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Not an effective website as a passerby. I'm unfamiliar with both the Strand and the landmarking process. It took me to the third screenful of text to figure ou

Not an effective website as a passerby. I'm unfamiliar with both the Strand and the landmarking process. It took me to the third screenful of text to figure out why The Strand doesn't want to be designated a landmark, For every repair and every upgrade, The Strand would have to go through the slow bureaucracy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission which adds to the expanses to keep Strand alive. This type of information should be at the top of the page.

zxcvbn4038 7y ago
Right - this is familiar to New York City residents but anyone unfamiliar with the local politics needs a primer. NYC does a lot of crazy stuff like this - it’s usually a thinly disguised cash grab. The Strand is a relatively huge chunk of real estate in a hipster part of town, this is probably someone’s scheme to force them out - wait until the press has died down then suddenly the sidewalk and facade inspectors show up, next thing you know there are tens of thousands of dollars in repairs that need to be done, and strand is forced to close since they’ll never find a like space to relocate to.
- acjohnson55 7y ago
  You often receive tax breaks when you own a landmark property to compensate for the increased difficulty and higher standard of maintenance, as well as the fact that you're effectively providing a public service. Many historic towns have an equivalent status. Why do you say it's a cash grab for the city? I could be wrong, but I don't believe the city receives any revenue for this. Also, I wouldn't really describe NoHo as a hipster area. It's basically a commercial zone,albeit sandwiched in between two areas that might be considered hipster (East Village and Greenwich Village).
  - threatofrain 7y ago
    It's a cash grab if there's sufficient coordination for a pareto efficiency.
kirstenbirgit 7y ago
>This type of information should be at the top of the page. It is.
- manojlds 7y ago
  Where? Can you reply with a screenshot?
  - kirstenbirgit 7y ago
    Sure https://imgur.com/wzliP5b https://imgur.com/wzliP5b
light_hue_1 7y ago
> For every repair and every upgrade, The Strand would have to go through the slow bureaucracy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission which adds to the expanses to keep Strand alive. The reason they bury this line is that it's a lie. 826/828 Broadway was only designated for its exterior not interior (http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2615.pdf http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2615.pdf) as was widely reported at the time (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/design/strand-bookstore-landmark.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/design/strand-bookst...). They can repair anything they want inside the building, small outside repairs are allowed, but anything that changes the character of the outside of the building must be approved. This was a great move by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
- ajkjk 7y ago
  That sounds pretty annoying, even just for the exterior. Right?
  - light_hue_1 7y ago
    Annoying? Sure! Talk to anyone who lives in Europe and deals with such buildings all the time. It's not the end of the world. The overreaction by the owners is simply because of greed. Their building is worth less because it's harder to change now. This doesn't materially impact the business. The argument that their building wasn't in any danger of being demolished is totally crazy. That is not one of the criteria used by the Commission! No one cares.
- fortran77 7y ago
  You are the liar.
  - light_hue_1 7y ago
    This is my favorite reply of all time. Beautiful absurdist humour. Thanks :)

zxcvbn4038 7y ago

Right - this is familiar to New York City residents but anyone unfamiliar with the local politics needs a primer. NYC does a lot of crazy stuff like this - it’s usually a thinly disguised cash grab. The Strand is a relatively huge chunk of real estate in a hipster part of town, this is probably someone’s scheme to force them out - wait until the press has died down then suddenly the sidewalk and facade inspectors show up, next thing you know there are tens of thousands of dollars in repairs that need to be done, and strand is forced to close since they’ll never find a like space to relocate to.

acjohnson55 7y ago
You often receive tax breaks when you own a landmark property to compensate for the increased difficulty and higher standard of maintenance, as well as the fact that you're effectively providing a public service. Many historic towns have an equivalent status. Why do you say it's a cash grab for the city? I could be wrong, but I don't believe the city receives any revenue for this. Also, I wouldn't really describe NoHo as a hipster area. It's basically a commercial zone,albeit sandwiched in between two areas that might be considered hipster (East Village and Greenwich Village).
- threatofrain 7y ago
  It's a cash grab if there's sufficient coordination for a pareto efficiency.

kirstenbirgit 7y ago

>This type of information should be at the top of the page. It is.

manojlds 7y ago
Where? Can you reply with a screenshot?
- kirstenbirgit 7y ago
  Sure https://imgur.com/wzliP5b https://imgur.com/wzliP5b

light_hue_1 7y ago

> For every repair and every upgrade, The Strand would have to go through the slow bureaucracy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission which adds to the expanses to keep Strand alive. The reason they bury this line is that it's a lie. 826/828 Broadway was only designated for its exterior not interior (http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2615.pdf http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2615.pdf) as was widely reported at the time (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/design/strand-bookstore-landmark.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/design/strand-bookst...). They can repair anything they want inside the building, small outside repairs are allowed, but anything that changes the character of the outside of the building must be approved. This was a great move by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

ajkjk 7y ago
That sounds pretty annoying, even just for the exterior. Right?
- light_hue_1 7y ago
  Annoying? Sure! Talk to anyone who lives in Europe and deals with such buildings all the time. It's not the end of the world. The overreaction by the owners is simply because of greed. Their building is worth less because it's harder to change now. This doesn't materially impact the business. The argument that their building wasn't in any danger of being demolished is totally crazy. That is not one of the criteria used by the Commission! No one cares.
fortran77 7y ago
You are the liar.
- light_hue_1 7y ago
  This is my favorite reply of all time. Beautiful absurdist humour. Thanks :)