Technical Assistance Grants - 2016
The Spring TAG grant round awarded $28,600 to ten projects in ten counties, and the Fall grant round awarded $24,000 to eight projects in seven counties. Each successful applicant provides a $500 match.
SPRING
Delaware County
Roxbury Arts Group, Inc. - $3,000
Building Condition Survey
The Roxbury Arts Group offers contemporary and dynamic arts programming and is dedicated to making the arts an integral part of life in the Catskills. The group also administers NYSCA decentralization grants to provide funding for artists, art projects and art programs in Delaware County schools and communities.The organization operates in a former YMCA building constructed in 1911, which suffered extensive damage during Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011. Following post-flood repairs, the organization is planning for the building’s future. A grant of $3,000 will enable the Roxbury Arts Group to prioritize. Dadras Architects of Liberty will complete the survey.
Erie County
Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village - $3,000
Hoover House Specialized Conservation Study
The Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village is a house museum and living history site focused on agriculture. The 35-acre site includes 11 buildings, a heritage farmstead, and a 25,000 square foot exhibit and collections building. The Hoover House, once owned by local businessman George Hoover, was rescued from abandonment and relocated to the Heritage Village campus. A $3,000 grant will support the cost of an exterior paint analysis to establish a historically accurate color scheme for the house, which will enable the organization to plan for restoration and interpretation. Working with Clinton Brown Company Architecture of Buffalo, Walter Furlan of Hamilton, Ontario will complete the paint analysis.
Monroe County
Rochester Arts Center d/b/a Genesee Center for the Arts & Education - $3,000
Hose Tower Building Condition Survey
The Genesee Center for the Arts and Education in Rochester has served an important cultural function since 1970. It began as a community arts center offering classes, exhibitions, studio facilities, residencies, outreach programs and community events. The Center is housed on Monroe Avenue in a former brick firehouse that was built in two sections in 1895 and 1905. Although the building has not been used as a firehouse since the 1960s, its occupants have kept its original form intact. A $3,000 grant will support an assessment of the firehouse hose tower, which the organization wishes to preserve as part of the building’s history. Pardi Partnership Architects of Rochester will complete the assessment.
Oneida County
Brothertown Association - $3,000
O & W Railway Passenger and Cargo Depot Feasibility Reuse Study
Brothertown Association, a history-based organization in Deansboro, has assumed the responsibility of fully restoring the O & W Railway Passenger and Cargo Depot for future use. In time, the rehabilitated structure will serve as a year-round community center for railroad history enthusiasts, museum visitors, the Town of Marshall Historical Society, and the local arts and crafts scene. A $3,000 grant will enable the association to retain Crawford & Stearns Architects & Preservation Planners of Syracuse to complete a feasibility/reuse study and conditions assessment so Brothertown can plan for rehabilitation and use of the depot.
Ontario County
Naples Historical Society - $3,000
Naples Red Mill Engineering/Structural Analysis
The Naples Historical Society is a volunteer organization that provides educational programming, events, and exhibits that focus on the history of Naples and the surrounding area. The Naples Red Mill played an important role in the history of the development of Naples Village, and now holds hundreds of historic artifacts. The Society plans to use the space as an interpretive museum. The Red Mill has a number of structural issues including broken beams and cracking in the foundation. A $3,000 grant will enable MRB Group of Rochester to conduct an engineering/structural analysis of the Mill to help the Historical Society prioritize repairs for the safety of future occupants.
Orange County
National Temple Hill Association - $3,000
Colonial Stone House Building Condition Survey
For 86 years, the National Temple Hill Association has promoted the significance of the Mid-Hudson Valley – especially in Revolutionary War History – in Orange County and beyond.
The group hosts lectures, publishes books, and coordinates special events and living history demonstrations, and owns the Colonial Stone House, a 261-year old property and exemplar of 18th-century Dutch Colonial design. The structure served as Military Headquarters for General Horatio Gates, Major General Arthur St. Clair, and a supply depot during the Revolutionary War. The Association rescued the building after years of vacancy and misuse. A $3,000 grant will enable Landmark Consulting of Albany to complete a building condition assessment to guide restoration.
Rensselaer County
Sand Lake Center for the Arts - $2,100
Circle Theater Players Building Condition Survey
The Sand Lake Center for the Arts operates out of the iconic Circle Theater Players Building in Averill Park and provides unique arts-based services for people in the community and beyond. The building, constructed in 1835, initially served as the First Presbyterian Church of Greenbush. Following decommissioning, it served as the Averill Park town hall and appears on the town seal. The Center has plans to repaint the exterior of the Theater building. A $2,100 grant will support the cost of an exterior condition analysis to identify potential problems and areas of deterioration. Troy Architectural Program will complete the analysis, and the Center will be better prepared to care for this important cultural resource.
Steuben County
Finger Lakes Boating Museum - $3,000
Taylor Wine Company Building #5 Building Condition Survey
The Finger Lakes Boating Museum in Hammondsport was founded to preserve the rich history of boat building and boating activity in the region through workshops, special events, and other educational programs. Although the institution was chartered in 1997, the FLBM did not have a place to call its own until 2014, when it moved into the former Taylor Wine Company buildings donated by the Mercury Aircraft Corporation. A $3,000 grant will enable the museum to retain Bero Architecture of Rochester to survey the condition of the Taylor Wine Company Building #5, a concrete block industrial structure. The museum plans to rehabilitate Building #5 into a boat-building workshop and classroom space.
Tompkins County
State Theater of Ithaca, Inc. - $2,500
State Theater Feasibility Reuse Study
The State Theater in Ithaca was built in 1915, and originally served as an auto garage and dealership. The structure was converted to a theater in the 1920s and is now a New York State Landmark and National Register-listed site. The building seats approximately 1,600 and has served as the heart of Ithaca’s cultural scene for 86 years. The building’s climate control system dates back to 1936 and is beyond repair. A $2,500 grant will enable Taitem Engineering of Ithaca to complete a feasibility study for installation of a new air conditioning system that will not compromise the theater’s historic integrity. Modern climate control is the first step in a plan for further upgrades so the theater can continue to be enjoyed by the community.
Ulster County
Historic Huguenot Street - $3,000
Freer-Louw House Specialized Conservation Study
Historic Huguenot Street maintains a collection of original Huguenot properties in New Paltz; the properties were added to the National Register as a National Historic Landmark district in the 1960s. Today, the organization provides tours and museum exhibits, educational programs, and special events and maintains the buildings. In 2011, preservation consultants Crawford & Stearns and Larson Fisher Associates of Woodstock completed a Preserve New York-funded historic structure report for the Freer-Louw house on Huguenot Street. Several years later, moisture issues still plague the property despite attempts to mitigate them. A $3,000 grant will enable Crawford & Stearns to complete a follow-up study to specifically focus on moisture issues. Historic Huguenot Street plans to rehabilitate the building and re-open it to the public.
FALL
Dutchess County
Dutchess County Art Association, d/b/a Barrett Art Center - $3,000
Building Condition Survey (Roof)
The Barrett Art Center (BAC) occupies a historic building (ca. 1830) in the heart of Poughkeepsie, a culturally and socioeconomically diverse urban center in the Mid-Hudson Valley. BAC connects residents and visitors to the visual arts as a way to inspire the creativity and civic spirit of the region through rotating art exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and demonstrations. BAC has taken steps to ensure preservation of the building for the past 80 years, but persistent condition issues of the roof have led the administrators to pursue a more sustainable and long term solution. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable Barrett Art Center to hire Marilyn Kaplan of Albany to complete a condition survey of the historic roof. This survey is the first step in long-range preservation planning and the completion of a historic structure report, which will continue to guide future preservation activities.
Lewis County
Village of Lyons Falls - $3,000
Engineering/Structural Analysis
The Lyons Falls Free Library building is a carriage house structure of a mansion complex built in 1902 as a private residence by Gordias H.P. Gould, founder of the Gould Paper Company. The entire mansion complex was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1978, and is village-owned. The Free Library is one of the Village’s proudest community assets, and supports a diverse and family-oriented clientele through extensive programming and services. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Village to retain Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt of Syracuse to complete an Engineering/Structural Analysis of the Library building. A preliminary analysis identified the need for such an assessment as the Village moves forward in planning improvements to be made to the structure.
Queens County
Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary & Victorian Garden - $3,000
Building Condition Survey
The Voelker Orth Museum, a New York City Landmark, is an 1890s Victorian home that interprets the cultural and horticultural heritage of Flushing, Queens and the adjacent communities. The Museum offers regular house and garden tours, organizes rotating art and history exhibitions, offers educational programs for schoolchildren, and offers a variety of family-friendly performances, talks, and workshops. The Museum is open to the public year-round, and its administrators aim to maintain it for the present audiences as well as future generations. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Museum to hire Jablonski Building Conservation to complete an in-depth condition survey of the Museum’s original windows. Defining areas of deterioration and creating a plan for window repair and maintenance will assist the Museum in preserving the historic integrity of the building.
Rockland County
John Green Preservation Coalition - $3,000
Engineering/Structural Analysis
The John Green House, built in 1819, is the most historically significant structure in Nyack. Built by its namesake, John Green, a lumberman who helped form the first steamship company in the area and served as co-commissioner of the first highway to cross the country, the house is the village’s last standing English/Dutch sandstone house. The sandstone was also quarried locally. The Preservation Coalition organized around the acquisition of the property in 2014 and quickly began to develop plans for advocacy and rehabilitation. Years of neglect have left the building in dire condition, but the Coalition has worked tirelessly to raise awareness as well as temporarily shore and stabilize it. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Coalition to hire Stephen Tilly Architects of Dobbs Ferry and Silman Associates of New York City to complete a full structural analysis of the house as a preliminary step in preservation planning.
Schoharie County
Klinkart Hall Arts Center, Inc. - $3,000
Building Condition Survey
Klinkart Hall Arts Center, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to preserve the historic Klinkart Hall building in downtown Sharon Springs, and revitalize the structure as an arts center that serves the local and regional community. The Hall was constructed in 1884 and initially housed a hardware store, village post office, and opera house. While the building is structurally sound, years of neglect have left it with a series of other condition issues that affect its usability and accessibility. Before the building can be utilized as an art space, its physical integrity must be assessed by a preservation professional. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Center to hire Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architects of Albany to complete a building condition survey of Klinkart Hall. This assessment will assist the group in moving forward with plans to completely rehabilitate the structure for community arts purposes.
Schoharie Free Library Association - $3,000
Building Condition Survey
The Schoharie Free Library is located in the Jacob T. Miers House, an 1866 residential structure that is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Library is a treasured community resource that offers programming for children and adults and also provides educational opportunities for schoolchildren. Due to the building’s close proximity to Schoharie Creek, it sustained considerable damage during Hurricane Irene in 2011. Nearly three feet of water entered the first floor of the house and years later, the Library Association is still looking to repair damage and make improvements to the important historic building. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Library to hire Landmark Consulting of Albany to complete a condition assessment of the building’s field stone foundation before proceeding with further water abatement measures. This will assist the Library in further mitigating the damage from Irene and prepare for future natural disasters.
Sullivan County
Delaware Valley Arts Alliance - $3,000
Feasibility Reuse Study
The Delaware Valley Arts Alliance occupies the historic Arlington Hotel in Narrowsburg. The building functioned as a hotel from the time of its construction in 1894 through the early 1920s, and later evolved into storefronts with apartments above in the 1960s before becoming vacant for several years. In 1981, the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance purchased the historic property with plans to reuse the space as an arts center. Today, the building houses two galleries, a recital hall, offices, and a gift shop on two of the historic hotel’s four floors. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable the Alliance to hire Buck Moorhead to complete a feasibility study for the installation of air conditioning that is historically sensitive. The building is not equipped with a cooling system to accommodate today’s audiences, and the Arts Alliance hopes to change this in order to continue serving the public through performances, exhibitions, and other cultural programs.
Westchester County
Caramoor Center for Music & Arts, Inc. - $3,000
Specialized Conservation Study
Caramoor Center for Music & Arts, Inc. in Katonah is a multi-based performing arts center that hosts concerts, exhibitions, educational programs and other community-based cultural activities. The Center is located on a 90-acre campus and has been in continuous operation since 1946. The Rosen House, created by Caramoor founder Walter Rosen, is a Mediterranean Revival villa constructed between 1929 and 1939 that serves as a central fixture in Caramoor’s public programming. The east porch of the house, constructed in cast stone, is severely deteriorated to the point where a key character-defining feature of the property may be lost if not preserved properly. A $3,000 Technical Assistance Grant will enable Caramoor to hire Lori Aument of Philadelphia to conduct a specialized conservation assessment of the porch in order to begin crafting a plan and raising funds for preservation.