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Mayor de Blasio Nominates Three Leaders to The Board of Standards and Appeals and The Landmarks Preservation Commission

July 22, 2014

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced his nomination of Margery Perlmutter as commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), an independent board of five full-time commissioners. The BSA has the power to grant zoning variances, special permits, and review appeals to determinations by the Department of Buildings. The Mayor also nominated Adi Shamir Baron and John Gustafsson as commissioners of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)—the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation, composed of 11 commissioners appointed by the Mayor. The LPC protects New York City’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them once they are designated. The Mayor’s nominations have been submitted to the City Council for its advice and consent, as required by the New York City Charter.

About Margery Perlmutter

Margery Perlmutter is currently a partner at the law firm Bryan Cave LLP and a member of its Land Use Practice Group, which focuses on land use systems and government agencies that regulate them in New York City. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Perlmutter practiced as an architect for nearly two decades and brings in expertise of interpreting the City’s zoning regulations and the policies and procedures involved in obtaining approvals from various City agencies.

About Adi Shamir Baron

An architect by training, Adi Shamir Baron currently serves as a strategic planning and design advisor and consultant to various nonprofits, private firms, and government entities on projects focusing on ecological reclamation, historic conservation, and repurposing of urban infrastructure. Until 2009, Baron was the executive director of the Van Alen Institute, a renowned nonprofit organization that promotes architecture and design in the public realm. Baron is a trustee of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and a representative to the U.S. National Commission to UNESCO.

About John Gustafsson

John Gustafsson, a first-generation American, is the chairman of the Board of the Historic House Trust of New York City and a retired attorney. Gustafsson brings 12 years of experience in non-profit board leadership and 20 years in legal practice. As chairman of the Historic House Trust of New York City, a public-private partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation, Gustafsson oversees the Trust’s efforts to support houses of architectural and cultural significance within city parks. From 2004 to 2011, he was the president and chairman of the Board of the Staten Island Historical Society. Gustafsson currently chairs the Parish Council of the Church of St. Peter on Staten Island and sits on the board of the Devereux Foundation, the largest nationwide nonprofit provider dedicated to helping children with developmental disabilities. Before retiring in 2006, Gustafsson was a partner in the Business Trial Practice Group of the California-based law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, where he was administrative partner of the firm’s New York office.

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