Landmarks Mavericks: Celebrating Preservation Leadership

In honor of the 60th Anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2025, the AIANY Historic Buildings Committee presents Landmarks Mavericks, a panel discussion featuring distinguished leaders in historic preservation. This event will explore the triumphs and challenges of working within New York City's historic districts, highlighting the efforts of community advocates who have played pivotal roles in the creation and expansion of these districts.

This program is ideal for architects, planners, preservationists, students, and community members interested in the evolution of New York City's historic districts and the individuals who have shaped them.

Speakers:
Michael L. Goldblum, AIA, Partner, Building Studio Architects, LLP
Kevin Wolfe, PC, Architect and Landscape Architect, Kevin Wolfe Architect
Kate Wood, AIA, Preservationist, Educator, Principal, Worth Preserving; former President, Landmark West!

Moderator: 
Gregory Dietrich, Preservation Consultant, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and Cultural Resource Consulting Group. 

About the Speakers:
Michael Goldblum co-founded Building Studio Architects in 1992. The firm's projects include New York City's first LEED-certified single-family house, along with apartment buildings, houses of worship, schools and interiors. 
 
Goldblum has been the commissioner representing the Bronx at the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission since 2010. He is chair of the Conservation Committee, a board member, and former executive committee member of the Historic House Trust of New York.  He is former member of the board of the Municipal Art Society Fellows and is a member of the USGBC, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Districts Council, and NOMA.

Kevin Wolfe is trained as an architect and a landscape architect and has been practicing both disciplines since 1988. He has been involved with the design and planning of a number of important civic projects and parks in New York City and its suburbs, as well as numerous private landscapes and residences across the country. Wolfe is known for his expertise in the renovation of historic buildings and gardens for contemporary uses, for additions to historic buildings, and the design of new buildings in New York City's designated historic districts. Active in the city's historic preservation movement, he serves as a member of the Preservation Committee of the Municipal Arts Society, and the Landmarks Committee of Queens Community Board 11. As co-founder of the Douglaston & Little Neck Historical Society, he spearheaded the drive to preserve Douglas Manor in Queens, an enclave of early 20th century houses that became New York City's 70th historic district in 1997. He has had more than 100 projects in the Douglaston Historic District.

Kate Wood, principal of Worth Preserving, is an award-winning preservationist, real estate broker, author, and historic rehabilitation strategist whose mission is to support homeowners and their teams on projects that bring their properties into the 21st century while honoring the character that makes them unique. She led the neighborhood advocacy group Landmark West! for more than 15 years, taught preservation planning and law at Columbia University, and co-authored the book, Interior Landmarks: Treasures of New York, published in two editions by Monacelli Press.   

Gregory Dietrich has been working in the field of historic preservation for over 25 years, having appeared before municipalities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He served as the Acting Director of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission's Historic Preservation Grant Program between 1999 and 2000 before undertaking the National Register Nomination of Lincoln Center for Landmark West! in 2001. In 2002, he joined Cultural Resource Consulting Group (CRCG), where he managed the New York office between 2004 and 2009. He has been the sole proprietor of Gregory Dietrich Preservation Consulting since 2009.