New Landmarks Chair Should Be Steeped In Preservation: Speaker

NEW YORK, NY — The City Council speaker thinks the Landmarks Preservation Commission's next leader should live up to its name. Corey Johnson urged Mayor Bill de Blasio last week to pick someone with "strong preservation experience" as the new chair of the agency, which has been criticized for being too lenient with developers.

"Having a chair with a grounding in historic preservation, I believe, is the most important qualification for leading the Commission and the work of the preservation staff," Johnson, a Chelsea Democrat, wrote in a July 26 letter to the mayor.

The nation's largest municipal preservation agency has been without a permanent leader since Meenakshi Srinivasan served her last day as chair on June 1. Vice Chair Frederick Bland has been overseeing the commission's proceedings in her absence, a commission spokeswoman said.

Srinivasan announced her resignation in April amid an outcry over proposed rule changes that would have limited which landmarks applications get public hearings.

Trained as an architect, Srinivasan was a veteran of the city's land-use agencies. She previously led the Board of Standards and Appeals and worked on the zoning framework for Hudson Yards in the Manhattan Office of the Department of City Planning.

But Johnson — whose Manhattan district contains hundreds of landmarks and historic buildings — said her successor should be someone with "a record of supporting our city's historic heritage." He also praised the commission's staff for trying to balance preservation with the need for development.

"I share your belief that we need to continue to grow and provide housing and employment
opportunities for our booming population and for the people from across the world who want to
come to New York City," Johnson wrote to de Blasio. "At the same time, we also need to protect the sense of place and history that defines what New Yorkers love about their city."

Johnson's letter echoes historic preservation advocates' April plea that de Blasio, a Democrat, pick a chair with a record of protecting history.

The speaker's statement is "enormously important" given that the Council has to approve the mayor's appointment for the job, said Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

"We are hoping for a better direction from whoever the new chair is, and it’s important that the mayor recognize that many, many New Yorkers really value the character and the history and the special flavor of New York," Berman said.

The commission under Srinivasan seemed more concerned with "greasing the skids for developers" rather than protecting that character, Berman said, as it approved demolitions and construction that advocates thought were wrong for historic districts.

But de Blasio spokeswoman Jane Meyer defended the commission's work and said the mayor is seeking a new chair who will continue its progress, though she did not specify what criteria de Blasio is considering. New Yorkers will be able to testify on the eventual pick at a public Council hearing, according to the mayor's office.

"Under this administration, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has been a powerful steward of landmarks across the City," Meyer said in a statement. "It has extended important preservation work to the outer boroughs and underserved communities."

(Lead image: Council Speaker Corey Johnson speaks at a July 2018 news conference. Photo by Emil Cohen/New York City Council)