Saving the York Avenue Estate : landmark preservation as land use control

Abstract

The battle between preservationists and developers has been waging for years, especially in places where the real estate market is hot. The pressure to develop is often met head-on with the need to conserve the architectural, historical, and cultural resources of the past for the benefit of current and future generations. At the foundation of this confrontation is a desire to control the use of land, making it imperative that neighborhood planning efforts acknowledge the affects of landmark preservation. This is the story of the York Avenue Estate; the City and Suburban Homes Company, which built the Estate; the model tenement movement, which inspired it; Peter Kalikow, the developer who wanted to raze it; the Coalition to Save the City and Suburban Homes Company, the group of residents, community members, and preservationists that fought to save it; and the NYC Landmark Preservation Commission, the political board that had the authority to designated the York Avenue Estate a city landmark.