2025 Advocacy Week Recap
Earlier this month, I traveled to Washington D.C. for National Preservation Advocacy Week. Organized by Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, Advocacy Week is a chance for preservationists from across the country to meet face to face with their Congressional representatives, educate them about the benefits of historic preservation, and ask for their support for critical preservation programs. This year, the New York delegation joined over 200 other advocates, representing 45 states and territories.
League Director of Preservation, Caitlin Meives, with NY SHPO Division for Historic Preservation Director, Daniel McEneny (at left), Congressman Paul D. Tonko, and University of Pennsylvania graduate student, Sallishah Ali.
Our colleagues at the NY State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) organized our delegation, which included our friends at the New York Landmarks Conservancy and two preservation graduate students who received scholarships from Preservation Action to attend Advocacy Week. Our asks to legislators and their staff:
Support FY 2026 Historic Preservation Fund appropriations of $225 million. HPF provides critical funding to State Historic Preservation Offices and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, allowing them to perform their federally mandated duties. It also supports preservation grant programs like Save America’s Treasures, African American Civil Rights Grants, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants, Historically Black Colleges/Universities Grants, and Underrepresented Communities Grants that help save our irreplaceable historic places. These grant programs have supported dozens of NYS projects in the last few years alone.
Support provisions in the emerging tax bill to make the federal Historic Tax Credit more valuable and easier to use. These provisions include: returning the HTC to a one-year credit; eliminating the basis adjustment; expanding eligibility for the credit; enhancing the credit for smaller projects. According to our colleagues at NY SHPO, New York State continues to lead the nation in use of Historic Tax Credits, with $7.17 billion in total rehabilitation investment from 2018-2024. In FFY 2023, New York State had over $2.15 billion in completed projects. Since 2009, the Historic Tax Credit program has stimulated over $16.4 billion in project expenditures in New York State, creating significant tax base growth, affordable housing, and new jobs. Tax credits have helped make award-winning affordable housing projects like RUPCO's Newburgh East End II possible.
Give consideration to federal actions that could negatively impact historic places, including: retain, hire, and recruit qualified federal staff; ensure adequate capacity to support revitalization; and support efficient review for important projects.
We closed out a long day of meetings on the Hill with a reception and remarks from Congressman Paul D. Tonko, a longtime champion for historic preservation. It was great to have a New York Representative addressing our national audience of preservationists!