MMR - FY20 - Landmarks Preservation Commission

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• Parent Document:: Mayor's Management Report - Fiscal Year 2020
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    • LANDMARKS PRESERVATION
    • COMMISSION Sarah Carroll, Chair
    • LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION | Page 319
    • WHAT WE DO
    • The Landmarks Preservation
    • Commission (LPC) designates,
    • regulates and protects the City’s
    • architectural, historic and cultural
    • resources, which now number more
    • 37,300 buildings and sites, including
    • 1,437 individual landmarks and
    • more than 35,000 buildings and
    • sites within 150 historic districts and
    • extensions across all five boroughs.
    • The agency reviews applications
    • for work on designated properties,
    • investigates complaints of illegal
    • work and initiates action to compel
    • compliance with the Landmarks
    • Law. LPC also administers a federally
    • funded Historic Preservation Grant
    • Program that provides financial
    • assistance to low-to-moderate
    • income New Yorkers to help fund
    • work on designated properties.
    • FOCUS ON EQUITY
    • One way that LPC applies an equity lens to its mission to protect New York City’s architecturally,
    • historically and culturally significant buildings is by prioritizing buildings and sites that reflect
    • the diverse history of the City throughout the five boroughs. For example, during Fiscal 2020,
    • LPC designated five historic buildings on West 28th Street in Manhattan associated with Tin
    • Pan Alley that recognize the significant contributions and achievements of African Americans
    • in early music publishing and the Manida Street Historic District in the South Bronx, an area
    • less represented amongst landmarks.
    • The agency also focuses on equitable and inclusive service delivery through education and
    • outreach programs describing the benefits and responsibilities of preservation in communities
    • across all five boroughs. As a regulatory agency, it is essential for applicants to understand LPC
    • rules and regulations. In December 2019 the Agency relaunched the LPC Permit Guidebook
    • and introduced new forms to make LPC’s application and permitting processes clearer and
    • more accessible and the Commission provides the Guidebook on the Agency’s website for
    • free. During Fiscal 2020, LPC organized language accessible community-focused outreach
    • events and informational presentations in four of the five boroughs, including events in Sunset
    • Park and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, Douglaston in Queens and Mott Haven and Manida Street
    • in the Bronx. These events focused on the Agency’s designation and regulatory processes, as
    • well as funding opportunities available, including the Commission’s own Historic Preservation
    • Grant Program. As part of its response to the pandemic, LPC pivoted to allow for the e-filing
    • of applications and began holding virtual and live-streamed public hearings, allowing the
    • agency to continue fulfilling its mission while also maintaining public health and safety, boosting
    • community participation and enhancing accessibility for mobility impaired and time-constrained
    • New Yorkers in the process—practices LPC is investigating continuing post-COVID.
    • To make sure it can effectively communicate with all property owners across the city, the agency
    • provides interpretation and translation whenever necessary at community meetings and is
    • working on translating its application forms into the 10 designated citywide languages. During
    • Fiscal 2020, the agency provided Spanish and Chinese interpreters at a community meeting in
    • Sunset Park and translated the presentation into Spanish as well as Simplified and Traditional
    • Chinese. LPC also provided a Spanish translation of the presentation for a Grants Opportunities
    • Seminar in the Bronx. When LPC introduced e-filing applications and virtual public hearings in
    • the Spring, instructions were translated into Spanish and Simplified and Traditional Chinese,
    • the main languages, other than English, spoken within its historic districts.
    • OUR SERVICES AND GOALS
    • SERVICE 1 Identify and protect qualifying architectural, historical,
    • cultural and archaeological assets in all five boroughs.
    • Goal 1a Identify and designate as landmarks, eligible individual buildings,
    • interiors, scenic landmarks and historic districts.
    • Goal 1b Facilitate appropriate work on landmark buildings through technical
    • assistance and timely issuance of permits.
    • Goal 1c Increase compliance with landmark regulations.
    • Goal 1d Evaluate potential impacts to archaeological resources in a timely
    • manner.
    • Page 320 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • HOW WE PERFORMED IN FISCAL 2020
    • SERVICE 1 Identify and protect qualifying architectural, historical, cultural and archaeological assets in
    • all five boroughs.
    • Goal 1a Identify and designate as landmarks, eligible individual buildings, interiors, scenic landmarks and
    • historic districts.
    • In Fiscal 2020, the Commission completed 11 designations including 10 individual landmarks and one historic district, for
    • a total of 63 buildings and sites. Designation numbers were lower than previous years due to the impact of COVID-19,
    • which slowed or suspended certain Agency activities and operations by necessity as part of citywide efforts to minimize
    • person to person contact and contain the spread of the virus, including many of the types of in-person meetings, targeted
    • outreach activities, field surveys and research work that are typically part of the designation process.
    • Among the new individual landmarks are five industrial buildings in Gowanus prioritized as part of the City’s multi-agency
    • efforts to plan for the area’s future. The Agency worked with the Department of City Planning, key stakeholders and
    • the community to inform the planning process and identify preservation opportunities in the neighborhood. These five
    • properties represent the unique development history of Gowanus, which became a hub of industry and commerce after the
    • construction of the canal in the 19th century. Built between 1884 and 1913 for industrial and manufacturing uses, these
    • buildings are prominent within the neighborhood and have been adapted over time in response to changing community
    • needs. LPC designated five historic buildings on West 28th Street in Manhattan associated with Tin Pan Alley that represent
    • the diverse history of early music publishing, acknowledging the harsh realities faced by African Americans at the turn of
    • the 20th century, as well as their achievements. The Commission also surveyed less represented areas like the South Bronx,
    • where the agency designated the Manida Street Historic District in Hunts Point in June of 2020. This district is not only a
    • reminder of the early-20th century residential development of the South Bronx, but also reflects this community’s long-term
    • commitment to their neighborhood as it suffered through major periods of disinvestment and redlining.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « Individual, interior and scenic landmarks, and historic
    • districts, designated 20 30 21 24 11 20 20 Down *
    • « – Total number of buildings designated 1,411 324 485 642 63 * * Down *
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Goal 1b Facilitate appropriate work on landmark buildings through technical assistance and timely issuance
    • of permits.
    • The number of permit applications received in Fiscal 2020 was 11,701 and the Commission acted on 10,950 applications,
    • a decrease from Fiscal 2019. This decrease is related to the impacts on the City of COVID-19. In Fiscal 2020, approximately
    • 85 percent of Certificates of No Effect (CNEs) were issued within 10 business days. This is an increase from 82 percent in
    • Fiscal 2019 and hits our target. Expedited Certificates of No Effect (XCNEs) issued within two days remained stable at 99
    • percent. The average number of days from completed submission to issuance for CNEs was 5.7 days, down from 6.9 days
    • the year prior. For XCNEs, it dropped from 1.1 to just 1.0 day on average.
    • For Permits for Minor Work (PMWs) average processing time dropped to 5.9 days from 6.8 days for all applications. In
    • Fiscal 2018, the Agency implemented technology upgrades that have enhanced the accuracy with which the Agency tracks
    • these applications. As a result of these improvements in data tracking and reporting, the Agency has identified that there
    • exists a consistent subset of such applications which require additional time for processing in excess of the stated 10-day
    • target—the overwhelming majority of which are processed in 12 days rather than ten—causing processing percentages
    • to fall over time even as service standards have increased. With this in mind, the parameters of this indicator are currently
    • under agency review. Through continuous evaluation of both our reporting and permitting processes, LPC aims to further
    • enhance the efficiency and efficacy of our services and continue to execute our mission.
    • LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION | Page 321
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • « Work permit applications received 13,963 13,874 14,011 14,069 11,701 * * Down *
    • « Actions taken on work permit applications received 14,081 13,533 12,563 12,803 10,950 * * Down *
    • Certificates of No Effect issued within 10 business days (%) 96% 93% 85% 82% 85% 85% 85% Down Up
    • Expedited Certificates of No Effect issued within two business
    • days (%) 99% 94% 96% 99% 100% 100% 100% Neutral Up
    • Permits for minor work issued within 10 business days (%) 95% 92% 82% 80% 83% * * Down Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Goal 1c Increase compliance with landmark regulations.
    • In Fiscal 2020, Enforcement received 420 complaints, down from 492 in Fiscal 2019, with 347 total enforcement actions
    • taken. There was a decrease in the number of investigations completed and enforcement actions taken because these
    • processes are complaint driven, and the agency has seen a decrease in complaints over the last five years. LPC continues
    • to investigate every complaint and has developed online tools to make it easier to file complaints.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Number of complaints received 792 677 583 492 420 * * Down *
    • Investigations completed 997 661 648 394 347 * * Down *
    • Enforcement actions taken: Total warning letters, NOVs, and
    • stop work orders issued 1,221 937 837 479 416 * * Down *
    • Violations admitted to or upheld at the Office of Administrative
    • Trials and Hearings (%) 98% 98% 98% 98% 94% * * Neutral *
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Goal 1d Evaluate potential impacts to archaeological resources in a timely manner.
    • The number of archaeological application reviews in Fiscal 2020 was 347, a decrease of 43 applications from the previous
    • fiscal year. Ninety-eight percent were reviewed within 10 business days, up from 97 percent last year, exceeding the target
    • of 85 percent. Maintaining a consistent completion rate that exceeds target over the last five years is a result of several
    • improvements to our review process. This includes better use of LPC’s project and data management tracking program
    • (ergis), publication of the LPC Guidelines for Archaeological Work in New York City and allocation of additional staff
    • resources to this workstream.
    • Performance Indicators
    • Actual Target Trend
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Archaeology applications received 297 318 345 390 347 * * Up *
    • Archaeology applications reviewed within 10 business days (%) 95% 96% 92% 98% 98% 85% 85% Neutral *
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE
    • Performance Indicators Actual Target Trend
    • Customer Experience FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
    • Desired
    • Direction
    • Letters responded to in 14 days (%) 80% 85% 88% 89% 88% * * Neutral Up
    • E-mails responded to in 14 days (%) 98% 99% 93% 87% 92% * * Neutral Up
    • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
    • Page 322 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
    • AGENCY RESOURCES
    • Resource Indicators Actual¹ Plan²
    • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5yr Trend
    • Expenditures ($000,000)³ $5.3 $5.5 $5.8 $6.2 $6.7 $7.2 $6.6 Up
    • Revenues ($000,000) $7.1 $9.2 $7.0 $7.9 $6.3 $6.0 $5.5 Down
    • Personnel 71 65 70 75 76 80 79 Up
    • Overtime paid ($000) $5 $16 $15 $10 $7 $7 $7 Neutral
    • ¹Actual financial amounts for the current fiscal year are not yet final. Final fiscal year actuals, from the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be reported
    • in the next PMMR. Refer to the “Indicator Definitions” at nyc.gov/mmr for details. ²Authorized Budget Level ³Expenditures include all funds “NA” - Not
    • Available * None
    • SPENDING AND BUDGET INFORMATION
    • Where possible, the relationship between an agency’s goals and its expenditures and planned resources, by budgetary unit
    • of appropriation (UA), is shown in the ‘Applicable MMR Goals’ column. Each relationship is not necessarily exhaustive or
    • exclusive. Any one goal may be connected to multiple UAs, and any UA may be connected to multiple goals.
    • Unit of Appropriation
    • Expenditures
    • FY19¹
    • ($000,000)
    • Modified Budget
    • FY20²
    • ($000,000) Applicable MMR Goals³
    • 001 - Personal Services $5.6 $5.9 All
    • 002 - Other Than Personal Services $0.6 $0.8 All
    • Agency Total $6.2 $6.7
    • ¹Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2019. Includes all funds. ²City of New York Adopted Budget for Fiscal 2020, as of June
    • 2020. Includes all funds. ³Refer to agency goals listed at front of chapter. "NA" Not Available * None
    • NOTEWORTHY CHANGES, ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS !
    • None.
    • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
    • For additional information, go to:
    • • Press Releases (information on landmark approvals):
    • https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/about/news.page
    • • Discover NYC Landmarks interactive map:
    • https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/designations/maps.page
    • For more information on the agency, please visit: www.nyc.gov/landmarks