Beverly Moss Spatt was born in 1924 in Brooklyn, where she lived and worked for her entire life. Her father was president of the New York Board of Education, and her mother volunteered for anthropologist Margaret Mead. She studied at James Madison High School in Brooklyn and received her bachelor’s degree from Pembroke College at Brown University.^[1] Spatt described herself in 1965 as a “civic do-gooder” due to her involvement in a variety of New York City organizations, including the League of Women Voters, the Citizens Union, the Woman’s City Club, and the Brooklyn Women’s Division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.^[2] Spatt became so involved in city affairs while serving as a leader of the League of Women Voters that she eventually obtained a master’s degree and doctorate in city planning at New York University.^[3]

^[1] Ariel Kates, “Beverly Moss Spatt Oral History: The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s First Woman Chair,” Off the Grid: Village Preservation Blog (blog), August 24, 2021.

^[2] “New City Planner: Beverly Moss Spatt,” New York Times, August 19, 1965.

^[3] “New City Planner: Beverly Moss Spatt.”

Oral History Interview with Beverly Moss Spatt
Conducted by Sarah Dziedzic on August 24, 2017
Village Preservation
313 W 54th St
New York, NY 10019

Oral History Interview with Beverly Moss Spatt
Pembroke Center Oral History Project
Conducted by Mary Murphy on April 11, 2018
Brown University
PO Box 1958
Providence, RI 02912

Mayor Robert Wagner appointed Beverly Moss Spatt as a member of the City Planning Commission (CPC) in 1965 after her work with the League of Women Voters. Recalling the appointment in a 2017 oral history for Village Preservation, she said, “I heard there was a vacancy, and I said to myself, ‘Why not me?’”^[1] Spatt gained a reputation as a “maverick” due to her frequent dissents as member of the CPC. After dissenting to the CPC’s Plan for New York City in 1969, Spatt was not reappointed in 1970 for another term.

Spatt was appointed as chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 1974.^[2] She was the first woman to hold this position. Notably, Spatt opened the process of preservation to the public by making herself accessible to all New Yorkers.^[3] In her 2017 oral history, she recalled the need to assemble coalitions in support of New York City’s preservation: “What happened is we all joined together to fight. Planners came, civic organizations, low-income housing people, the printing industry, fair housing committees, community people, attorneys, and we needed a catalyst––I guess I was the catalyst––to develop a constituency.”^[4]

As leader of the LPC, Spatt designated more than 800 structures.^[5] The preservation of Grand Central Station, which was threatened with the same fate as McKim, Mead & White’s Pennsylvania Station, is considered one of Spatt’s main achievements as chair. She also oversaw the city’s implementation of new amendments to the New York City Landmarks Law passed in 1973, including the first scenic and interior landmarks designations. Other notable landmark designations under Spatt’s leadership included the Manhattan Bridge colonnade, spans of the Queensboro Bridge, the interior of City Hall, and the American Radiator Building.^[6] The South Street Seaport, Stuyvesant Square, Carnegie Hill, Hamilton Heights, Fulton Ferry District, and Steinway Districts were also designated during Spatt’s term.^[7] In her home borough of Brooklyn, Moss Spatt designated Gage & Tollner restaurant, Grand Army Plaza, and Ocean Parkway.^[8]

Moss Spatt served as the chair of the LPC until 1978, at which time The New York Times opined that, “Her energy, ability and astuteness made public hearings worth attending. When Spatt was present, she listened, which is more than one can say for many public officials presiding at public sessions. With her departure, an era ends that was represented by boundless knowledge and community sensitivity. I can only pray that her decisions will be repeated by another person of similar integrity, although there is only one Beverly Moss Spatt.”^[9]

After leaving the LPC, Spatt continued advocating for preservation in New York City. She died in Brooklyn on July 14, 2023.^[10]

City Planning Commission
Board Member

Landmarks Preservation Commission
Chair