Andrew Berman
0:16:07
Good morning, council members, and thank you for the opportunity to testify.
0:16:11
My name is Andrew Berman, and I'm the executive director of Village Preservation.
0:16:15
In 2020, when it became clear due to the death of longtime 13th Street Repertory owner, Edith O'Hara, that 50 West 13th Street was endangered, we submitted a request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission with substantial documentation urging them to consider this site for landmark designation.
0:16:35
Over the course of the next 4 years, we continued to submit additional documentation establishing the site's profound significance to abolitionists, civil rights, suffragists, and theater history.
0:16:46
We garnered support from elect some elected officials, scholars of black history, women's rights advocates, theater lovers, and literally thousands of New Yorkers who wrote to the commission and mayor urging them to move ahead with designation.
0:17:00
But they continued to refuse to act even as the condition of the building deteriorated dangerously to the decrepit condition it's in today.
0:17:08
Finally in June of last year, the commission relented and calendared the building.
0:17:13
Sadly, that came too late to prevent serious damage to the building taking place, and the owner destroying the rare distinctive 19th century iron work, which had surrounded the doorway for a century and a half.
0:17:25
We're glad that the house is now finally landmarked, and hopefully the destruction will be stemmed.
0:17:30
But it shouldn't take this long or this much effort to get the Landmarks Preservation Commission to recognize and protect a site of such incredible significance to New York history, especially our too often overlooked black history, women's history, and civil rights history.
0:17:48
Unfortunately, this is not an aberration, but a consistent piece of an ongoing pattern.
0:17:53
As per our study analyzing all New York City landmark designations, which was submitted to each member of the city council, under mayor Adams, the number of landmark designations have dropped dramatically to unprecedented levels as compared to every prior mayor.
0:18:09
And that lack of action to protect our city's history and especially our most endangered and most underrepresented histories extends to every corner of the city.
0:18:19
The outer boroughs in upper Manhattan have, like the Manhattan core in this case, seen a huge decrease in the number of designations taking place since mayor Adams took office.
0:18:29
Right now, we're fighting to landmark the city's first Spanish language church, and what would be the city's very first landmark designation honoring the history of peace people with disabilities, both of which are currently endangered.
0:18:43
Under mayor Adams, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has thus far refused to act on either.
0:18:49
We urge the commission to approve this much needed and long overdue designation, but we also urge you to use your power as the body with oversight on the Landmarks Preservation Commission to take a hard look at why so few designations are taking place under this commission and why critical sites like the ones I described are being ignored
