Role
The goal of New York City's landmarks law is to preserve the aesthetically and historically important buildings, structures, and other objects that make up the New York City vista. The Landmarks Preservation Commission is responsible for deciding which properties should be subject to landmark status and enacting regulations to protect the aesthetic and historic nature of these properties. These regulations are generally designed to allow property owners to continue to use and maintain their properties, while preserving the important design characteristics of the properties. The commission preserves not only unique buildings, but the overall feel of neighborhoods that are designated as historic districts. The commission is responsible for overseeing a range of designated landmarks ranging from the Fonthill House in the North Bronx, built in 1852 for the actor Edwin Forrest, to the 1670s Conference House, where Benjamin Franklin and John Adams visited Staten Island.
Decisions that the Commission makes include intricacies ranging from siding in Clinton Hill to signage in TriBeCa to the color of bricks for an apartment tower on the Upper West Side. The role of the Commission has evolved over time, especially with the changing real estate market in New York City. As of 2006, the Commission set a goal of designating 16 individual landmarks and historic districts per year. In addition to decisions about buildings' preservation, the Commission must decide whether new uses, or changes are compatible with the landmarked building.
Read more about this topic: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Famous quotes containing the word role:
“Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“The role of the stepmother is the most difficult of all, because you can’t ever just be. You’re constantly being tested—by the children, the neighbors, your husband, the relatives, old friends who knew the children’s parents in their first marriage, and by yourself.”
—Anonymous Stepparent. Making It as a Stepparent, by Claire Berman, introduction (1980, repr. 1986)
“Mental health data from the 1950’s on middle-aged women showed them to be a particularly distressed group, vulnerable to depression and feelings of uselessness. This isn’t surprising. If society tells you that your main role is to be attractive to men and you are getting crow’s feet, and to be a mother to children and yours are leaving home, no wonder you are distressed.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)