Land Use—South Street Seaport—Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC)—Court Found That LPC Has Less Discretion Than the NYC City Council and the LPC Abused Its Discretion "By Diverging From Prior Practice Without Explaining Why, and Pairing Two Separate Applications, One of Which Promised To Provide Significant, Conditional, Financial Assistance to the Construction Proposed by the Other"—Project Approval Allegedly Resulted From "Impermissible Quid Pro Quo"—LPC Considered "Potential Benefits for the Museum in Approving the Tower, Rather Than Considering the Appropriateness of the Tower On Its Own Merits"—LPC Influenced By "Museum Funding" and "Affordable Housing"—One Commissioner Characterized the Applications As a "Devil's Bargain"

A court granted a CPLR Article 78 petition and denied cross-motions to dismiss. The petitioners sought to invalidate a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) that the respondent NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) issued which would permit a developer to build a 324‑foot tower within the South St. Seaport Historic District.

The LPC is an "independent city agency entrusted with the responsibility of preserving historically and architecturally significant buildings and districts that are of importance to the City of New York." In 1977, the LPC had designated the district. It noted that "one of its key characteristics" was the "dramatic contrast" between "the small-scale brick buildings" in the district and the "soaring skyscrapers nearby."