NY1 reported today on Community Board 10′s push to increase the amount of landmarked property that exists in Harlem. According to the report, the Harlem neighborhood has approximately only 3.6% of the area under landmark status, while Manhattan as a whole has an average of 10.6%; the Upper West Side with an astonishing 26%. The goal of the resolution is to prevent new developments from becoming architecturally incongruent with the rest of the neighborhood. One prime example surrounds the controversy around the develpoment planned for the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, which was just barely approved by Community Board 9. Another example being the “5th on the Park” development which is a giant development that towers above the Mount Morris Park historic district (pictured below).
Harlem is a neighborhood rich with future development possibilities. Is this push to increase the amount of landmarked areas going to slow development, or will it eventually help to preserve the value of the neighborhood and drive property values upward?
You can see other propsals coming form Community Board 10 on their official NYC.gov website.
Image of "5th on the Park," a condo development that towers above the Mount Morris Park historic district.