How to Become a Landmark: Process and Criteria

The first step to exploring landmarks in the city is to understand how a building or location becomes a landmark and why. The New York City Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) established in 1965 was created to ensure that important historical and cultural buildings in the area are well preserved.

“To become a landmark, a building, property or object must be at least 30 years old, and have special historical or aesthetic interest, value, or character as part of the development of the city, state or nation,” LPC Spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon said.

This means that the building can’t just be special to your family or your life’s history, it must speak to to the longstanding history of New York City and its ever changing culture in the eyes of the landmark commissioners.

Anyone — and not just commission members — can propose a landmark. To start the process, a person in favor of designating a building as a landmark must fill out a Request for Evaluation form found here. This form asks for the sponsor’s name and address, the building’s location, and pictures of the building. Once this form has been submitted, someone from the LPC will evaluate the property to determine if it holds special value to New York City.

Afterward, the LPC committee member who evaluated the property will report to the entire commission to determine whether or not the building has potential to become a landmark. If the answer is yes, the LPC then holds a public hearing for the community members to discuss the building. If no, the proposal is dropped.

At this hearing, a member of the LPC and the representative of the building have an opportunity to speak and voice their opinions about the potential landmark. Finally, the committee writes a report on the potential landmark, including the significance of the building, and votes on it.

If six commissioners approve the proposal, the building then becomes a landmark and the commission has ten days to file a report with the New York City Council. The City Planning Commission then prepares a report on the new landmark’s influence on public development, and the City Council votes whether to accept the designation or not.

“The commission receives approximately 250 requests asking our staff to evaluate the eligibility of buildings or neighborhoods for landmark or historic district status,” de Bourbon said. “The commission designates approximately 25 to 30 individual landmarks each year and between three and five historic districts each year.”

According to de Bourbon, the length of time it takes to designate a historic district is dictated by its size. Small districts can take a year, while larger ones can take up to two and a half or three years. There are no deadlines by which a building or district must be designated.

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