How would you feel if the neighborhood you were living in became a landmark district? Has it happened to you? Does it affect property values? Do you like the idea of keeping a sense of architectural continuity on a streetscape? (Generally, you can’t tear down a home in a landmark district and any renovations to the facade are subject to tight city controls).
Yo has been chatting to residents in Ukrainian Village and East Village, where landmark districts have been formed over the last few years. George Matwyshyn of the Ukrainian Village Preservation Society says the landmark districts preserve history and a family-oriented community and prevent the onslaught of the “cookie-cutter condos” that the neighborhood was seeing.
Carol Mrowka, who lives in a landmark district and is an agent with Koenig & Strey, says the preservation effort is “About taking my property rights away from me.”
Mark Peters, whose firm, Studio Dwell Architects, has completed a lot of modernist projects in West Town, in partnership with Ranquist Development, says landmark districts aren’t about preserving the past, but are about “fear of the future.”
“It’s hard to understand why you would want to stifle diversity and creativity in an urban environment,” Peters tells Yo. “The last thing I want to do is have an aesthetic committee created.”