NYS Historic Tax Credit Small Project Increase. Read the Support Memo.

• Will increase the credit from 20-30% for projects under $5 million.

Assembly Bill A5760C | Woerner; Co-sponsors: Lupardo, Fahy, Otis, Englebright, D'Urso, Arroyo, Smullen, Brabenec, McDonald, Hunter, Magnarelli, Schimminger, Walsh

Senate Bill S3645B | Kennedy; Co-sponsors: Kaplan, Metzger, Serrano

Read the Support Memo

NYS Historic Tax Credit Transferability. Read the Support Memo

• Allows for a one time transfer of the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

Assembly Bill A8491 | Woerner; Co-sponsors: Hunter, Fahy, McDonald, Magnarelli

Senate Bill S6711 | Kennedy

Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell and Senator Jose Serrano have introduced legislation to create a Historic Business Preservation Registry in New York State. This initiative will serve as an educational and promotional tool to recognize historic community-serving businesses as valuable cultural assets.

Assembly Bill A.8873A | O’Donnell; Co-sponsors: Otis

Senate Bill S.7274B | Serrano;

Read our memo of support.

Thanks to the organizations below for joining the Preservation League in support of this legislation:

On January 26th, 2020, the New York Times published an opinion piece accusing historic preservation of being “elite” and harming the fight against global warming, among other improper characterizations of the field. Rather than disparaging the work of the preservation community, we suggest that preservationists should be celebrated for their commitment to economic development, community revitalization, and smart, sustainable growth.

Read the Preservation League’s full response comment letter & Letter to the Editor.

Erin Tobin, Vice President for Policy and Preservation, had the pleasure of testifying at the 2020 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Environmental Conservation on January 27, 2020.

Issues important to the League were highlighted including: the Reimagine the Canals Initiative, the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority’s Clean Energy Fund, the Governor-proposed prevailing wage requirement, the NYS Historic Tax Credit. The League also outlined the importance of funding for the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, the Environmental Protection Fund, and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)

Read the Preservation League’s full written testimony.

A4403/S1864 will help small and mid-sized cities in New York State mitigate the blight caused by vacant and abandoned buildings, while providing them with a more expedient mechanism to place the buildings with owners who can rehabilitate them.  Thank you to Assemblymember John T. McDonald III for introducing this legislation in the Assembly and to James Gaughran for introducing in the Senate.

Read our Memo of Support.

In October 2019, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy [R-LA] introduced S. 2615, the Senate version of H.R. 2825, the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO), introduced by the House earlier this year.

This legislation will bring more value to historic tax credits and improve access to the credit and investment for smaller rehabilitation projects across New York State.

Contact New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and ask them to support this legislation!

In June 2019, Governor Cuomo announced the Reimagine the Canals initiative of the New York Power Authority and New York State Canal Corporation, with the goal “to boost local economies, inspire new opportunities for tourism and recreation, and strengthen environmental resiliency along the historic waterway.” The Preservation League believes 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.

In the midst of the Erie Canal’s bicentennial celebration (built 1817-1825) and on the heels of the centennial of the National Historic Landmark Barge Canal System, the League has released a public statement on the Reimagine initiative. “The Preservation League believes that the best future for our NYS Canal System lies in capitalizing on its past, marketing itself as a historic transportation corridor, improving amenities for canal users, and strengthening local, regional, and international partnerships to promote tourism, as well as recreational and commercial use.”

Click here to read our full letter.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor also released a statement in response to this initiative. You can read it here.

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This issue was covered in the Friday, October 18 edition of the Buffalo News. Our Vice President for Policy & Preservation Erin Tobin was quoted: "The canal is such a vibrant, rich part of our state. Anybody who spends time in upstate New York, including our governor, knows and loves and understands that the canal is a huge part of the communities all along its corridor."

The creation of Community Preservation Funds can provide for the safeguarding of historic buildings and landscapes. This modest real estate tax (paid by buyers), helps to further preservation goals and protect important sites that communities treasure.

The Preservation League prepared a letter to Governor Cuomo expressing support for this legislation (The Ulster County Community Preservation Act A0129/S6235 & Town of Chester Community Preservation Act A7592/S5640) and requesting it be signed into law.

Click here to read our letter.

The I-81 Viaduct project in Syracuse will address the aging infrastructure and need for transportation improvements.

As a stakeholder in how this project could impact historic resources in the project area, the Preservation League submitted a comment letter on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared for the project.

Click here to read the Preservation League’s letter.

For further information, visit the NYS Department of Transportation website.

The Rapp Road Community Historic District, one of our 2016-17 Seven to Save sites, is in a precarious location because of its close proximity to big, commercially developed roads like Washington Avenue Extension and Western Avenue – and also Crossgates Mall. The Town of Guilderland is proposing to allow a developer to build a very large apartment/townhome complex (including commercial space) right next to the historic district. Traffic is already an issue in the quiet, residential historic district and this project will likely exacerbate that problem.

The project has been declared a SEQR Type I action, which means a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared. The League has submitted this letter on the draft scope for the DEIS.

Visit the Town of Guilderland website for more information about the project.