NEW YORK CITY-After regularly expressing opposition to the city's practice in recent years of granting landmark status to a large number of buildings around Manhattan, REBNY now has some data supporting its stance. A new study by the organization has found that designating large portions of the borough as landmarked districts has become a roadblock to the creation of affordable housing.
The analysis found that since 2008, no affordable housing has been built in landmarked districts in Manhattan, with just five units built since 2003. By contrast, there were 8,070 new affordable housing units built borough-wide from 2003 to 2012.
“This study makes it clear that the rapid pace of landmarking has impeded the creation of much-needed affordable housing in New York City,” says Steven Spinola, president of REBNY. “Affordable housing is critical to the economic and social vitality of New York, and these findings should give our public officials pause as they consider additional landmarking in Manhattan and throughout the five boroughs.”
In addition, of the 53,220 new residential units built in Manhattan during the last 10 years, just 1.9%–998 units–were in landmarked districts. According to the study, census data shows that residents within landmark districts have significantly higher household incomes and are dramatically less diverse than other areas of Manhattan and New York City.
REBNY singled out density restrictions, landmark compliance costs, and a lengthy public review process as the main reasons that housing—and particularly affordable housing development—is extremely unlikely on landmarked sites.
A July 2013 study by REBNY concluded that landmarking in Manhattan is growing at a rapid rate, with nearly 30% of properties protected by landmark regulations. In some neighborhoods, such as the Upper West Side and SoHo/Greenwich Village, the level of protected properties has climbed as high as 70%.
The five units of affordable housing that were built since 2003 were part of a city-sponsored project and represent only .5% of new residential development in landmarked districts. In addition to new construction, 114 affordable units were created through renovation—all built before 2008 on city-owned properties, with 85% of these units located within west Harlem's Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic Districts, and none south of 87th Street.
“We can not allow the city to landmark away its economic future.” Spinola said in a speech earlier this year. While the REBNY leader was talking about blocks to New York's prosperity, the over-landmarking also appears poised to threaten the city's affordability.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
