Main Streets serve as the physical, economic, and cultural center of a community, home to municipal offices, banks, local businesses, and community gathering spaces. They can be one block long or ten (or more!); rural, suburban, or urban; with simple single story wood frame buildings or high style multi-story masonry buildings, and everything in between. Over the past 25 years, many Main Streets across the state have landed on our Seven to Save list – from Downtown State Street in Schenectady back in 2000 to the listing of Downtown Oneonta’s Historic District just last year.
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By our count, almost 20 neighborhoods have been included as Seven to Saves over the years – not counting Main Streets! Two threats tend to loom largest over Seven to Save communities: development pressure and deterioration. Gentrification, rising housing costs, and overdevelopment can push longtime residents out of their homes. Systemic disinvestment and lack of resources can make it difficult for residents to take care of their historic homes. Tools like historic district designation, Homeowner historic tax credits, and a push for affordable housing in historic neighborhoods helps to build sustainable communities. Neighborhood groups, local preservation and community-based organizations, and neighborhood residents (whether they be homeowners or renters) are the driving forces in preserving these kinds of sustainable communities.
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The League’s annual grant from the Donald Stephen Gratz Preservation Services Fund was awarded to the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica. The $12,000 grant will fund restoration of the portico at the Miller-Conkling-Kernan Residence at 3 Rutger Park. This 1830 Greek Revival mansion was designed by noted Albany architect Phillip Hooker. Because of its architectural significance and its association with several prominent historical figures, the house is a designated National Historic Landmark (NHL) — one of only two NHLs in Utica.
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The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is developing a Program Comment on Accessible, Climate-Resilient, Connected Communities that aims to provide federal agencies with an alternate way to comply with their responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The League has been reviewing the proposed Program Comment, talking with NY SHPO staff, and following conversations happening at the national level. Here is a summary and things you can do in response.
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Last week, about 30 preservationists gathered in the village of Rhinebeck for our first in-person Preservation Colleagues gathering in several years.
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