The League submitted these comments in support of landmarking 50 West 13th Street in Manhattan, a campaign spearheaded by our colleagues at Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

According Village Preservation’s website:

This 1846-47 row house possesses an incredibly rich history which spans the 19th and 20th centuries. From 1858 to 1884, it was home to Jacob Day, one of New York’s most wealthy and successful 19th century African American businessmen and real estate owners, crusader for African American civil rights, and a prominent supporter of African American institutions.

Beginning in 1972, 50 West 13th Street was also home of the 13th Street Repertory Company, one of New York’s oldest “Off -Off Broadway” theaters. The theater, and several which occupied the space before it, hosted decades of prominent actors, directors, artists, designers, and playwrights, as well as Off-Off Broadway’s longest-running show ever, “Line.” Village Preservation is seeking landmark designation for the house to save it from demolition following the death of the theater’s owner.

Click here for a PDF of the League’s letter of support.

---

March 22, 2021

Commissioner Sarah Carroll, Chair
NYC Landmarks Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Re: In support of landmark designation of 50 West 13th St.

Dear Chairwoman Carroll,

On behalf of the Preservation League of New York State, I write in support of the evaluation of 50 West 13th St. as an individual landmark. This site contains significant history deserving of protection under the rule of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

With the passing of owner Edith O’Hara, of the 13th Street Repertory Company which occupies the building, we are concerned for the future of the building and its rich cultural history. Built in Greek revival style c. 1846-47, it retains its original form and many architectural details such as the ogee arches at the window lintels, a bracketed metal cornice at the roof, parlor floor windows, and cast-iron portico with a hipped metal hood. Local lure also points to a hidden passageway in the building rumored to be connected to the underground railroad. While other theories may indicate use as a speakeasy.

Recently, it was discovered this building had a strong link to African American history. Between 1858-84, Jacob Day was one of New York’s most prominent African American businessman and Abolitionist. During his time residing at the property were historic times spanning the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, Draft Riots, Emancipation and the adoption of Amendments 13, 14, 15, and Reconstruction efforts, which Mr. Day was active in.

When the building was altered to include a theater in 1958, the so-called “off-off Broadway” theater took on important social & cultural history. Under Edith’s direction, it championed upand-coming artists, including Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Chazz Palminteri, Amy Stiller, Jamie DeRoy, Richard Dreyfus, and Christopher Meloni.

The history that resides within the walls of this building is something we believe should be further explored and retained for future generations. From the architecture to the history of Mr. Day as a prominent African American resident, to potential Underground Railroad connections, as well as the cultural significance of the off-off Broadway decades- 50 West 13th St. runs the gamut of historic importance we seek to celebrate.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

Jay DiLorenzo
President

On Saturday, March 13, the New York State Assembly and Senate released their FY2022 budget bills.

The Preservation League was thrilled to see that the Assembly included the NYS Historic Tax Credit increase for small projects in their budget bill. This provision will improve Historic Tax Credit access for buildings on our Main Streets and the small two and three-story apartment houses in our villages and urban neighborhoods. The Historic Tax Credit is also a proven job creator, with one job for every $12,000 of revenue investment.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, as well as Assemblymembers Englebright, McDonald, Clark, Durso, and Magnarelli, who co-sponsored the bill introducing this NYS Historic Tax Credit improvement. We look forward to working with them and our friends in the NYS Senate to support this improvement in the final negotiated NYS Budget.

We were also relieved to see that both the Assembly and the Senate intentionally omitted the Governor's 30-day amendment that disbanded the Canal Recreationway Commission while creating a duplicative new public benefit corporation and increasing the NY Power Authority's bonding ability.

Thank you to the legislators on both sides of the aisle that came together to protect our National Historic Landmark NYS Canal System.

What can you do to ensure these actions are included in the final budget?

Please contact your legislators and thank them for protecting our National Historic Landmark NYS Canal System and underscore the importance of expanding access for the NYS Historic Tax Credit for small projects. 

The following letter (click here for the PDF version) was sent to Mayor de Blasio, Marisa Lago (Chair, NYC Department of City Planning), Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and City Councilmembers Corey Johnson (NYC City Council Speaker), Margaret Chin (District 1), Carlina Rivera (District 2), Rafael Salamanca Jr. (Chair, NYC Council Land Use Committee), Francisco Moya (Chair, NYC Council Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee), and Adrienne Adams (Chair, Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions).

---

I write on behalf of the Preservation League of New York State, New York’s only statewide historic preservation nonprofit organization, regarding your proposed rezoning of the SoHo and NoHo historic neighborhoods. The Preservation League invests in people and projects that champion the essential role of preservation in community revitalization, sustainable economic growth and the protection of our historic buildings and landscapes. We lead advocacy, economic development and education programs across the state and partner with local preservation organizations throughout New York. The Preservation League stands with our New York City-based preservation colleagues in calling on the city’s administration to reconsider the proposed SoHo/NoHo upzoning.

As demonstrated in a recently-released report by Village Preservation, experience has shown that upzoning neighborhoods consistently does not meet the city’s projected number of new affordable housing units. Village Preservation’s analysis projects that the proposed upzoning in SoHo and NoHo would disproportionately displace the neighborhoods’ Chinese and Chinese-American residents while creating a more socio-economically homogeneous neighborhood. While the millionaires who own their buildings are not at risk of displacement, owners of affordable four to six-story apartment buildings will have a tremendous incentive to sell their property for high-rise development.

We do support the neighborhood’s Community Alternative Rezoning Plan for SoHo and NoHo, which would establish more robust financial incentives for creating affordable housing, using open lots or underdeveloped sites. This plan preserves the current affordable housing within SoHo and NoHo, while supporting the creation of additional affordable housing units. It would also slow the development of ultra-luxury residential units that would inevitably result from the current rezoning proposal, and which we have seen explode throughout New York City under increased upzoning.

Far from being obstructionists, preservation organizations in New York City wish to maintain income diversity and grow affordable housing throughout New York’s neighborhoods. Unlike the real estate development community, preservationists wish to see this happen in a thoughtful evolution that truly answers the need for increased affordable housing units, not merely catering to luxury high-rise developers.

Please reconsider this upzoning proposal and instead look to the Community Alternative as a way to increase affordability in SoHo and NoHo. New York’s diverse neighborhoods and local businesses make it great and have led to its success. This proposal would forever change one of New York’s most iconic and historic neighborhoods.

Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Jay DiLorenzo
President

The Preservation League of New York State is New York State’s statewide historic preservation nonprofit. We lead advocacy, economic development and education programs across the state. We believe that the power of our New York State Canal System, a National Historic Landmark, is rooted in its history, authenticity as a continuously operating end-to-end canal system, vibrancy, and ability to leverage tourism now and in the future.

Upon reading Governor Cuomo’s “Canal System Revitalization Act” proposed in a 30-day budget amendment, we believe that actions taken with respect to our National Historic Landmark treasure should be done with transparency and thorough, meaningful public engagement.

While the Preservation League encourages and supports meaningful investment in our National Historic Landmark NYS Canal System, we have concerns with the bill’s stated Legislative findings and statement of purposes, as well as the actions and goals that follow.

In 1992, the NYS Legislature created the Canal Recreationway Commission. According to the NYS Canal Corporation:

In addition to maintaining and periodically revising the Canal Recreationway Plan, the primary responsibility of the Commission is to make recommendations concerning the future of the Canal System. Embodied in the Commission’s vision are three fundamental goals:

• Preserving the best of the past.

• Enhancing recreational opportunities.

• Fostering appropriate and sustainable economic development.

Given the overlap between the Canal Recreationway Commission’s purpose and goals and those stated in Governor Cuomo’s proposed Canal System Revitalization Act, we ask what purpose it serves to dissolve a commission that has not had an opportunity to meet since 2017, in order to create a separate and largely Governor-controlled entity?

The Canal System Revitalization Act proposed substantive changes to our National Historic Landmark NYS Canal System including removal of important preservation considerations, and therefore deserves opportunity for open presentation and discussion outside of the 30-day budget amendment process.

The Preservation League strongly urges the NYS Legislature to strike New Part VV from the Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation (TED) Bill and ask Governor Cuomo to engage in an open and transparent conversation about the purpose and goals of dissolving the Canal Recreationway Commission and establishing significant funding authority to a new and duplicative New York State Canal System Revitalization Trust.

Click here for a downloadable PDF of this statement.

We write in support of Bill A.3670 (Woerner) and S.4439 (Kennedy) relating to improving access to the NYS Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit for small projects. We urge the Assembly and Senate to include this bill in their budget bills this March. These improvements will help small business and Main Street building owners rehabilitate their historic buildings, while ensuring that the NYS Historic Tax Credit serves as an incentive throughout our upstate urban centers.

Click here to read our full letter of support.

The League recently submitted this letter of support to the Adirondack Park Agency advocating for the preservation of Debar Lodge. This follows the letter the League submitted to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in November 2020, urging them to reconsider their proposal to demolish the National Register-listed Debar Pond Lodge.

Dear Members of the APA Board,

Please accept these comments by the Preservation League of New York State (League) regarding the Proposed Adoption of the Debar Mountain Complex Unit Management Plan (UMP). The draft UMP proposes, among other things, the removal of the National Register listed Debar Pond Lodge Complex and its replacement with a day-use picnic area. While the League supports improvements for visitors to the park, we feel it should be done in a manner that does not sacrifice historic resources. As such, we strongly oppose the proposed demolition of the historic Debar Pond Lodge Complex.

The Debar Pond Lodge Complex in Franklin County is an important example of an Adirondack rustic camp and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by architect William Distin, the buildings represent one of the last significant developments of its type in the park. Distin was the designer of a number of buildings in the Adirondacks including St. John’s in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Paul Smiths and the ice arena in Lake Placid that hosted events for the 1932 Winter Olympics. We feel that the preservation of his work is essential to understanding the long and rich history of the Adirondacks. If we lose these touchstones, we risk telling an incomplete story of one of New York’s and the nation’s most important places, the Adirondack State Park.

The League supports an alternative to the demolition of the Debar Pond Lodge that would utilize a constitutional land exchange amendment to avert demolition and allow public access to the buildings and its setting. This alternative would allow for a land exchange between New York State and a nonprofit organization whereby the state would pass the Debar Pond Lodge buildings and a few acres of land to the nonprofit in exchange for a much larger parcel of land of equal value, which would become part of the Adirondack State Park. This is a mechanism with which the League is very familiar as we were a leading partner in advocating for a similar successful land transfer to save the outbuildings of Great Camp Sagamore in 1983. That camp, as you know, is a tremendous asset for the state. Operated by the Sagamore Institute it continues to serve an important educational role.

This win-win land exchange would expand the Adirondack Park, preserve National Register listed historic buildings, save the cost of demolition by New York State, and create another wonderful opportunity for visitors to understand the full history of the Adirondack Park.

The nonprofit organization in this case would be the Debar Pond Institute, which would agree to restore and maintain the buildings while operating the Debar Pond Lodge Complex for public purposes, including the recreational use of Debar Pond. Uses will include educational programs, public recreation, lodging, and tours. This nonprofit has already formed and lists among its board members longtime Adirondack residents with a history of advocacy for the park and its historic resources. For its part, the Institute has already secured commitments for private funds to acquire 300 acres of land to satisfy their part of the land exchange. The next step is up to New York State.

The Preservation League of New York State calls on New York State to adopt the land exchange model as the best solution for keeping the history of the Adirondack Park alive and vital for all visitors. We stand ready to assist in any way we can.

With appreciation for your commitment to New York State,

Jay DiLorenzo

President
Preservation League of New York State

The Preservation League has been working with neighborhood advocates in Poughkeepsie to save the historic Williams Hall on the Vassar campus since this past summer. Click here to read the letter of support submitted by League Vice President for Policy & Preservation Erin Tobin.

This Wednesday, December 2, the Town of Poughkeepsie will meet to decide whether to preserve this historic building and its associated surroundings. Please add your name and vote YES to preserve before the hearing. Poughkeepsie town leaders are listening.

If you would like to learn more, sign the petition, and Zoom into Wednesday's Poughkeepsie Town Board meeting, please visit the Arlington Neighborhood Association's website.

Last month, we called attention to the impending demolition of the circa 1926 former Colonie Village School, and highlighted some great school reuse projects across New York State.

The League submitted a determination of eligibility for this school to the State Historic Preservation Office, and recently learned that the agency determined it eligible for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The agency indicated this school building meets the criteria for listing on the registers under both criterion A (association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns in our history) and criterion C (Embodying the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction; or represents the work of a master; or possesses high artistic values; or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction).

Regrettably, public documents available seem to indicate the Village of Colonie Planning Board may not have given this historic building appropriate consideration under SEQR, prior to the issuance of a demolition permit for this historic school.

The League recently submitted a letter of support to the Landmarks Preservation Board in Yonkers to express support for designating The Yorkshire as a local landmark.

As stated in the Landmarks Application, The Yorkshire is a “public amenity” and “public delight” much beloved by the surrounding community. It is also an architecturally significant Tudor Revival apartment building, part of a collection of apartment buildings on Garrett Place that reflect the social and architectural history of Yonkers. The Yorkshire is also an important piece of Yonkers social fabric, as it provides necessary affordable housing through many rent-controlled and stabilized apartment.

Click here to read the full letter.

The Preservation League recently submitted a letter to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, urging them to reconsider their proposal to demolish the National Register-listed Debar Pond Lodge. This proposal by New York State is an egregious violation of the 1980 NYS Historic Preservation Act — as well as not being environmentally friendly, wasting the resources contained within this beautiful 20th century landmark. We support our Preservation Colleague, Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), who has also called for NYS DEC to table their draft scoping statement calling for demolition, bring together stakeholders, and allow for a thorough discussion of alternative solutions for the lodge.

Click here to read the League’s letter.

AARCH put together a video featuring the lodge and property, with Executive Director Steven Engelhart providing an overview of the property's history and his organization's involvement in seeking preservation solutions for the lodge.