Get Involved: Landmarks Review at Community Boards
Following up on our earlier post discussing public hearings at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, we thought we’d focus our attention on another important part of the landmarks public review process: community board hearings.
Alterations to landmarked buildings that require an LPC public hearing must also be presented to the local community board. GVSHP attends all Community Board 2 Landmarks & Public Aesthetics Committee meetings as well as Community Board 3 Landmarks Subcommittee meetings. We photograph each proposal and share them with the public on our Landmarks Applications Webpage. CB2’s meetings are generally held on Mondays and CB3’s are generally on Thursdays; meeting spaces change each time, but are always located within the boundaries of the respective community board district (we also list them on our webpage as soon as we know).
Although the community board vote is only advisory to the LPC, these hearings are an important first step for the public to get involved with the landmarks review process. At these meetings, anyone can come and listen to the applicant present their proposals for the first time; after the community board members ask questions, there is an opportunity for the public to raise any questions or concerns. A prepared statement isn’t necessary.
Community board hearings are scheduled so that applications are heard before they are presented at the LPC. The next scheduled CB2 Landmarks hearing is Monday, November 5th at a location TBD. Applications that will be presented include:
- 421-425 West 13th Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District
- 14 St. Luke’s Place in the Greenwich Village Historic District
CB2 Landmarks meetings for the remainder of the year are scheduled for November 19th and 26th, and December 3rd (all beginning at 6:30 but with locations TBD). We post application information as soon as the LPC releases public hearing agendas, which is usually about three weeks before the hearing date.
At this time, CB3 Landmarks meetings are not scheduled for November. Be sure to check our Landmarks Applications Webpage to see if there are upcoming hearings in CB2 or CB3, and to get involved with changes to landmarks in your neighborhood!