NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 40
CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
Sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Preservation Voters in the 40th District

 

4. Would you sponsor or support legislation that temporarily delays demolition or halts issuance of Department of Buildings permits so that the Landmarks Preservation Commission could consider designating important historic properties before they are demolished?

Gordon: Absolutely.

Hopkins: Certainly.

James: I would support and sponsor legislation that temporarily delays demolition, or halts issuance of Department of Buildings permits, so that the LPC can consider designating important properties.

McNally: I believe it is appropriate to use legislation to give Landmarks Preservation Commission adequate time to review historic property designations before they are demolished.

Razvi: Yes, too many historic sites are destroyed by uncaring developers before the Commission has had the opportunity to render an informed decision.

Schiffman: In many ways this questions goes from neighborhood issues to citywide issues. There are many structures that have been demolished over the years that are either in the landmarks pipeline or trying to get into it. The demolition of any historic structure is a loss to the city of New York. Yet like anything else, if there is a piece of legislation to deal with emergencies - some developer demolishing a building – there has to be a set criteria before this can happen. Also, this goes back to making sure that the LPC has sufficient funding to be able to clear up the backlog of pending applications in a reasonable time period.

Sharpe: Yes.

Tulloch: Yes.