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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Simeon Bankoff, President of Fine Arts Foundation, on Landmarks Preservation Commission
1:43:49
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143 sec
Simeon Bankoff, a long-time observer of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and former executive director of the Historic Districts Council, provided insights and recommendations for the LPC nominees. He emphasized the importance of their role and encouraged them to be rigorous in regulation, expansive in designation, and bold in their conversations about landmark preservation.
- Bankoff urged the nominees to engage with the preservation community, describing them as involved, opinionated, and knowledgeable.
- He suggested that commissioners should have the power to set the agenda for meetings, particularly regarding designations.
- Bankoff recommended reordering the meeting structure to allow public testimony before questioning of nominees by council members.
Simeon Bankoff
1:43:49
Good afternoon.
1:43:50
I'm Simeon Vancoff, a long time long time observer of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, former executive director of the Historic Districts Council, also president of the Fine Arts Foundation, and for full disclosure, also a historic preservation consultant working with the Center for West Park.
1:44:06
Should the nominees get a copy of my remarks, I wish they were still here, I would say that this is going to be the most important boring appointment they will ever have.
1:44:17
That they are going to be sitting, listening to very, very, very small minute things that are very, very, very important.
1:44:25
And that they should be rigorous in the regulation of the landmarks law and be expansive expansive in their designation of the landmarks law.
1:44:33
That I would ask the nominees, both the return the renewals and the new ones, to be bold in their conversation.
1:44:40
Talk about big take big swings.
1:44:42
Have good public conversation and advocate, suggest, and engage with the buildings themselves.
1:44:51
The preservation community is incredibly involved, opinionated and knowledgeable.
1:44:56
Get to know them.
1:44:58
They know things and even if you disagree with them, don't be scared of them, engage with them, you will find that they are a welcoming, interesting group of people.
1:45:06
Finally, and I think this speaks to something that commissioner Master said, I believe that commissioners have the power to set the agenda for the meetings, that they can bring things up, particularly with regard to designations, that the staff of the Landmarks Commission is under resourced and expert and wonderful as they are, should not be the gatekeepers to what are public commissioners.
1:45:31
And there is a role in all of this for the commissioners to be fair, impartial, but advocates for the properties.
1:45:43
That is all.
1:45:43
I've spent a lot of time in front of this committee in previous administrations.
1:45:50
I would just suggest in my last remaining minutes to once again perhaps reorder these meetings so that the public can go first and then the commissioners could perhaps the council people who had an incredibly fulsome and thank you for that incredibly fulsome and helpful conversation.
1:46:08
You could build off of some of the concerns that the public had.
1:46:11
Thank you.