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The Strand Will Sue NYC In Federal Court To Get Out Of Landmark Status
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 24, 2019
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Courtesy of The Strand
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 24, 2019
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The owner of the Strand has said she plans to file a federal lawsuit over the city’s decision to landmark the downtown bookstore’s 1902 building, claiming the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision amounted to an unconstitutional taking of private property.
Prior to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision in June, Nancy Bass Wyden, the Strand’s third-generation owner, had pleaded with city officials not to go through with the plan, saying that the regulations involved with maintaining a city landmark would be too costly and burdensome for a business with notoriously thin margins.
The commission’s vote, while not the final decider, largely sealed the fate for the 11-story Renaissance revival building at 826 Broadway. The City Council is poised to grant its approval. On Monday, the Council’s land use committee voted in favor of the landmarking.
"We think this sets a horrible precedent for future entrepreneurs," Wyden told Gothamist.
As an example of the red tape she now has to deal with, she plans to have the store's signs changed at some point. Under the law, she must submit the designs to the Landmarks Commission for approval. "We have to get their approval for everything about the signs. They get to decide everything except the words."
She added: "It's ridiculous. What do they know about running a retail store?"
The ability to go through the federal court was only recently made available to property owners. Typically, land use lawsuits against the city are filed in state Supreme Court under what are known as Article 78 proceedings. But in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that property owners can go directly to federal court, overturning a 1985 precedent that required owners to take their cases to state court first.
“It’s a fantastic decision that applies directly to us,” said Alexander Urbelis, an attorney for Wyden.
According to Urbelis, the lawsuit will also argue that the landmarks designation violates the 14th Amendment, which demands equal treatment under the law. The Strand was one of seven properties on Broadway south of Union Square approved for landmark status. Most preservationists supported including the Strand, but some also criticized what they viewed as an overly narrow selection. Andrew Berman, the director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said the city should have considered a much broader swath of 200 buildings in the neighborhood.
Urbelis now plans to make that same point. “They are treating similarly situated buildings dissimilarly,” he said.
New York City has historically been a trailblazer when it comes to landmarking laws. The most famous test of the landmarking movement came in the late 1970s, when the owner of Grand Central Terminal waged a legal battle to overturn the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s rejection of his plan to put a 55-story office building atop the famed transit hub. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and in 1978, the court voted 6-3 to uphold the city’s decision to prohibit the tower.
Urbelis noted that the Supreme Court has since shifted to the right, suggesting that it may now be more sympathetic toward property owners.
“All the stars are aligning for us to contest this," he said.
Tagged
lawsuit
preservation
the strand
Landmarks Preservation Commision
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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