Dear friend,
GVSHP and a coalition of over 40 preservation groups will be holding its Second Annual Lobby Day on Wednesday, May 28, to advocate for a RESTORATION of $300,000 into the Landmarks budget. These funds will allow the LPC to maintain its survey staff and effectively protect New York’s valuable historic buildings and neighborhoods. PLEASE JOIN US, AND PLEASE HELP!
In 2006, the City Council, led by Council Members Jessica Lappin, Tony Avella and Diana Reyna, allocated $250,000 in additional funds to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s budget, allowing the agency to hire five new full-time staff researchers to aid in their designation efforts. Last year that amount was increased to $300,000, which allowed the LPC to designate more than 1,000 buildings in 2007, a 2,000% increase in buildings since FY2005.
Still, despite the amount of much-needed work that these grants have allowed, the Mayor has declined to baseline this amount and it has not been included in the Commission’s FY09 budget.
Even with this added $300,000, the LPC’s budget amounts to less than one one-hundredth of one percent of the City’s expenditures. But this small amount has allowed the LPC to move forward with much-needed designations over the past two years, including the NoHo Extension and the proposed South Village Historic District, as well as several new individual landmarks designations including Webster Hall in the East Village and the Keller Hotel in the West Village. Without the added staff, there is no way that the LPC can maintain its preservation efforts at its current level.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Call or write your Council Member and ask them to support the restoration of the $300,000. Go to www.council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml to find your Council Member and their contact information, and go to www.gvshp.org/LPCFundingLtr08.htm for a sample letter you can use.
Join us on the City Hall steps at 2 pm on Wednesday, May 28th for a press conference calling for the restoration of the LPC budget! GVSHP will be joined by other preservation groups and a number of City Councilmembers to speak out for the need for more LPC funding.
Spread the word! Pass this e-mail along to friends, family, and neighbors.
See below for additional information about the critical need for more funding for the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Please do write and call your Councilmember, and I hope to see you on the steps of City Hall on the 28th.
Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY
www.gvshp.org
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