Preservation Watch List

Preservation Watch List

“The Upper West Side is not going to be frozen nor should it be frozen. LANDMARK WEST! will always have a role in the neighborhood’s ongoing health and preservation. You can never put a neighborhood on auto-pilot. You can never say, ‘the work is done.’”

~ Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and Upper West Sider

Sites on LW!’s “Watch List” – a major focus of our advocacy activity – include those that are imminently threatened by inappropriate redevelopment and unsound public policy.

Protecting the Laws That Protect Our Landmarks

Upper West Siders have worked hard over many decades to secure sound planning policies to guide the future of our neighborhood and city. Important laws that protect Upper West Side character and quality of life include the New York City Landmarks Law and Zoning Resolution, especially contextual zoning designed to reinforce existing community character. Keep reading to find out how these laws and the landmarks they protect are increasingly under attack, and what you can do to help LW! defend them.

Use the buttons at the top of the page to see “PRESERVATION UNDER FIRE” and “WHEN THE PROCESS WORKS” Watch-Blog posts.

CENTRAL dARK

In 2007, LW! commissioned a study by Weisz + Yoes Architecture to examine the development potential directly adjacent to Central Park. Their findings identified ten potential sites where towers may rise. These “worst case scenario” findings pale in comparison to the actual scale of current planned development in the blocks just south of the park – and creeping north.

Watch Bill Moyers’s PBS program “The Long, Dark Shadows of Plutocracy” 

New Yorkers for a Human-Scaled City – Join the Movement! 

Use the buttons at the top of the page to see “CENTRAL dARK” Watch-Blog posts.

Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Preservation

Official landmark designation is only one step in ensuring the survival of our neighborhood’s architectural, historically and culturally significant assets. Preservation requires constant vigilance.

Use the buttons at the top of the page to see “LANDMARKS AT RISK” Watch-Blog posts