June 23, 2015
Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Vote
For The Riverside-West End Historic District Ext II
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The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has finally released the date of the next section's designation vote: June 23, 2015.
After repeated inquiries to LPC, we were able to obtain this information with help from the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit.
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Our Eight Year Struggle To See EVERY BLOCK Of West End Avenue Designated Could Be Ended With One Capricious Stroke Of The Pen
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We have been told the Commissioners will be presented with the dissected version of the map that we saw in April.
1) 95th to 96th St: West End Avenue-Riverside Drive will be eliminated from the district.
PS 75's block would be the only block on West End Avenue's streetscape from 70th-107th St not preserved and protected, the only block! This building, this block will forever be vulnerable.
2) The buildings on W 109th will be eliminated from the district.
3) Almost the entire swath of the west side of Broadway will be eliminated from the district.
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Don't Let The Sun Set On The Calendared Riverside-West End HD Ext
II
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We need everyone to send an email (sample below), write a letter or call the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The response needs to be overwhelming.
This change would set a dangerous precedent for other districts or individual landmarks calendared by prior Commissions.
Let the LPC know that this strategy of
dismissing a previous Commission's research and work is not acceptable.
There was a public hearing in 2011 to discuss these calendared buildings. No hearing was held to discuss removing these buildings. The public was not privy to these discussions, only the conclusions.
While we support designation, the Commission needs to know we, the people, do not support the action to exclude these buildings.
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Email the Chair and any or all of the Landmarks Preservation Commissioners at comments@lpc.nyc.gov and urge them to reconsider changing the boundaries for the Riverside-West End Historic District Ext II:
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Our local Elected Officials, CB7, fellow preservation groups and other community groups have all been supportive of voting on the district as calendared.
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If you'd like, copy and paste the email below but remember to add a personal touch or anecdote. Make it your own.
Sample Email:
To: comments@lpc.nyc.gov
Subject: Attn (name): Designation vote & boundaries of the Riverside-West End HD Ext II
Dear Chair Srinivasan,
As a resident of the upper west side I am very concerned with the changes to the boundaries of our last historic district extension. I urge you to reconsider these changes and vote on the Riverside-West End HD Ext II as was calendared in 2010.
This section completes and complements the other historic districts on West End Ave, Riverside Drive and the west side of Broadway to tell a unique story of development on the Upper West Side.
Most especially, I request you retain PS 75, this 1949 modern building on West End Avenue, so that our historic district streetscape remains intact. Without it, the future of West End Ave will remain uncertain in perpetuity.
Thank you,
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Designation Vote June 23, 2015
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 This is the last and largest section of the West End Historic Districts. We know there is opposition to its creation by REBNY. They made that clear at the public hearing.
From WEPS email report of the public hearing, October 25, 2011:
"Of the 30 people heard that day, three stood in opposition. One was, as usual, the Real Estate Board of New York; same song, different singer. Carol Van Guilder spoke on behalf of the organization, voicing concerns that the Landmarks Law is being distorted by such a large district. She asked that Broadway be removed and the boundaries dropped back to West End Ave and Riverside Drive."
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Help WEPS continue the necessary work to designate the remaining section of West End Avenue and enable us to be good stewards of those sections already protected.
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Send your check, payable to West End Preservation Society, to:
West End Preservation Society
514 West End Ave Suite 15B
New York, NY 10024
or
Donate online with a credit card, through one of our secured sites:
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