Reminder: Tell LPC Before October 1 That Green-Wood Cemetery Should Be Landmarked
UPDATE 9/4: Save those statements for another landmark! It turns out Green-Wood Cemetery would prefer not to be designated a landmark by the city, though they are working with the LPC on an alternative. Learn why in our recent story.
Time is running out.
In July, we reported that the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) decided to address its backlog of landmark status requests for nearly 100 city sites by holding a series of hearings this fall.
On October 8, the LPC will consider granting protected status to seven Brooklyn locations — including Green-Wood Cemetery. The public hearing will be held at the LPC’s offices, on the 9th floor of 1 Centre Street in Manhattan, and will begin at 9:30am.
Speakers are asked register in advance and submit written statements to backlog95@lpc.nyc.gov before October 1. If you are unable to attend the hearing, written submissions will be entered into the record and distributed to the panel. (As an example, see Gravesend historian Joseph Ditta’s open letter to the LPC on his site, The Gravesend Gazette.)
To learn more about the sites in question, check out the fact sheets and research files available for download on the LPC website. Below is a list of the Brooklyn locations to be reviewed on October 8:
BROOKLYN Group 2 Items (7 items)
1. 183-195 Broadway Building, 183-195 Broadway Fact Sheet | Research File
2. Ukranian Church in Exile (Holy Trinity Cathedral), 177 South 5th Street Fact Sheet |Research File
3. St. Barbara’s Roman Catholic Church, 138 Bleecker Street Fact Sheet | Research File
4. St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory, 130 6th Avenue Fact Sheet |Research File
5. Lady Moody-Van Sicklen House, 27 Gravesend Neck Road Fact Sheet | Research File
6. Greenwood Cemetery Fact Sheet | Research File
7. Coney Island Pumping Station, 2301 Neptune Ave Fact Sheet | Research File
The historic Brooklyn locations nearly lost their day in court. The seven potential landmarks were among 95 sites at risk of being “de-calendared” by the LPC — most of of which had been on the waiting list for more than 20 years — in order to clear up a backlog of applications and prioritize new ones. After receiving pushback from community members, preservationists, and politicians, the LPC agreed to revisit the backlogged applications.
Meanwhile, a controversial new City Council bill (Intro. 775), proposed in April by Councilman Peter A. Koo and Councilman David Greenfield, aims to impose tighter deadlines on the LCP. If passed, it would require the panel to hold hearings on all items within 180 days of the application, and take final action within 180 days of the hearing. The bill would also grant the LPC just 18 months to deal with the entire backlog, and any applications that are not addressed within that period would be automatically de-calendared.