REBNY blasts UWS landmarks proposal

The Real Estate Board of New York has issued a scathing review of a new proposal that would landmark an additional 790 Upper West Side buildings between 70th and 106th streets. According to the Post, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposal at a yet-to-be-determined date before voting on the plan. “By making this aggressive landmarking effort, they will be hurting the economic future of the city… Landmarking the entire city does not leave opportunity to grow,” said REBNY’s president Steven Spinola, who also suggested that the commission is overstepping its bounds by attempting to regulate land use, when that’s supposed to be the City Council’s job. The area in question already has 2,577 buildings that fall into existing historic districts. Richard Emery of the West End Preservation Society, meanwhile, slammed REBNY for “trying to protect the right of developers to put up junk.” [Post]