Neighborhoods speak out in favor of landmarking
From the Western Queens Gazette – it seems that if you want something positive about preservation to be printed in certain papers, you have to write it yourself.
Landmarking Process
To The Editor:
For too long, the four so-called outer boroughs have been assigned a back seat by the city in terms of getting landmark designation for worthy buildings and neighborhoods. People in these boroughs are realizing that there are individual structures and districts that have the necessary historical, and/or architectural, and/or cultural attributes that would qualify them for landmarking.
It is vital that we preserve these important places for future generations. They are what make our communities special and unique. Contextual rezoning is important and helpful in controlling overdevelopment, but it usually does not prevent the demolition of noteworthy buildings. Landmarking is the ultimate protection.
It is not easy for a building or neighborhood to attain landmark designation by the city under the best of circumstances. It is a long and intense process and only the truly deserving places can even hope to achieve this recognition.
Owners of landmarked structures need to get approval from the Landmarks Commission for any planned exterior changes to those structures. It is like a review committee common in many communities across the country. Many people find this concept threatening. I would think that a review by experts would be helpful and beneficial in ensuring that [a] structure maintains its historical significance and financial value.
New development in our city is important to our economy and our growth. However, when we look around our neighborhoods today, a lot of the new buildings being constructed lack the style, beauty and individuality of the buildings they have replaced. The size of the new structures overpowers existing housing stock in many cases. Trees and landscaping are replaced by cement and strange colored brick. If that pattern continues, our neighborhoods will be unrecognizable in the future.
There is still time and still structures and neighborhoods to preserve through landmarking. Community integrity and stability depend on what we can accomplish over the next few years. We need the help and cooperation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in the outer boroughs to achieve these goals.
Henry Euler, Bayside