2009 Political Poll Results

In just a couple of weeks, we'll be heading to the polls. Wondering how your local candidates view historic preservation, downtown development, and other important issues? Check out our Candidate Questionnaire! We asked all candidates for county and city office, as well as for selected town offices, to answer a few questions about issues we think are especially important. Find out how they answered.

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

Signed, sealed, delivered, at last!

It was a happy day in Buffalo yesterday as well over 100 preservationists, developers, and others gathered to watch Governor Paterson sign legislation that enhances the New York State Historic Preservation Tax Credit. The Landmark Society has been part of a statewide coalition, led by the tireless efforts of Daniel Mackay at the Preservation League of New York State, that advocated for years for the original tax credit - which passed in 2006, with limitations that made it unworkable - and then on the revisions, which have been on an unbelievable legislative roller-coaster over the past three years.

Tuesday afternoon we got the news that the governor would be signing the legislation in Buffalo on Wednesday at 1. Joanne and I cleared our schedules - we wouldn't miss this for the world! It was wonderful to be part of the enthusiastic crowd that filled the gorgeous atrium of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, including a number of legislators and other dignitaries. We heard remarks by Mayor Byron Brown of Buffalo, a strong advocate for the legislation; from legislative sponsors, including Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, whose persistent support of the program was crucial; and from Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. Governor Paterson's remarks demonstrated that he truly understands the value of the legislation and its potential to create jobs and tax revenues, and be a significant catalyst for revitalization of neighborhoods and downtowns. We learned that he has a background in historic preservation in Harlem, and was the keynote speaker at a National Trust conference in Florida in the early 1990s - he told us there are few issues dearer to his heart than preservation and that he was delighted to sign the legislation.

In the coming weeks, we will be working with our colleagues at the Preservation League and at the State Historic Preservation Office to understand exactly how this program will be implemented and how we can best facilitate its use in western New York. One of the great benefits is that whereas the 2006 version of the program could only be used in the most distressed neighborhoods, this one is more broadly defined so that many more historic neighborhoods and buildings are eligible. Stay tuned for details!

(Photos, from top: Governor Paterson's remarks; Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of NYS, speaks; Governor Paterson about to sign, with bill sponsor Assemblyman Sam Hoyt at his left shoulder.)

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

The case for rehab tax credits

Fine editorials in the Syracuse Post-Standard and the Schenectady Daily Gazette lay out the reasons the Governor should sign the bill to enhance the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit as a wise investment in strengthening communities across the state.

In some ways, this is a difficult time to advocate for any type of tax credit, but on the other hand, this is the time when it's needed the most. Similar programs in other states have demonstrated impressive returns, in the form of jobs, investment, tax revenues, and revitalization in communities that badly need it. Specifically targeted to historic buildings in economically struggling areas, this is a program that encourages investment where it makes the most sense: our communities' cores, where the infrastructure already exists, where reuse of existing resources is inherently green, and where we can avert the negative impacts of new development elsewhere.

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

Senate success for rehab tax credits!

Thank you to all who made calls on behalf of the expansion of the NYS tax credit for rehabilitation of historic properties! The legislation passed the state Senate in the very early hours of July 17 and we hope it will be headed to the Governor's desk for signature very soon.

Daniel Mackay of the Preservation League of New York State notes that "this legislation represents a significant advance for the program, and will allow us to focus our advocacy completely on the issues the NYS Department of Tax & Finance has with credit allocation."

Stay tuned for updates as we hear when the legislation moves ahead - we may need one more round of phone calls!

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

Your Action Needed TODAY!

An update from Daniel Mackay at the Preservation League of New York State:

We are making a final push to assure that Senate Bill S.6056 which significantly expands the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit programs for commercial and residential historic properties, is on the Senate bill agenda for today’s session. While the Senate passed an earlier version of this tax credit expansion legislation in June before their leadership crisis, passage of this new bill is necessary to match the bill the Assembly passed in late June.

With Senate passage of S.6056 today, the bill can be sent to the Governor for signature.

We are requesting your call to Senate President Malcolm Smith’s office and request that “S.6056 be included on the Senate bill agenda for today’s session” as it represents a critical economic and community development for New York State”: 518-455-2701.

Calls by 1:00 PM would be extremely helpful, but session is expected to continue into the evening, so calls made later today are also worth making.

If you've never made one of these advocacy calls before, now is the time to give it a try! It is painless and takes a minute or less - they simply record your name, sometimes your address, and whether you support or oppose the legislation. That's it! It's important that supporters of this legislation log a lot of calls today so that the Senate can see that there is strong support for economic stimulus through historic preservation and finally get this bill passed. Thanks for your help!

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

Act Now to Support Tax Credits for Sensitive Energy Upgrades

Have you heard about the tax credits available for weatherization? So far, those incentives have only been available for new materials like replacement windows, and therefore aren't available to owners of historic buildings who want to maintain their character.

A piece of legislation is going before Congress tomorrow that can change that. The American Clean Energy and Security Act includes a very important provision, the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance Program, that allows building owners to get tax credits for sensitive energy upgrades, like window repair and appropriate weatherization.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Advocacy Center has a site where you can quickly email your Congressperson an automated note in favor of this legislation. I just did it, and it took about 30 seconds! Please act now to support this legislation, as Congress is scheduled to vote on it tomorrow.

For more on appropriate energy upgrades for historic houses, please see our online publication, Rehab Rochester, and the National Park Service's Preservation Brief No. 3, Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings.

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Director of Preservation Services

Preservation Priorities for a New Administration

What should President-Elect Obama do to support historic preservation? The National Trust for Historic Preservation is asking people who value historic buildings, landscapes and communities to weigh in on their top priorities and to submit comments and suggestions as they prepare their official platform for preservation, to be shared with the new administration.

Vote on your priorities and submit stories, recommendations, and advice from your perspective here.

Posted by Katie Eggers Comeau, Advocacy Coordinator

Politics and Preservation

Is anyone else out there both a preservationist and a political junkie? If so, during this last stretch of the election season, you might be wondering about the intersection of historic preservation and politics. Historic preservation doesn’t exactly rank high on most candidates’ lists of priorities, and in an election dominated by issues related to the economy, health care, foreign policy, and energy, I would be shocked to hear either of the presidential candidates utter the words “historic preservation.” Still, since preservation does tie into broader issues, particularly economic and energy issues, it’s certainly relevant to wonder what the impact of the races to be decided in just a few weeks will be on historic preservation.

There are folks out there who spend their time working to advance preservation-related public policies, and this seems like a great time to let you know what they're up to. As a graduate student, I was an intern at Preservation Action, the nation’s grassroots lobbying organization for historic preservation at the federal level. PA has an impressive track record of effective work on behalf of historic preservation, advocating on behalf of the federal preservation program, the federal rehabilitation tax credits, and national programs like Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America. They have been instrumental in building the Historic Preservation Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of Congresspeople who pledge to work in support of the “the preservation and thoughtful economic development of historic places.” Seven Congresspeople from New York State, including Louise Slaughter, are members of this caucus.

As a grassroots network, PA is based on the support and participation of preservation advocates working at the local level throughout the country. Our region is not well represented in their membership rolls (I may still be the only Rochester-area member!); I encourage you to join and support this great cause. While it may seem like federal-level legislation and policy has little impact on what we do at the local level, the truth is, decisions made in Washington do impact us every day. I know I don’t have time to be actively involved in federal issues day to day, but it’s nice to know that Preservation Action is there to fill that role on our behalf.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation also takes an increasingly active role in advocating for policies that promote historic preservation and sensible development. In addition to its own advocacy work, the Trust’s Public Policy Department offers resources that can help local advocates make the case for appropriate preservation policies in their own communities. Check out their website for a variety of useful tools.

At the state level, the Preservation League of New York State coordinates a statewide coalition of preservationists who seek to advance preservation policies, with a particular focus in recent years on creating a meaningful state tax incentive for historic preservation. The specific political framework in our state (not to mention the current fiscal situation) makes this a challenging undertaking, but the colleagues across the state continue to make our case that preservation is a sensible and necessary investment in the future of our communities.

At The Landmark Society, our advocacy work also includes educating our local candidates about preservation and educating our members and friends about those candidates’ positions. Each fall, our Advocacy Task Force prepares a questionnaire to ask candidates for local, state and federal office in Monroe County their views on historic preservation and related issues. We are now collecting replies from the candidates and will have those up on our website next week; watch this space for more! We see this project as a great opportunity to let our candidates know what issues are most important to us, and to give our members and friends information that will help them evaluate how the candidates would approach local issues pertaining to revitalization, sprawl, and sustainable development.

While we did not send our questionnaire, which focused on relevant state and local issues, to the presidential candidates, it is interesting to wonder where they stand on historic preservation. I came across a blog post recently that posed the question of how each candidate would affect the field of historic preservation. Nellie Longsworth, past president of Preservation Action, used to say that preservation was not a Democratic or a Republican issue; there are supporters on both sides of the aisle and there have been leaders from both sides who have advanced distinctly pro-preservation policies.

After all, historic preservation ties into issues that candidates on both sides hold dear: it’s about strengthening local economies and creating local jobs, revitalizing historic downtowns and neighborhoods, conserving a unique sense of place, protecting the environment, and protecting and promoting the places that have contributed to our national character over the generations. We won't hear the presidential candidates address historic preservation specifically, but perhaps as we listen to them talk about bigger economic and environmental issues, we can make some inferences as to what type of leadership they would provide on the issues that impact our communities and our historic resources.

By Katie Eggers Comeau, Advocacy Coordinator