NEWS: "Secret" Landmarks Survey Irks Developers & Preservationists
From the Staten Island Advance (4/30):
Secret landmarks survey irks both sides
Commission won’t say which homes of 1,000 examined could end up designated
Sunday, April 30, 2006
By KAREN O’SHEA STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is walking a tightrope these days.
The commission recently completed a two-year survey of 1,000 older buildings on Staten Island, a borough where more residents are clamoring for the preservation of older homes while builders and owners are calling for better protection of property rights.
But there is one thing those disparate camps seem to agree on: The Landmarks survey, they say, should be made public.
It’s a request the commission has so far declined to grant, including for the Advance, arguing that the list is an important internal planning tool for the agency and releasing it could spark a run on older homes, with owners selling historic homes to developers.
Landmarks staff has also declined to say if any of the surveyed homes will be landmarked, but at least one preservationist who has seen the list said about 50 of the homes could be designated in the future.
“They don’t want to be secretive but the emotions are so heightened that they have to be secretive, just to save the buildings,” said Barnett Shepherd, the former director of Historic Richmond Town who also does research for the commission.
Full story: http://www.silive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1146403106166830.xml&coll=1&thispage=1