REBNY Study Finds Landmarking Stifles Growth
Landmarking of Manhattan Properties is Stifling Economic Growth
according to study by REBNY (real estate board of New York)
REBNY study finds more than one in four Manhattan properties are landmarked, making neighborhoods less affordable and driving up costs for property owners.
Nearly 30 percent of Manhattan properties are now protected by regulations governing
landmarks a milestone that will stifle job creation and important economic development
initiatives, increase the cost of living in New York, and further homogenize much of the
borough’s neighborhoods.
A total of 11,857 or 27.7% of Manhattan properties are designated landmarks, according to the comprehensive analysis released today by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).
In some neighborhoods, such as the Upper West Side and SoHo/Greenwich Village, of
Manhattan the level of protected properties has reach a staggering 70 percent. As the ability to develop housing is constricted, housing prices increase and wealth concentrated heavily
landmarked areas.
Owners must expend time and resources on the administrative and discretionary process that landmarks designation represents, while also paying the hard costs of complying with landmarks standards. These regulations impose a special burden on those buildings that have a population
whose income is unable to support the cost of complying with the largely unsubsidized Landmark regulations as well as those rent regulated buildings whose annual rent increases are set by
the Rent Guidelines Board.
Other key findings of the study include: 70% of properties in Community Districts 2 (SoHo, Village area) and 7 (Upper West Side) are landmarked.
93% of all landmarked properties in Manhattan are located in historic districts, indicating how this broad brush approach to landmark designation undermines the landmark process by capturing numerous properties that have no historic significance, by including buildings that lack any architecturally noteworthy style or that have been so significantly altered that they lack distinction
48 vacant lots and 50 parking lots representing approximately 2.6 million square feet of
development potential are on landmarked properties in Manhattan.
The study also noted that landmarks affect efforts to create a more sustainable New York.
As property owners attempt to increase energy efficiency in landmarked buildings, it is becoming harder to find affordable fixtures that comply with landmarks standards.
Preservationists such as West End Preservation Society and Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation mission is to preserve and protect West End Avenue and Greenwich Village to
ensure that the architecture and historic significance will
endure for generations to come,
even in the face of major development.
Preservationists and the Real Estate Board of New York have opposing missions and agendas.
No comments
All related comments are welcome. Spam and spammy links will not be published and will be deleted.