All topics / Promoting Viable Communities and Neighborhoods / Landmarks Preservation Commission
Enforcement actions taken: Total Warning Letters, Summonses, and Stop Work Orders issued
Identify and protect qualifying architectural, historical, cultural, and archaeological assets in all five boroughs. — Increase landmark regulations compliance.
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above. The dashed marker projects a full-year estimate at the current year-to-date pace.
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| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 387 summonses |
| FY23 | 427 summonses |
| FY24 | 468 summonses |
| FY25 | 468 summonses |
| FY26 (YTD) | 416 summonses |
| FY26 (projected) | ~555 summonses |
416 summonses in FY26 — has no numeric target set by the City, and it has trended toward improvement over the past 3 years of reported data.
Why this is tracked
The original Penn Station, a Beaux-Arts landmark completed in 1910, was demolished starting in 1963 to make way for a new Madison Square Garden, and at the time there was no city agency with legal authority to prevent the loss of a building simply because of its historic or architectural value. The public outcry over its destruction directly led Mayor Robert Wagner to sign the Landmarks Law on April 15, 1965, creating the Landmarks Preservation Commission as the first city body empowered to formally designate and protect historic buildings, and helped spur similar preservation laws nationwide.
Penn Station and the Rise of Historic Preservation — MCNY Blog, Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963) — Wikipedia
Source: LPC Enforcement Department — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The total number of Warning letters, Summonses, and Stop Work Orders issued for illegal work performed on designated structures. When work is done to a landmark building without a permit, the enforcement department follows a series of steps, starting with issuing a Warning Letter describing the work performed without a permit and instructing the owner to submit an application to legalize or correct the work. If the Warning Letter is not responded to, and the violation is not cured, LPC will issue a Summons, which may require an appearance at a hearing held at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) and may result in a civil penalty. In cases of ongoing illegal work, LPC will issue a Stop Work Order, in which all illegal work must stop immediately once the construction site has been made safe.