Image via Landmark West taken from a slide at the meeting. Click to enlarge.

By Sasha Pezenik

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved an extension to the Riverside-West End Historic District Tuesday that will give more than 300 buildings landmark protection — but the secrecy of the process and the eventual boundaries of the historic district map angered many locals.

The LPC designated much of the area from 89th street to 108th street on Riverside and West End as an historic district, but the commission carved out parts of Broadway and other buildings that locals had initially thought would be part of the district (the commission had initially reviewed this district in October 2011 and had at that time included more buildings in it.) The changes didn’t sit well with the dozens of locals who showed up at the packed downtown conference room, waving signs with messages like “Government in the Dark,” and “No Carveout.” Some signs had skulls and crossbones, echoing an ominous map distributed by preservationist group Landmark West.  As we reported earlier, the commission had been remarkably quiet about the changes to the district in the days before the meeting.

This is the third section of the Riverside-West End Historic District, which now runs from West 70^th Street to West 108th, and brings the grand total of landmarked buildings to over 1,200, LPC Chairwoman Meenakshi Srinivasan said.

Among Tuesday’s landmarked buildings was the Emily Dickinson School, P.S. 75, which local residents and elected officials worried would be left off the map. Indeed, fears for the seemingly redesign-ripe school were not unwarranted: in April, LPC officials had told the West End Preservation Society that P.S. 75 would not be included in the extension. Not wanting to disrupt the street’s “uniform nature”, the LPC said, Emily Dickinson won a reprieve.

However, loud hissing arose from the crowd as commissioners announced that the P.S. 75 playground, as well as three tenements along the same block, would conspicuously not be included in the extension. LPC researcher Lisa Keresavage said the buildings “did not contribute to the historic district’s sense of place.” This gives rise to apprehensions that a large-scale development could soon spring up in the school’s backyard.

New sections of the Upper West Side are now more vulnerable to development even though some buildings now available for revision were designed by the same architects as those in the still-landmarked zones — leaving a gouged map reminiscent of Swiss cheese.

The Commission did not include Broadway at all (that is, the stretch between West 89^th and 107^th streets); it is considered its own entity. “Broadway has predated the grid, it’s a vestige of geography,” one LPC commissioner asserted. Keresavage commented that Broadway buildings are not included (as they were at an October 2011 meeting) since new buildings on the avenue “create an uneven streetscape” and lack cohesion, saying “I think it’s mindful and fair.” Commissioners said they plan to “move to the Broadway concept” in the future. LPC Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron expressed wishes that advocates and the commission begin thinking about the avenue, and begin considering “a language for its designation.”

Even so, Peg Breen, President of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, later said that the Real Estate Board of New York specifically requested that Broadway be excluded from the district.

“They’re serving up the neighborhood to developers on a silver platter!” one Upper West Side advocate said.

Not every Upper West Sider agrees: one woman who has lived on the 104^th and West End for 22 years and owns her apartment said she is frustrated with the extra red tape it takes to renovate once a building is landmarked.

Many attending the meeting, including President Breen and Executive Director of the West End Preservation Society Josette Amato, described their mixed emotions. “I’m grateful and relieved, but we went up against the big guns,” Amato said, mentioning her disappointment that parts of Broadway had not been included, “We had overwhelming support from our community, though, and from our elected officials – did you see all the letters?”

The friction is understandable. It’s an age-old tug-of-war, and ultimately somewhat subjective: preservation, or change? “The Upper West Side wasn’t designed all at once,” Jan Levy, member of the Community Board 7 Landmarks Committee, “But you have to look at context. I’m all for modern architecture – but some of these new buildings are vulgar!” though she added, “I’m hoping I live long enough to ride on the 2^nd Avenue subway.”

Tuesday’s vote will go into effect straightaway, the LPC says, unless the City Council amends or does not approve the extension.

Meeting photo by Sasha Pezenik.