Mayor's Office memo on DEP cleaning for March 2002 meeting

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

New York City Landmarks Commission I Landmarking Process http://www.nyc.gov/htmUlpc/htmUdesignation/fag2text.html

• for work you are considering.

What are some of the factors that the Landmarks Preservation Commission considers when it reviews my application? The staff of the Commission reviews your proposal to evaluate the effect of the proposed changes on the architectural and historical character of your building and/or the historic district.

I own a 1970s building in a historic district. Why does the Landmarks Commission review changes to my building? To preserve a historic district's special character, the Commission reviews changes to all buildings within its boundaries.

The Commission must review the proposed changes to your building to make sure that the overall design is sensitive to the scale and character of the historic district and that the alterations will not detract from the special qualities of the surrounding buildings in the district.

If you apply to the Landmarks Commission to make changes to your building, the Commission will take into account the fact that your building is a contemporary structure. You will not be asked to alter your design to make it look "old-fashioned." If you want to put in new windows, for example, you will not be asked to install multi-paned wooden windows if they did not exist in this building when it was constructed.

Can the Landmarks Commission make me restore my building to the way it looked when it was first built? The Commission regulates proposed changes to a building. It cannot make you do work on your building. For example, if prior to designation the stoop was removed and a ground-level entrance installed, the Commission cannot make you replace the stoop. However, if your building has modern windows or doors and you want to replace them, the Commission might not approve replacing them in kind, but could require a different window, so that the windows and doors are appropriate to the style and design of the building. Similarly, if a highly visible and inappropriate rooftop addition had been added prior to designation, the Commission cannot make you remove the addition. But, if you desire to work on or change the design of the addition, the Commission would require that the work make the addition less intrusive and/or more appropriate.

As an owner of a Iandmarked building, what are my obligations and duties under the Landmarks Law? In general, there are three things that you must do as an owner of Iandmarked property: (1) You must obtain prior approval from the Commission before you do any work on the building; (2) You must follow and abide by all permits and other conditions required by the Commission; and (3) You must maintain your building in good repair to ensure that the outside portions of the building (or designated interior spaces if there is an interior landmark) do not become deteriorated or dilapidated.

Will the Landmarks Commission make me repair my building? There was concern when the Landmarks Law was passed that certain owners might allow their historic buildings to deteriorate to such a degree that the buildings would be in danger of losing their significant features or even of falling down.

To help prevent such "demolition by neglect," the Landmarks Law requires that designated

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