David Carnivale

David John J. Carnivale (born April 29, 1958) is an architect, preservationist, author, and artist. He wrote The Affordable House, which was the second book to appear cover-to-cover on the internet (March 1996), featured on the web's first architectural website The Affordable House. Since 2005 it has been published by BookSurge.com.

In 2000, David Carnivale stopped the demolition of, and subsequently restored, the 1678 Lakeman-Cortelyou-Taylor House in New Dorp, Staten Island. In 2005, he stopped the demolition of the 1825 Seaman Cottage which was instead relocated to Richmondtown Restoration, Staten Island. Carnivale has also been active in helping a number of other notable Staten Island structures become designated as landmarks, and for his efforts has won a number of preservation awards. His architectural practice to date has produced plans to approximately 500 projects, including a planned new community and an airport, both in Tennessee, as well as residences in two dozen states and many Manhattan commercial projects.

From 2001 to 2005, he filed lawsuits against New York State concerning a new continuing education requirement passed by the legislature but written by a special-interest group for their own financial benefit; as a pro se plaintiff his complaint was put on the 2004 docket of the U.S. Supreme Court. He did not prevail but he rewrote the suit and brought it to the New York State Supreme Courtbased on NYS Constitutional protections, and the state amended the law in question to satisfy much of Mr. Carnivale's complaint.

A native Staten Islander, he was raised in Richmondtown Restoration where he spent his youth helping restore the historic village's Dutch and English colonial era buildings, and learning American architectural history from one of the founders of the restoration (and the island's first Borough Historian) Loring McMillen. Attended Susan E. Wagner High School 1972-1976; Staten Island Community College and Richmond College 1976-1978 (all on S.I.); New York Institute of Technology (Manhattan campus 1978-1980 and Old Westbury L.I. campus 1980-1982) and one semester at the American Academy in Rome in 1981.