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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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Please mail to: Preservation League of New York State, 44 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12206

Preservation Advocate is supported in part by funds provided by the Architecture, Planning, and Design Program of the New York State Council on the Arts. The Preservation League is a 501(c)(3) organization, and membership contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. For additional program information, please call 518-462-5658. A copy of our latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from the League or from the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, ATTN: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

Excellence in Historic Preservation

AwardsWednesday, May 14, 2014

The New York Yacht Club – Reception 6-8:30 p.m.

Join us as we honor notable achievements in retaining, promoting and reusing New York State’s irreplaceable architectural heritage.

Project Excellence

Altamont Free Library Train Station Renovation, Altamont

Academy Lofts, Albany

Williamsburgh Savings Bank, Brooklyn

Holy Rosary Apartments, Rochester

New York City Hall Renovation, New York

Donald Judd Home & Studio, New York

Warburton Lofts at Philipse Manor Hall Historic District, Yonkers

Organizational Excellence

St. Mark’s Historic Landmark Fund, New York

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Seven to SaveRaising the visibility of local preservation challenges

The Preservation League is celebrating 40 years of building the capacity of local groups; educating New Yorkers through workshops, presentations, and seminars; promoting creative solutions for endangered properties; advancing public policies on the local, state, and national levels; administering grant programs; and offering a statewide voice for preservation in the media. This is the third in a series of articles outlining the past, present and future of the League’s signature programs.

Sometimes, even our communities’ most important buildings face uncertain futures. And unfortunately, once a building is lost, no amount of regret will bring it back. While it’s an oversimplifica-tion to say that the modern preservation movement arose from the demolition of Penn Station, Ada Louise Huxtable expressed a widely-held sentiment in a 1963 editorial in the New York Times.

“Farewell to Penn Station. Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tin-horn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.”

The Early YearsIn an effort to rally support for threat-ened places across New York State, the Preservation League developed its first Seven to Save list in 1999.

Perhaps one of the best outcomes for an early Seven to Save designee can be seen in the Adirondacks, at Camp Santanoni, one of the large, rustic wilderness estates now known as “Great Camps.”

When New York State acquired the Santanoni Preserve in 1971, it became part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. But for more than twenty years, the camp remained vacant and continued to deteriorate.

In 1991, after intensive efforts by the Town of Newcomb, Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the Preservation League of New York State, legislators and other groups, the State agreed to preserve the remaining structures as an educational exhibit in a manner consistent with the camp’s Forest Preserve setting. Still, inadequate funds were being made available for the repair and restoration of buildings.

In 1998, Adirondack Architectural Heri-tage formed the Friends of Camp Santanoni as a way of providing long-term financial and volunteer support for the camp. AARCH was then successful in nominating Camp Santanoni to the League’s first Seven to Save list in 1999, and publicity from this designation leveraged additional support. Named a National Historic Landmark in 2000, the Main Camp and many of the other fifteen buildings on the property have now been restored. Some of this work was guided by three historic structure reports partially funded with Preserve New York Grants awarded to AARCH.

Santanoni Preserve is now open year-round.

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“…we will probably be

judged not by the monuments

we build but by those we have

destroyed.”—Ada Louise Huxtable

PENN STATION, NY

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A Message from the President Fiscal Year End Changes

In December of 2012 the Preservation League’s Board of Trustees amended the League’s bylaws to change the organization’s fiscal year from the calendar year to the period July 1 through June 30.

The trustees felt that this change would assist the organization’s fund-raising and planning activities. While this change has been mostly an administrative one, it will impact the timing of our annual meeting and the publication of our annual report in the years ahead. In 2014, we will have our regular Annual Meeting and Excel-lence Awards Ceremony in May as we have always had. At that time we will issue to our members a financial state-ment for calendar year 2013 and an abbreviated annual report.

Moving forward, we will continue to hold our Excellence Awards Cere-mony in May, but release of our annual report will move to the fall of the year, to better report on our fiscal year ending in June. Election of new trustees will also occur at that time. If you have any questions about this change, please do contact me at jdilorenzo@preservenys.org. I hope to see you at the May 14 annual meeting!

Stradivari Society Event Hits a High NoteThe Preservation League hosted an intimate evening for nearly 100 supporters and friends with the Rising Stars of the Stradivari Society in the historic rooms of the Americas Society on Park Avenue.

Robert Koenig, Tim Fain, Karen Arrison and Augustin Hadelich

Young stars Tim Fain and Augustin Hadelich, two of the finest violinists performing in the world today, played with the Grammy-nominated accompanist Robert Koenig. The other stars in the room were the 1723 Stradivari and the 1717 Gobetti violins on long-term loan to the musicians from League trustee Karen Arrison and her husband Clement through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago. A reception preceded the concert.

Mr. Fain has emerged as a mesmerizing new presence on the music scene and most recently played violin on the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave. Mr. Hadelich, with his poetic and dazzling technique, has established himself as a rising star among the new generation of violinists.

The event was presented by the Preservation League in collabora-tion with Karen and Clement Arrison and the Stradivari Society. The event was sponsored by William Bernhard and Catherine Cahill, the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Family Foundation, Daniel Romualdez Architects, and R. Brandon Fradd.

Save the Date

Painter’s Paradise: Art, Architecture and History in the Catskills

July 10-12, 2014. Details to follow. Contact Britt Densmore at bdensmore@preservenys.org or

518-462-5658 x19 for more information.

2014 Excelsior Society Tour

Jay DiLorenzo

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Focusing on Threatened ResourcesThe Preservation League often acts as a mobilizing force, encouraging community leaders and decision-makers to take action when historic resources are threatened. A Seven to Save designation from the League delivers invaluable technical assistance, fosters increased media coverage and public aware-ness, and opens the door to grant assistance for endangered properties.

Originally, Seven to Save designations were announced in late fall. In order to re-align the announcement of the list with the calendar year during which the staff would address the issues, the League moved what would have been the listings for the end of 2004 forward to January, 2005. Therefore, there is no 2004 list. In 2010, the League moved to a biennial listing as called for in the League’s Strategic Plan for 2011-2014. Accordingly, there is no 2011 list.

Thematic ListingsThe Preservation League first added New York’s historic, cul-tural, and scenic resources to the Seven to Save list in 2003. The threat at the time was commercial-scale wind energy projects. The League promoted wind energy siting criteria and mapping to address the issue of poorly-sited wind turbine facilities that would negatively impact landmarks and cultural landscapes.

In 2012-13, the historic buildings, communities and land-scapes of the Marcellus and Utica shale regions of New York

State were designated, due to the potential negative impacts of high-volume natural gas hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) on historic and cultural resources.

Similarly, the historic and cultural resources of Columbia County were included on the Seven to Save list for 2014-15, though this is no longer the only region of the state that is threatened by high-voltage transmission lines. Communities in 18 counties in central and eastern New York face potential industrialization of their rural landscapes and loss of land to eminent domain.

In each case, the League has worked with state agencies and local communities to ensure that historic, cultural, and scenic resources are considered as part of their planning processes, as these resources are key elements of robust regional economies, job creation and quality of life.

In 2006, historic wood windows were placed on the Seven to Save list. Windows are one of the most important aspects of a building’s historic material and appearance. They are often the last item on a regular maintenance list and will deteriorate over time without proper care. The goal of the listing was to dispel myths associated with retaining historic windows and to provide information on affordable repairs and energy efficient preservation methods.

New York State is especially rich in maritime resources and waterfront communities. Unfortunately, many of the historic resources that illustrate the epic tale of New York’s settlement are threatened. The Preservation League used its 2009 Seven to Save list to support the Empire State’s

Seven to Save continued from pg 1

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Santanoni Preserve in the Adirondacks

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In February 2012, I found out by chance when selling some property that New York State Electric & Gas planned to build an 11.1-mile, 115 kv high-voltage power line directly through the middle of my bucolic town of Ghent, NY.

Voices of Preservation“Together, we hope to show how a united community can influence the decision-making processes that control its future.” – Koethi Zan

The proposed line would run through backyards, open farm-lands, lands under conservation easement, neighborhoods of historic homes, and The Sculpture Fields at Omi International Arts Center, a 300-acre sculpture park open to the public. What’s more, about a hundred National Historic Register-eligible properties are situated within a one-mile radius of the proposed line.

I called my neighbors. At first, no one thought it was possible. Surely the utility realized that Columbia County’s economy was driven by agriculture and tourism and they wouldn’t destroy a town that was thriving in those very areas, home to a vineyard and winery; a flower farm; a dairy; an artisanal cheese-making facility; sheep, cattle and horse farms; a maple syrup farm; a children’s arts camp; public conservation areas; and an internationally renowned artists’ and writers’ residency. Surely the utility would not put a high voltage power line through a historic district, or destroy our uniquely stunning views of the Catskills and the Berkshires. They couldn’t do that. Could they?

I quickly learned that if we did nothing, they could and they would. With no idea how to proceed, I turned to Google and started cold calling organizations I thought might help. Eventually I reached Daniel Mackay at the Preservation League, who explained the NYS Public Service Commission’s Article VII utility-siting process and listed the various experts we would need: a lawyer, an environmental consultant, a landscape architect, a historic preservationist, and an engineer.

My neighbors and I rushed to form a non-profit, Protect Ghent, and immediately started raising money. We hired the experts, held community

meetings, started a website and Facebook page, posted notices, and sent out fliers, determined to make sure every affected resident was informed of this threat to our area.

Since then, Protect Ghent, Art Omi, the Town Board, our state and federal representatives, and hundreds of concerned residents have united to fight this line. We’ve participated in public statement and administrative hearings, site visits, and multiple community meetings. With our experts, we’ve pored over thousands of pages of technical documents and maps. We’ve written letter after letter explaining what is so special about our town. And we’ve made our voices heard.

Now two years and tens of thousands of dollars later, our battle is still not over, but because of our united efforts, we have real hope. Department of Public Service staff has listened to our concerns and their engineers have developed a low-voltage alternative that we support. This low-voltage line would run on regular-height poles, along roads, mostly on existing lines. This proposal, if adopted, would save our town.

We’re now joined in our mission by the Preservation League with a “Seven to Save” designation. Together, we

hope to show how a united community can influence the decision-making processes that control its future. The Hudson Valley faces many challenges ahead as the state seeks to improve its energy infrastructure. But, as in our case, there will always be alternatives, and we hope to inspire the innovative search for progress that will

balance the energy needs of the state with the preservation of our local

communities.

— Koethi Zan, Executive Director, Protect Ghent

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Officers: 2013-2014

Anne H. Van Ingen, ChairJan C.K. Anderson, Vice ChairWilliam L. Bernhard, Vice ChairGerald A. Holbrook, Vice ChairPaul Provost, Vice ChairDede B. Nash, SecretaryJohn Sare, TreasurerAnne G. Older, Chair Emerita

Board of Trustees

Karen ArrisonDuncan BarrettGeorge H. BeaneMatthew Bender IVIldiko ButlerSuzanne ClaryScott Duenow, AIAChiu Yin Hempel George L. HowellRobert J. KafinRev. Dr. Thomas F. PikeF. Eugene RomanoDiana WaiteArete Swartz Warren Steven J. Weiss

Trustees Council

Kent BarwickConstance L. ClappWilliam ClarksonHenry S.F. CooperRandall T. CrawfordJoan K. DavidsonSteven C. EngelhartStephen A. FaceyR. Brandon FraddDorothy Twining GlobusLionel Goldfrank IIIRoberta Brandes GratzChristopher HolbrookAnne A. HubbardDudley D. JohnsonMarilynn G. KarpRobert J. KresseJudith M. LaBelleAlexia Lalli

Richard J. LippesGregory R. LongRobert B. MacKayRichard A. MaitinoJean M. McCarrollHenry A. McCartneyNorman M. MintzGregory O’ConnellEllen PhelanRobert C. QuinlanDaniel G. RomualdezJanet C. RossThomas J. SchwarzRobert D. SnedekerRobert A.M. Stern, FAIACynthia C. WainwrightCaroline Rob Zaleski

Staff

Jay DiLorenzo, PresidentYolanda Davis, Development AssociateBritt Densmore, Director of DevelopmentShelley LaClair, Executive AssistantDaniel Mackay, Director of Public PolicyDiane Muccigrosso, Fiscal ManagerColleen M. Ryan, Director of Communications Bill Schroeder, EPIP Program ManagerErin M. Tobin, Regional Director, Technical and Grant Programs, Eastern New YorkTania G. Werbizky, Regional Director, Technical and Grant Programs, Western New York

Preservation League Trustees & Staff 44 Central Avenue

League headquarters secures National Register designation, opens Preservation Resource Center

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan cut the ribbon and officially opened the Preservation League’s new Preservation Resource Center on Thursday, January 23. The Preservation Resource Center occupies the previously vacant ground-floor space at the League’s Albany headquarters at 44 Central Avenue.

Just three weeks later, on February 14, the League received notice that the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

At the junction of two historic turnpikes, 44 Central Avenue is one of the oldest remaining commercial buildings in Albany. Constructed prior to 1817, the building first served as a grain and feed store, and retains many of the architectural elements that illustrate its history. Grain was brought from outlying farms via the Great Western Turnpike (Western Avenue) and the Albany Schenectady Turnpike (Central Avenue), and processed for distribution at local markets.

In 1982, the building was only partially occupied and in poor condi-tion. Matthew Bender IV purchased the building and began rehabilitation in 1983. The building was occupied by Historic Albany Foundation and

other organiza-tions prior to being donated to the Pres-ervation League.

“The Preserva-tion League has a library of valuable publications includ-ing several hundred books and dozens of professional surveys of historic proper-ties, landscapes and neighborhoods,” said Jay DiLorenzo,

President of the Preservation League. “These materials have previously been accessible only to League staff. With the support of the Bender Family Foundation, we have organized and catalogued our library, and will now make it available to League members, researchers and students by appointment. We will also use the Preservation Resource Center to display artifacts from our building’s past, so the space will tell part of the story of the city of Albany and its westward expansion.”

The League will also use the space for meetings and events, and will make the space available on a limited basis for use by other groups.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Jay DiLorenzo, Preservation League Trustee Matt Bender IV

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Preserve New York GrantsApplications now available

Municipalities and not-for-profit organizations are invited to compete for funds through Preserve New York, a signature grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

A total of $100,000 is available for historic structure reports, cultural landscape reports and cultural resource surveys. Grants are likely to range between $3,000 and $10,000 each. The application deadline is May 5, 2014.

Examples of projects that would be eligible for funding include: a historic structure report for a cultural institution or public building; a cultural landscape report for an Olmsted-designed park; or a cultural resource survey of a downtown or residential neighborhood.

In 2014, the Preservation League especially encourages projects that advance the preservation of neighborhoods and downtowns that qualify for the NYS Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit; continue the use of historic public buildings such

as museums, opera houses, theaters, and libraries for cultural, interpretive, and artistic purposes; identify and protect build-ings and cultural landscapes at risk due to technological, trans-portation and energy developments; and identify and preserve architecture and landscapes designed after World War II.

For Preserve New York Grant Program guidelines, visit the League’s website at www.preservenys.org. Prospective appli-cants should contact the Preservation League to discuss their projects and to request an application form.

The Preserve New York Grant program is made possible through funding from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts received a $7,000 grant to complete a Historic Landscape Report for Yasgur Farm, the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.

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“Together, we hope to show how a united community can influence the decision-making processes that control its future.“

year-long Quadricentennial celebration commemorating the voyages of Henry Hudson, Robert Fulton and Samuel de Champlain.

So Our Past Has a FutureSince the first Seven to Save list was released in 1999, some ninety-one places in New York State have received this desig-nation. Sadly, a number of those have been lost, including the historic Lake Champlain Bridge and the Iron Block buildings in Watertown.

Still, most places have been either saved or improved. Working in conjunction with local stakeholders, the League has been able to avert demolition, develop plans for reuse, secure landmark designation, or foster greater public awareness of the value of our unique and irreplaceable historic resources.

The League continues to seek funding to establish a grant program for emergency stabilization of endangered struc-tures, as well as preliminary building condition or engineering studies. The Seven to Save program would also benefit from

enhanced visibility: banners or other signage at the time of the listing, followed by a plaque that would be presented when the designee is saved.

Through the Seven to Save program, the League will continue to work with New Yorkers who strive to identify, preserve, protect, reuse, and promote historic resources as community assets.

Seven to Save 2014-15We’ll provide updates on these designees over the next 18 months.

• Maxwell Place Fire Station/Fire Station #4, Elmira• Old Stone Barracks, Plattsburgh• Bethel-Christian Avenue – Laurel Hill Historic District,

Setauket• Historic and Cultural Resources of Columbia County• Olmsted Bridges of Genesee Valley Park, Rochester• Old Albany Post Road, Philipstown• Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits

Statewide Preservation ConferencesSave the Dates

Fill in the Blank: Defining Preservation Rochester, April 24-26landmarksociety.org/conference

The Landmark Society of Western New York, the Preservation League of New York State and Preservation Buffalo Niagara are convening a New York Statewide Preservation Conference for the first time in over a dozen years. Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics will offer three sessions including “rightsizing” neighborhoods and preservation in the 21st century, while Ed McMahon of the Urban Land Institute will present “The Dollars and Sense of Preserving Community Character.”

Preservation League staff has helped plan the conference and will be among the presenters. Daniel Mackay, Director of Public Policy, will moderate Thinking Inside the Box: Transmission Corridors and Impacts to Historic Communities and Landscapes. Tania Werbizky, Regional Director of Techni-cal and Grant Programs, will offer Next Act for Opera Houses: Strategies for Preservation & Renewal with opera house direc-tors from Earlville and Fredonia. Architect John Bero will also discuss the findings of a League grant-funded building codes study of Bent’s Opera House in Medina.

From Main Streets to Eco-Districts: Greening Our Communities Corning, May 20-21aiasny.org

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Market Street Restoration Agency will join AIA Southern New York, the Preservation League of New York State and Corning’s Gaffer District to present a two-day conference. Attendees will learn from experts in the fields of smart growth, preservation, downtown revitalization and green building practices.

The May 20 symposium, From Main Street to Eco-Districts: Greening Our Communities, will feature Kaid Benfield of the National Resources Defense Council and others addressing cutting-edge rehabilitation and sustainability strategies. This event directly links to the Preservation League’s May 21 workshop, Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again, with architects and grant experts presenting design, building code and financial strategies for bringing upper floors back to productive use. The workshop will include a tour of Corning upper floors rarely open to the public. The two-day program offers AIA Learning Units and other continuing education credits.

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PHOTO OF PENN STATION: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS & PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION, NY, 31-NEYO, 78-9