To the Editor:
Regarding “A lame-duck Syracuse councilor’s proposal angers historic preservation advocates” (Nov. 11, 2025):
Recent coverage and commentary about the proposed legislation regarding historic properties in Syracuse has been, in part, inaccurate, and I feel an obligation to correct the record.
First, this proposal does not take away any power to designate historic properties. Under our existing framework, it is the Common Council that ultimately votes on whether a building or district is designated as historic. That will remain true whether or not this legislation passes. Any suggestion that I am stripping designation authority from preservation bodies or weakening the designation process is simply untrue.
What our legislation addresses is something different:
What happens after a property has already been designated historic?
Right now, critical decisions about what may or may not be done with an already designated historic property are made exclusively by the Landmark Preservation Board, a board that is not elected by the people. My view is straightforward: Once a property is already on the historic rolls, the elected representatives of the people should have the final say on what is permitted there, especially when those decisions have major implications for neighborhoods, housing, economic development and our overall tax base.
Far from undermining preservation, this legislation recognizes that historic status and present-day needs must be balanced in a transparent, democratic way. The council is already part of the designation process; it is neither radical nor reckless to say that the council should also have clear, final authority when it comes to approvals affecting those very same properties.
I respect the work and passion of historic preservation advocates. Syracuse’s history is one of our greatest assets, and it deserves protection. But it is also true that elected officials, who must answer directly to residents, ought to be the ones ultimately accountable for how we apply and interpret those protections in practice.
That is what this legislation does. It does not erase protections, and it does not remove designation powers. It simply ensures that the final decisions about already designated historic properties rest where they belong: with the people’s elected council.
Patrick Hogan
2nd District Common Councilor
President Pro-Tempore
Syracuse
