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“We have every reason to believe that the New York StateRehabilitation Tax Credit will prove one of the most effectiveeconomic and community development programs in thestate,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the PreservationLeague of New York State, the not-for-profit organization thatled the charge for enhanced tax credits. “We are enormouslygrateful to Assemblymember Hoyt and Senator Valesky forshepherding this important Smart Growth initiative throughtheir respective houses and to the leadership of the Senate andthe Assembly for their vision in passing this legislation. Wethank New York’s mayors, county executives and other munic-ipal leaders who have shown unwavering support for thiseffort. Finally, we express our great admiration for GovernorPaterson for signing these historic tax credits into law today.”

Assemblymember Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo, Grand Island),the lead sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, stated, “I applaudGovernor Paterson for signing this legislation, which will sparkeconomic investment in businesses and homes across upstate

New York. I also want to thank the Preservation League ofNew York State for their extraordinary leadership in advancingthis important initiative. This program will enhance and preserve our existing vacant, underutilized, and deterioratingbuildings while honoring our unique architectural assets, andit will do so in a way that is cost-effective for New York State.”

According to Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida), whosponsored the bill in the Senate, “This is a crucial victory forUpstate New York and our economic development efforts.The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit has the potential todraw developers back to our Upstate cities and villages, toreignite economic activity on our Main Streets, and to bringpeople and businesses back to our communities. This wasone of my top legislative goals for the year, and it is a major win for all of Upstate New York. I want to thankAssemblyman Sam Hoyt for sponsoring this legislation in the Assembly, and Governor Paterson for recognizing itsimportance and signing it into law.” CONT INUED ON PAGE 5

Governor Signs Historic Preservation Tax Credit Enhancements Joined by state, municipal and local advocates for community revitalization and historic preservation, Governor David Paterson signed legislation that greatly improves the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown (left) welcomesGovernor Paterson to the Buffalo and Erie CountyHistorical Society for a ceremonial bill signing.

Astor Courts, Rhinebeck

This restoration projectbrought back StanfordWhite’s Astor Courts, to the delight of not only thehomeowners but to civicgroups who have beengranted access to thelandmark building andgrounds in recent years.The effort also restoredsignificant elements of theestate’s landscape, mostnotably clearing the site tore-establish the originalsense of open spacesurrounding the house andre-opening the views of theHudson River. Given thedevelopment pressure thathas destroyed so many of the Hudson Valley’s architectural jewels andsubdivided so much greenspace, this project is particularly noteworthy.

Christ Episcopal Church,Poughkeepsie

The tower of Christ Churchis an important icon andbeacon for Poughkeepsieresidents, and is one of the best examples of 19thcentury English Gothicarchitecture along theHudson River. A number ofPoughkeepsie’s prominentfamilies belonged to Christ

Church, and the view fromthe steeple takes in a wideswath of the Hudson Valley.A detailed conditions surveyrevealed stone deteriorationand displacement, and treescould be seen growing fromdamaged joints. Meticulousrepair, replacement – wherenecessary – and cleaning ofeach stone on the towerhave restored this landmarkto its former glory.

Asbury Delaware Church“Babeville”, Buffalo

This handsome 1870sMedina sandstone buildinglooms large at the intersec-tion of several historicdistricts in downtownBuffalo. What was once aderelict candidate fordemolition is now a proud

symbol of what can beachieved when the publicand private sectors worktogether. This formerEpiscopal church is nowhome to a performancespace, art gallery, andrecording studio. Further,this project illustrates acreative solution to an alltoo common challenge;what to do with abandonedinner-city religious struc-tures. New vibrancy has

been brought to the neigh-borhood surrounding thislong-closed sanctuary andparish hall through theintroduction of work,exhibition, performance andcommunity space.

The Emerson, Manhattan

With the use of Low IncomeHousing Tax Credits as wellas Rehabilitation TaxCredits, this early 20thcentury model tenement has been restored from itsprevious sooty, vandalized,pigeon-infested state toprovide 33 units ofintegrated affordablehousing with multiplewindows in each room. The Emerson (known byresidents at The Flats) wasconstructed in the Clintonsection of Manhattan in1915 as an example of themodel tenement movementto provide safe and healthyapartments for families andthe working poor. Onceslated for demolition, a teamof advocates, activisttenants, and city agencieshave returned this signifi-cant historic building to itsoriginal social purpose.

The 2009 Excellence in Historic Preservation Awards, presented at the New York Yacht Club in May, attracted one of the largest audiences in the history of the program.

“Perhaps because of the current economic climate, people are evenmore enthusiastic about the positive recognition these Awards provide,”said Jay DiLorenzo, president of the Preservation League. “The Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation’s generous support enables the League to applaud a wide variety of people and organizations – from architects to municipal agencies, from individual property owners to church congregations – for their efforts.”

This recognition not only makes it more likely for professionals in thefield to continue to employ best practices in historic preservation, it alsoencourages public awareness and support for similar projects across the state.

Asbury Delaware Church

The Emerson

ChristEpiscopalChurch

LeagueCelebratesExcellence inPreservationAwards Ceremony held at New York Yacht Club

Astor Courts, Rhinebeck

The Guggenheim Museum

Frank Lloyd Wright’s‘Pantheon’ has emergedfrom scaffolding after threeyears and now displays theresults of a technically andaesthetically outstandingrestoration. Wrightdesigned the building – his only major commissionin New York – from 1943through 1956. When itopened in 1959, it was asmuch a marvel of construc-tion as it was of design. The project included extensive monitoring anddocumentation, with multi-ple peer-review meetings to refine the project scopeand approach.

Theodore RooseveltExecutive and LegislativeBuilding, Mineola

The restoration of the 1901Old Nassau CountyCourthouse has trans-formed the building into theNassau County Executiveand Legislative offices. Thisstands out as one of themost extensive preservationprojects ever undertakenon an early reinforced-concrete public building,and is the centerpiece ofefforts to transform NassauCounty into a model ofsmart growth and sustain-able development.According to NassauCounty Executive ThomasR. Suozzi, “I am overjoyedto announce that not only

has the historic restorationof the Theodore RooseveltExecutive and LegislativeBuilding been completed,but the local civic pride hasbeen equally restored.”

Chapel of the Sisters,Prospect Cemetery,JamaicaThis handsome RomanesqueRevival chapel, dating to1857, had fallen into disre-pair after years of neglect.Now, through the collabora-tion of many differentfunding entities, the vacantchapel is filled with music asa performance space forYork College. Before therestoration, the interiorspace had never been

heated, and had beenunused and in poor condi-tion for many years. Inaddition, what was once aforeboding landscape hasbeen transformed to providemuch-needed publiclyaccessible green space inthis section of Jamaica.

Organizational Excellence:The Fred L. EmersonFoundation and FoundationHistorical Association,Cayuga County

The Emerson Foundation isrecognized for its longstand-ing commitment to thestewardship of the WilliamH. Seward House in Auburnand the resulting profession-alism and high preservationstandards at the museum. Inaddition to its stewardshipof the Seward HouseMuseum, the EmersonFoundation has providedimportant support to theAurora Free Library and thePowers Library in Moravia,as well as the Fort HillCemetery, Cayuga County

Museum of History and Art,and the Howland StoneStore Museum. This impres-sive list of preservationsuccess stories truly illus-trates the Foundation’scommitment to protectingNew York’s historic places.

The Emerson Foundation’ssupport for the FoundationHistorical Association andthe 1816-17 house, whichserved as the primaryresidence for William HenrySeward and his family,began with an initial appro-priation of $25,000 nearlysixty years ago. Since 1951,the Emerson Foundation hasinvested over $7.5 million inthe Seward House for opera-

tions, capital projects, andan endowment for operatingand preservation expenses.

Individual Excellence:Dr. Robert B. MacKay, Cold Spring Harbor

Dr. MacKay is rightlyacknowledged throughoutLong Island for his preser-vation advocacy andgenerous advice to munici-palities, communities,individual homeowners, andmuseums, and he hasworked creatively andeffectively for the region’scultural heritage fordecades. The Society forthe Preservation of LongIsland Antiquities hasgrown and prospered underDr. MacKay’s leadership, hehas fostered the publicationof numerous importantbooks and studies, and hisChairmanship of the NewYork State Board forHistoric Preservationcontinues to have a lastingimpact on the achieve-ments of the State HistoricPreservation Office.

Publication:The Olmsted City–TheBuffalo Olmsted ParkSystem: Plan for the 21stCentury (University atBuffalo, 2008)

The Olmsted City outlines a20-year system restorationand management plan forBuffalo’s great ensemble of parks designed andconstructed between 1869and 1915 by Frederick LawOlmsted and Calvert Vaux,and later, the OlmstedBrothers. This publicationreflects the high level ofprofessionalism of allinvolved, including many of Buffalo’s preservationleaders. The Urban DesignProject of the University atBuffalo helped to organize atruly inclusive project witha considerable amount ofwell-guided studentinvolvement.

The Guggenheim Museum

Chapel of the Sisters

Theodore Roosevelt Executiveand Legislative Building

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Pillar of New York Gala set for NovemberLeague to Honor Families’ Legacies of Preservation

The Preservation League often acts as a mobilizing force, encouraging community leaders and decision-makers to take actionwhen historic resources are threatened.

But long before the Preservation League was founded in 1974, the urgent task of protecting New York’s endangered naturaland built environment was often taken up by private citizens, and in many cases, became a family legacy.

On November 18, 2009, the Preservation League will honor two families with a proud tradition of stewardship and preserva-tion of New York’s irreplaceable buildings and landscapes with our most prestigious tribute, the Pillar of New York Award. NewYork’s Families for Preservation will include:

the pell family for their leadership since 1820 in thepreservation of Fort Ticonderoga and its surroundings. It isappropriate to celebrate the leadership of the Pell Family duringthe 100th anniversary year of the opening of Fort Ticonderogato the public. In 1820 William Ferris Pell purchased the ruinsof this 18th century Fort and its surrounding garrison groundsin order to preserve the physical memories of its great militaryhistory. Considered by some to be the first example of historicpreservation in the United States, generations of the Pell Familyfollowed, providing leadership and support to preserve not onlythe Fort and grounds, the Pavilion and its adjacent King’sGarden, but also over 3,800 acres of historic landscapes andview sheds visible from the ramparts.

the pratt family for their leadership in the foundingand preservation of the Pratt Institute Campus, design excel-lence, and landscape protection. With the establishment ofPratt Institute in 1887, and through its subsequent expansions,the Pratt Family has provided uninterrupted and effective

leadership for one of New York’s pre-eminent educational anddesign institutions; they have preserved and protected impor-tant historic campus buildings in Brooklyn and with theexpansion to Utica, its Upstate New York campus. Since 2004,the Pratt Graduate Program in Historic Preservation has beeneducating a new generation of preservation professionals. The family’s commitment to architectural patronage on theNorth Shore of Long Island equally provides a legacy in design excellence, and their recent protection of an important familyproperty in South Carolina has saved the setting of a signifi-cant Civil War battlefield and the ruins of the home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Proceeds from the Pillar Gala will benefit the PreservationLeague. Tickets are available from $600 for individuals, andtables of ten are available starting at $10,000. To purchase tickets, contact Alexandria Leo at 518-462-5658 x11 or CarolReiser at 518-462-5658 x19. You may also purchase ticketsonline by visiting www.preservenys.org – click “support us.”

The historic structures of Fort Ticonderoga complex in Essex County (left) as well as the Pratt Institutein Brooklyn (right) have benefited from the visionary stewardship of the Pell and Pratt families.

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Officers: 2009-2010

Arete Swartz Warren, ChairWilliam L. Bernhard,

Vice ChairGeorge L. Howell,

Vice ChairThomas J. Schwarz,

Vice ChairDiana S. Waite, SecretaryRobert J. Kafin, TreasurerAnne G. Older,

Chair Emeritus

Board of Trustees

Jan C. K. AndersonGeorge H. BeaneMatthew Bender IV Henry S.F. CooperScott Duenow, AIA Wendy E. Feuer R. Brandon Fradd Christopher HolbrookGerald A. Holbrook Marilynn G. KarpGregory R. LongCaroline B. MasonDede B. Nash, LEED APGregory O’ConnellDr. Paul ProvostF. Eugene Romano David R. Sloan Elizabeth (Zibby) F. TozerSteven J. Weiss

Trustees Council

Pamela S. BankerKent L. Barwick Katherine CaryConstance L. ClappWilliam ClarksonRandall T. CrawfordJoan K. DavidsonSteven C. EngelhartStephen A. FaceyDorothy Twining GlobusLionel Goldfrank IIIRoberta Brandes Gratz Huyler C. HeldAnne A. Hubbard Dudley D. JohnsonWilliam B. Johnston

Susan Henshaw Jones Judith M. LaBelleAlexia LalliRichard J. Lippes Carol MackRobert B. MacKayRichard A. Maitino Jean M. McCarrollHenry A. McCartneyAnne L. Millard Norman M. MintzEllen PhelanKaren A. PhillipsRobert C. QuinlanDaniel G. Romualdez Janet C. RossWilliam C. Shopsin, FAIARobert D. SnedekerRobert A.M. Stern, FAIACynthia C. Wainwright Anthony C. WoodCaroline Rob Zaleski

Staff

Jay DiLorenzo, PresidentWilliam Hurst,

Director of Legal ServicesShelley LaClair,

Executive AssistantAlexandria Leo,

Development AssociateDaniel Mackay,

Director of Public PolicyDiane Muccigrosso,

Fiscal ManagerCarol L. Reiser,

Director of DevelopmentColleen M. Ryan,

Director of Communications

Erin M. Tobin,Regional Director, Technical and Grant Programs, Eastern New York

Tania G. Werbizky,Regional Director, Technical and Grant Programs, Western New York

Preservation LeagueTrustees & Staff

Preservation Tax CreditCONT INUED FROM PAGE 1

Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen of the StateDivision of Housing and Community Renewal said, “TheRehabilitation Tax Credits will foster new private and federalinvestment where it is most needed: our economically distresseddowntowns and commercial districts, main streets, and olderresidential neighborhoods. Further, these incentives willencourage the use or reuse of existing affordable housingresources. I’m delighted that we now have a more powerful toolfor revitalizing communities across New York State. “

John T. McDonald, Mayor of the City of Cohoes, said,“As the economy begins to show signs of a rebound, we havea unique opportunity to direct new investments to our older,industrial cities to make them healthier, safer, and more prosperous. The Rehabilitation Tax Credit is tailor-made toencourage developers to invest in our downtowns, putting thebrakes on sprawl growth and leading to the revitalization ofour city centers.”

New York’s first-ever rehabilitation tax credit was adopted as Chapter 547 of the Laws of 2006, but limitations of boththe commercial and residential programs failed to provide sufficient incentives to deliver economic and community revitalization to municipalities in need.

“This expanded rehabilitation stimulus program is just whatNew York needs to encourage re-use of existing infrastructure,address affordable housing needs, and stimulate new privateinvestment in the redevelopment of urban cores,” saidDiLorenzo. We are gratified that Governor Paterson hasapproved this important program which will help fuel therevitalization of New York’s downtowns and neighborhoods.”

The act will take effect on January 1, 2010. For more information on New York’s Historic Preservation Tax CreditPrograms, call the New York State Historic Preservation Office at (518) 237-8643 or visit http://nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo/investment/index.htm

Assemblymember Sam Hoyt speaking at the bill signing.

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Voices of Preservation Demolition a wrong answer for imperiled neighborhoods

Roberta Brandes Gratz is an urban critic, journalist, and consultant based in New York City. Amember of the Preservation League’s trustees council, she traveled to Buffalo in June for a trusteesmeeting and tour of the city’s architectural treasures and endangered communities. Her experienceinspired an article which first appeared on June 18 on Citiwire.net. This is an excerpt.

Trustees also visited Graycliff, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designedproperty in Derby, Erie County. Following the tour, the GraycliffConservancy’s founding executive director wrote, “The PreservationLeague really did give the Conservancy a lasting gift, in that youprovided early funding to steer our restoration efforts.”

America is in peril of a Demolition Derby, financed by publicdollars, striking many of our grand old cities.

In many post-industrial cities in which troubled neighbor-hoods are experiencing abandonment and foreclosure, publicofficials are talking of using public funds to demolish wholeblocks if not whole neighborhoods.

But is the bulldozer the best solution? One is hard pressedto find a city or even a neighborhood that was ever regeneratedthrough demolition of vacant buildings. Didn’t we learn of thehollow results from the discredited post-World War II urbanrenewal policies that destroyed — and for decades left bereft— vast tracts of troubled residential structures?

Granted, some appealing urban gardens are now sproutingin these cities, where piles of debris might have accumulated.Clearly this is better than rubble-strewn lots.

But vast clearance? The fact is the presence of vacant buildings is nothing new in any of these cities; the condition in today’s recession and industrial collapse is just worse. Nocitywide benefits ever materialized from mass demolition. Andthe big-bang projects that have sometimes risen where neigh-borhoods once stood — stadiums, arenas, convention centers,malls and the like — have not only failed in their promise andcost dearly but provided no fundamental basis for citywideresilience in good times or bad.

Huge projects never live up to expectations; small initiativesalways exceed theirs. So why not emulate real success?

In the once-rich, now beleaguered Buffalo, some 5,000houses could face the wrecking ball in the next five years.Imagine using city, state, federal and foundation funding forregeneration instead. In one of the most difficult neighbor-hoods — considered a lost cause by experts — the West SideCommunity Collaborative is not waiting for government to be creative or blaming absentee landlords.

Instead, this community group is going directly to problemproperty owners or meeting them in Housing Court to buythe properties cheaply for local buyers to fix and occupy. Mostsignificantly, they are finding buyers for fixer-uppers at lessthan $25,000 who could never afford standard market prices.In the process, these new home owners are building equitythey never had, equity that then gives them something to borrow on to start a business or fund a child’s college education.

Besides finding buyers, community volunteers are paintingover graffiti, cleaning out rubble-strewn lots, crowding out drugdealers and prostitutes by strategically working with the police,planting trees, fixing sidewalks, mowing lawns and anythingelse to show the determination and caring of this extraordinarilydiverse community. They only demolish when a building is nolonger structurally sound and then they salvage reusable parts.

When they started seven years ago, this long decliningBuffalo neighborhood was considered hopeless. Abandonmentwas accelerating. Now, houses are selling and new people aremoving in. The strategy is spreading and leaders from otherneighborhoods are seeking advice on how to develop a similar strategy.

Neighborhoods are being brought back to life around the state and around the country, but the success stories have one thing in common. They are initiated by people and community-based organizations who recognize that demolition does not solve social problems. It just moves theproblems to another locale. The erase-don’t-retain policy forboth people and buildings is the current, more subtle versionof the 1950s slash and burn urban renewal. Demolition issimply planning by default. It doesn’t work.

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New Trustees Bring Wide Range of ExperienceClass of 2012 welcomed at Annual Meeting in May

The Preservation League of New York State is proud to welcome five new members to its board oftrustees, class of 2012. According to Arete Swartz Warren, elected Chair of the board of trustees inJune, “These five trustees bring a wide range of experience and knowledge of historic preservationpractices to the League, and we all look forward to working with them during the next three years.”

Jan C.K. Anderson is the founder and presidentof RESTORE. Founded in 1976, the not-for-profit educational corporation delivers a rangeof innovative educational programs related tobuilding conservation and preservation

technology. RESTORE is oriented to design professionals,craftworkers, cultural resource managers, conservators and toall those associated with the art and science of buildingconservation. Ms. Anderson is a graduate of the ColumbiaUniversity Graduate School of Architecture, Planning andPreservation, where she also served as an adjunct professor.

Scott Duenow, AIA, Senior Associate, at Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, LLPspecializes in the restoration, preservation,renovation and adaptive reuse of historicbuildings. He is a registered architect in New

York and Wisconsin and belongs to the National Council ofArchitectural Registration Boards, American Institute ofArchitects and other organizations. He has worked on suchmajor projects as Ellis Island, Grand Central Terminal and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as smaller projects includingthe Louis Armstrong and Walt Whitman house museums.Mr. Duenow is currently involved with the restoration of theSeventh Regiment Armory and renovations of the New-YorkHistorical Society in Manhattan.

Gerald A. Holbrook is a founding partner ofTaconic Builders Inc. Taconic manages thebuilding and renovation of high-end privateresidences and specialty commercial projectsin and around New York City, Seattle and

Santa Barbara. Prior to founding TBI, Mr. Holbrook workedin the film and video production business. Mr. Holbrook is amember of the Institute for Classical Architecture andClassical America and serves as a guest lecturer at the NewYork School of Interior Design. Currently he serves on theboard of The Children’s Dream Foundation.

Dede B. Nash, LEED, AP, has a longstandingcommitment to historic preservation. With aMaster of Science in Historic Preservationfrom Columbia University Graduate School ofArchitecture, Preservation & Planning, she

also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University ofOregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Ms. Nash is aSpecification Writer at Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architects &Engineers. Previously, she was the owner of Preservation SpecsGroup, and served as the Mayor of Village of Cambridgefrom 2006 - 2009.

Gregory O’Connell believes that preserving thehistorical character of a neighborhood willimprove the quality of life for all its residents.He has been a real estate developer inBrooklyn for over 35 years and currently

manages the O’Connell Organization, a residential andcommercial real estate partnership. His primary focus isredeveloping, constructing, and managing residential,commercial, and 19th century warehouses in Red Hook,Brooklyn. One of the restored structures, the Brooklyn ClayRetort on Van Dyke Street, was the first landmark buildingdesignated in Red Hook.

www.preservenys.orgFor more information on the Preservation League of New York State, visit us online.

Protect Your Heritage!The Preservation League of New York State’s strength lies in the relationships made with preservationists who wish to protect the tremendous architectural and cultural heritage of New York. We welcome all people, organizations and businesses to join us in preserving our state’s historic buildings, districts, and landscapes.

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