The Preservation League of New York State has hired Corning resident Kati Smith as Southern Tier field consultant. The part-time position was established to promote and encourage local historic preservation efforts in communities throughout the Southern Tier.

The Southern Tier field consultant will provide enhanced technical services to organizations, municipalities, and property owners in the region, and will work with Albany staff to organize and lead outreach programming at the local and regional level. Her geographic focus will be on Steuben, Chemung, and Tioga Counties with work in Broome, Allegany, and Schuyler Counties as needed. The position is funded in part with the support of the Corning Incorporated Foundation of Corning.

Kati is a Southern Tier native and lover of the natural and built environment of New York State. She has a penchant for localism and good coffee. She also serves as Historic Ithaca’s Events and Community Engagement Coordinator and is helping initiate the development of heritage tourism projects in Tompkins County. Previously she served as the Preservation and Design Specialist for Corning’s Gaffer District where she developed her love of historic preservation and downtowns.

Welcome aboard, Kati!

Federal Advocacy Heats Up
The Preservation League’s federal advocacy campaign continued this summer with in-district visits to Congressman Dan Donovan (R-Staten Island), Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens), and Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Newburgh). The League also met with the regional director for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-Glens Falls).

The Preservation League partnered with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on the meetings, and invited local preservation colleague groups Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), New York Landmarks Conservancy, Historic Districts Council (HDC) and Municipal Art Society (MAS) to participate as well. Additionally, a representative from the City of Newburgh, and RUPCO, the Rural Ulster Preservation Corp., participated in the meeting with Maloney.

Key to the meetings was information provided to each member of Congress about federal historic tax credit projects in their district. Discussion focused on the economic and community benefits of rehabilitated historic buildings that were successfully converted to a new use in part through the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program.

The Preservation League asked each member of Congress to become a co-sponsor of two key pieces of federal legislation: H.R. 2817, which would reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund, the source of funding for each state’s Historic Preservation Office and programs; and H.R. 3846, the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act.
Congressman Donovan is already a co-sponsor of H.R. 2817, and Congressman Maloney announced that he had recently joined onto both bills.

Preservation League Participates in Tonko-Sponsored Heritage Discussion
Separate from the recess meetings, League staff also attended an informal discussion on Aug. 24 that was hosted by Congressman Paul Tonko to hear the practical needs and policy concerns of heritage groups. Tonko is the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on National Heritage Areas.

Capitol Hill in the Capital Region Symposium
In addition to the heritage group discussion, the Preservation League also attended the “Capitol Hill in the Capital Region” symposium hosted by Congressman Tonko on September 16 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.

The purpose of the event was to share information with the community on how to successfully work with federal agency and Congressional staff. Historic preservation colleague groups were encouraged to attend.

For any questions on the legislation or issues in this update, please contact Jay DiLorenzo, President, jdilorenzo@preservenys.org or 518-462-5658 ext. 15 .