There are 117 National Historic Landmarks in New York City, including one of three national monuments. Overall, New York state has 276 National Historic Landmarks, the most of any state.
The National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NHL criteria and makes nomination recommendations after an owner notification process. The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations based on a set of predetermined criteria and decides on NHL designation. Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NHLs, which provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties such as through tax incentives, grants, or monitoring of threats. Owners may object to the nomination of the property as an NHL. When this is the case the Secretary of the Interior can only designate a site as eligible for designation.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission was created following the preservation fight and subsequent demolition of Pennsylvania Station. New York City's right to limit owners' ability to convert landmarked buildings was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978. Many of the NYC NHLs are listed, either individually or as part of historic districts, in the List of New York City Designated Landmarks.
There are nine National Monuments, National Memorials or National Historic Sites in New York City (all but the Statue of Liberty and Castle Clinton are also National Historic Landmarks):