincent Ignizio: vignizio@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Inez Barron via her director of legislation: mwashington@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Mark Treyger: mtreyger@council.nyc.gov

Hon. Jumaane D. Williams: jwilliams@council.nyc.gov

For additional information about Save Chelsea please visit our website.