NEWS: Buy Our Book!
A little self-promotion here….but it really is a good book chock-a-block fully of useful information. Here’s what the Queens Tribune has to say…..
From the Queens Tribune: http://www.queenstribune.com/news/1147969067.html
Guide Gives Hope For History
By JEFF FEINMAN
With a number of Queens advocate groups pushing for historical district designations, the Historic Districts Council has released the third edition of its handbook, “Creating an Historic District: A Guide for Neighborhoods.” The guide was first published in 1992, but now the Council has restocked it with new images, fleshed out references, and an easily accessible layout of the city’s landmark laws and process. “We realized that with changes in the process, it was time to revise it,” said Historic Districts Council Executive Director Simeon Bankoff. With areas like Richmond Hill and Broadway- Flushing serving as focal points of possible landmarking status in Queens, the Historic Districts Council is hoping that the guide serves as a support net for those looking to achieve designation. Provided in the revised guide are referential Web site addresses (as there was no Internet in 1992), new sources of research, images of historical districts all over New York City, and copies of building surveys and other forms. Bankoff pointed out that a notable change in the landmarking process since 1992 was the disbanding of a designation committee made up of Landmarks Preservation Commission members. Now all power lies with LPC chairman Robert Tierney, he said. Landmark advocates in Queens expressed a lack of favor for the current process, as there are only six historical districts in Queens, compared to more than 50 in Manhattan. The six historical districts in Queens are Douglaston, Douglaston Hill, Fort Totten, Hunters Point, Jackson Heights, and Stockholm Street. “I think the process is very tough, and not particularly transparent,” said Paul Graziano, who has been involved with the effort to landmark Broadway Flushing. “The Landmarks Commission has been biased towards certain parts of NYC, and Queens is not one of them.” Currently in Queens, the proposal for a Broadway-Flushing historic district saw unanimous approval from CB 7 and is awaiting a possible public hearing with the LPC. Other districts seeking designation such as Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, meanwhile, have yet to see much progress. “For decades, the political landscape in Queens was very pro development and anti landmarks,” Bankoff said. “The Bloomberg administration has been trying to catch up, but there is a big backlog of time where nothing happened. You can’t immediately redress 30 years of neglect.”
“Creating an Historic District: A Guide for Neighborhoods” is available for purchase at $29.95 and can be bought by calling the Historic Districts Council at (212) 614-9107 or by visiting www.hdc.org.