PLNYS Who We Are - Three Decades of Effective Leadership


			Three Decades of Effective Leadership
	1974		Founding of the Preservation League of New York State.
	1975		Led a successful campaign to save Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks.
	1975		Joined the effort to save Grand Central Terminal.
	1980		Secured passage of the New York State Historic Preservation Act.
	1982		Organized a citizens’ campaign that resulted in the adoption of a state Constitutional amendment to keep the buildings of Great Camp Sagamore intact.
	1984		Helped defeat proposed state legislation to exempt religious properties from landmark protection.
	1986		Spearheaded Architectural Heritage Year, designed to celebrate New York’s historic resources.
	1986		Organized the 130-member New York Heritage Coalition and led a voter education campaign culminating in the passage of the Environmental Quality Bond Act, which included $250 million for land acquisition and historic preservation.
	1988		Established the Legal Services Program, the first ever created by a statewide preservation organization.
	1990		Supported a successful campaign to save Camp Santanoni in the Adirondacks.
	1993		Initiated the Preserve New York Grant Program in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts and supported creation of the Environmental Protection Fund.
	1996		Advocated passage of the $1.75 billion Clean Water / Clean Air Bond Act, which eventually included $250 million for historic preservation projects, open-space purchases, and improvements to state parks.
	1997		Partnered with local preservation organizations to lobby the New York State Legislature to pass the Real Property Tax Abatement Act, to promote the rehabilitation of historic properties.
	1999		Established the Preservation Colleagues Program, which has become a national model for providing statewide support to local and regional preservation organizations.
	2000		Began work with state agencies to reform the New York State Building Code, with the goal of making it more appropriate for historic buildings.
	2001		Joined a consortium of five prominent historic preservation organizations to create the Lower Manhattan Emergency Preservation Fund, which made grants to stabilize, renovate, and restore damaged historic sites following the terrorist attacks of September 11.
	2004		Piloted a program of workshops to boost the reuse of vacant upper stories in downtown commercial buildings, known as Enhancing Main Street: Making Upper Floors Work Again.
	2006		Assisted Hudson Valley stakeholders facing issues of out-of-scale new construction, sprawl, and the loss of open lands with a conference entitled Preservation Under Pressure: Protecting Historic Community Character in a Time of Change.
	2006		With the League’s leadership, New York State enacted its first tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic buildings.
	2007		Established the Endangered Properties Intervention Program with state funds to foster the revitalization and protection of historic resources and neighborhoods throughout New York.
	2009		Assembled a consortium of developers, architects, economic development officials, tax credit professionals, preservationists and others to renew the push for stronger state-level rehabilitation tax credits, which will take effect in January 2010.