Letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg Opposing Fees for Permits from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
August
6, 2003
Honorable Michael Bloomberg
Mayor of the City of New York
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
The Greenwich Village Block Associations is a community wide coalition
of block associations dedicated to preserving and improving the quality
of life for
residents of our historic neighborhood. We are justly proud of its internationally
famous architectural heritage. For that reason, we strongly oppose the
current proposal to impose fees on applications to the NYC Landmarks
Preservation Commission
(LPC) for owners seeking to renovate and/or restore historic structures.
We are confident that disastrous long-term impacts on our neighborhoods
will out weigh conceivable short-term monetary benefits to the city. We
are certain
that proposed fees will discourage building owners from doing necessary
and/or desirable work on their buildings and that owners will undertake
work without
acquiring the relevant information or permits, thus ensuring the inappropriate
development and erosion of the city’s historic districts.
“
Preservation pays in terms of our quality of life and the city’s revenues.” The
designation and regulation of our historic neighborhoods has contributed to
the city’s “economic resurgence” and it will do so in the
future. It is patently unfair to create punitive fees that will arbitrarily
punish civic-minded individuals for doing the “right thing.” The
cost of maintenance and restoration of historic structures falls on property
owners who have recently shouldered a sizable increase in their real estate
taxes. Burdensome fees will discourage owners, particularly those in low-income
areas, from seeking landmarks designation. The result will be the eventual
loss of buildings that should have been cherished by everyone, including
visitors to the city.
We recognize that the city is in economic difficulty, and we support appropriate
remedies. We suggest that the correct course is the imposition of severe
financial penalties on those willfully committing infractions against landmark
regulations
and by ensuring swift and certain enforcement.
Surely, it makes sense to punish the guilty rather than to take punitive
action against the law abiding.
We are encouraged by the openness of the Bloomberg administration, its policy
of inclusion, and its willingness to rethink its positions. Unfortunately,
under the prior administration, the GVBA concluded that decisions rendered
by the LPC
were often controversial and ill considered. Because the suggestion for fees
emanates from the LPC, we fear that the agency that has been charged to preserve
and enhance the city’s “architectural loveliness” may have
lost sight of its original mission. We urge you to give careful consideration
to the policies and composition of the LPC and to reaffirm and reinvigorate
its original mandate.
We understand that as mayor, you deal daily with many critical issues. “Designated
historic districts are internationally known examples of how preservation, rehabilitation,
and community support enhance and uplift neighborhoods, resulting in higher real
estate values.” Beauty and common sense form an irresistible combination.
Please do not allow the current budget crisis to lead to bad public policy by
ensuring that fees will not be charged for LPC permits. We should assist those
who help maintain the city’s “architectural pride of place.” The
members of the GVBA believe in the future of New York. But how will the city
know where it is going if we permit it to forget where it has been.