March 18, 2003

Statement before the Landmarks Preservation Commission
In support of the Proposed Gansevoort Market Historic District

The Historic Districts Council is the citywide advocate for New York’s designated historic districts and for neighborhoods meriting preservation. The designation of a historic neighborhood as a historic district is almost always HDC’s preferred method of protecting that neighborhood, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to support the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s courageous designation of this district today. Webster’s Dictionary calls courage, “the response of facing and dealing with anything recognized as difficult, instead of withdrawing from it”. Designating Gansevoort Market may be considered difficult by some. The architecture of this district is not classically beautiful – this is an area that has seen an enormous amount of use and alteration. It’s a market neighborhood after all, and markets by their nature go through evolution and change. There are even some wags who maintain that the neighborhood is somehow not “worthy” of being designated ~ a most unfortunate column on the Gotham Gazette website has a lot of fun calling the area “a smelly old neighborhood where they hang pieces of dead cows”. There will be people who question the LPC’s intention on this proposal, there always are.

People may be concerned about property rights and oversight – some how, 38 years of successful and just regulation of designated properties is not sufficient to convince everyone that the rights of building owners of historic properties are not summarily eliminated.

Some people may have concerns that designation will hinder the economic growth of the neighborhood. However, both anecdotal observations of areas such as Ladies’ Mile, SoHo, Tribeca, Fort Greene, and St. George, and economic studies sponsored by numerous groups, including New York City’s Independent Budget Office, have proven to these concerns to be baseless. This should not be a revelation as two of the stated purposes of the Landmarks Law are to “stabilize and improve property values in historic districts” and “strengthen the City’s economy”. Preservation is an accepted tool for economic development in municipalities throughout the world, which even includes New York City.

There might be concerns that current businesses will no longer be able to operate in the neighborhood. This concern essentially relates to changes in zoning and usage, which are issues not under the mandate of the LPC. Furthermore, these issues are not even considered by the Commission when reviewing applications for the proposed developments in designated areas.

Finally, there may be even some evidence of jealousy that other areas of the city are not being designated. While there is a disparity in the amount of designated properties on a borough-wide scale, that is no reason for this important designation to go forward. HDC remains certain that the LPC will designate all deserving neighborhoods and properties within the city in due time, particularly within suburban neighborhoods in the outlying boroughs. We encourage other advocates to follow the example set by the Save Gansevoort Task Force, and offer as much aid and information to the over-burdened research staff as possible, as well as advocating to their supportive elected representatives for increased funds for the Landmarks Commission so that the agency can properly meet all the requests from interested and deserving communities.

The decision to designate Gansevoort Market is not difficult, however, when based on the merits and qualifications of the neighborhood as mandated by the Landmarks Law. The law requires that a landmark site “has a special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the city, state, or nation.” By these considerations, the decision to preserve this area as a designated historic district is obvious.

Few other areas in New York City evidence as strong a “character” as Gansevoort, and there is no other place in New York (that I can name) where so much of the development and history of the city as a maritime and mercantile center is visible right there on the surface. The details of the streetscape – the exposed Belgian block streets, the loading docks of the buildings, the High Line – all combine to create a distinct sense of place that is at once redolent with history and brimming with active life. Gansevoort is robed in its history, the individual buildings work together with the streets to create a well-worn, realistic tableaux of historical New York. It is a courageous move for the Landmark Commission to act to protect this neighborhood, which could so easily be compromised into non-existence. For districts whose principal characteristic is historic – as opposed to districts who are principally architectural such as SoHo – the sense of place is that much more fragile, and future development requires that much more fore-thought and guidance. The results of successful development within historic neighborhoods can be seen citywide. Unfortunately, so can the results of unsuccessful development and the deciding factor between successful development and disastrous abomination in a historic neighborhood is almost always the careful and diligent work of the Landmarks Commission.

HDC hopes that the LPC will be soon be able to apply that care and diligence to the areas excluded in this first phase of the historic district. While there are many voices and many agencies involved in the final fate of the High Line, the structure itself is not a sculpture in a gallery, but rather a vital part of the historic Gansevoort Market. Excluding the High Line and the properties around it from the designated neighborhood is like architecturally considering only three walls of a room – it works well on stage but not in reality. It is HDC’s great hope that the LPC will be able to complete this designation soon, and extend the Gansevoort Market district to its natural western boundary. We strongly applaud this first step, and commend the community for recognizing this important resource, and the Landmarks Commission for acting to protect it.