2017 GANYC Apple Awards Nominee: Simeon Bankoff, Historic Districts Council
Simeon Bankoff is a notable New York City preservation activist. He has served as Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council, a New York City not-for-profit organization, since November 2000. His organization, founded in 1970, serves as the advocate for New York City's historic buildings, neighborhoods, and public spaces.
GANYC spoke with Mr. Bankoff ahead of the GANYC Apple Awards (next Monday; tickets still available!), where he has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Support of New York City Preservation.
We thank him for his time, and look forward to seeing everyone at the Awards ceremony.
1. What do you do, why and how did you get there?
I’m the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, the citywide advocate for NY’s historic neighborhoods. We help New Yorkers preserve our city’s irreplaceable character. I do it because I love this city.
2. As member of the HDC, what do you think is its biggest asset to the public and what do you think is another asset the public should know about?
HDC is at the heart of a network of more than 500 neighborhood-based organizations. We know people throughout the city who care about their neighborhoods. We also have been around since 1970, so we have a deep history of NYC development policies.
3. As tour guides, we often mention institutions such as yours and the Landmark Preservation Commission as part of our tours, is there something that to a tourist from say the Midwest or South Asia could attract them to your organization or recent causes?
Let them know there are reasons why Greenwich Village looks like it does, and what there are still theatres on Broadway. This work is unsexy but incredibly necessary if you care the least bit about keeping the city real.
4. What is your organization’s best kept secret?
If I told you, it would not be a secret. Our worst-kept secret is that we never have publically opposed a landmark designation.
5. Walk us through a normal day at the HDC, what decisions must be made throughout the day to keep it moving to the next day or major event?
The usual running of a small business competes with the inexorable schedule of public programs, meetings and hearings. We also practice a horizontality of information-access, so there’s lots of communication and discussion . Then the phone rings and we go into crisis-prevention/counseling mode,. Afterhours meetings and start all over again.
6. What was a highlight towards your tenure at your position that you will most likely remember and how does it compare to when you first started?
Helping all the neighborhoods in Brooklyn (Crown Heights North, Bedford Stuyvesant, Dumbo, Wallabout) gain protection has been a highlight. Watching the positive effect we’ve had with our advocacy has been wonderful.
7. How do you see the average New Yorker, who due our busy schedules, we often do not know of the local historic districts or structures in our own backyard, have you discovered ways to engage the public to care for historic districts throughout the city?
Public awareness, walking tours, terra-cotta street signs and press attention are all ways to make people aware of their surroundings.
[GANYC Apple Awards tickets available here.]