April 2, 2022
The Honorable Carlina River, Member
New York City Council
254 E 4th St
New York, NY 10009
Via mail and email: CLRivera@council.nyc.gov
Dear Council Member Rivera:
I am writing on behalf of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative – LESPI – to request that, in negotiating the City’s budget for Fiscal Year 2023, you support full funding for the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The LPC is a very small City agency that runs on a skeletal staff, but has an outsize impact on New York’s economy, built environment, historic and architectural resources, and quality of life. However, it is essential, as New York recovers from the Covid pandemic, that these aspects of city life are not degraded due to LPC being understaffed and overburdened, with the resulting administrative delays, poor performance, and staff resignations.
The East Village has many historic buildings and streetscapes deserving NYC individual landmark and historic district protection, which we along with our allied preservation organizations reviewed with you during your first term. LESPI has been most concerned with extending the East Village / Lower East Side Historic District north to include parts of St. Mark’s Place and the blocks to the north, as well as extending the East 10th Street Historic District to include the east side of Tompkins Square Park.
LPC needs full funding and staffing in order to give the East Village’s existing historic districts and individual landmarks – as well as potential new landmarks – the attention they deserve.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Richard D. Moses
President
