Commentary:Preservation Tax Credits Deferred
When the New York State Legislature approved the final piece of legislation to close out the State Budget on August 3, they also put the brakes on a number of desperately-needed revitalization projects.
In Part Y of the enacted Budget, tax credits for some thirty state business and economic development programs will be deferred to help balance the state spending plan, including incentives for the rehabilitation of commercial properties.
Specifically, New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credits earned between 2010 and 2012 exceeding $2 million in value will be deferred on the following schedule:
* In 2013, 50% of the balance of credit value over $2 million will be available.
* In 2014, 75% of the remaining balance of credit value will be available.
* In 2015, 100% of the remaining balance of credit value will be available.
Deferring incentives of the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program will prevent projects from securing financing, as backers will no longer be assured of a timely return on investment, and will be severely limited in the number of projects in which they can invest.
“As the economic recovery continues to make slow progress at the national level, the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program provided a glimmer of hope for our beleaguered upstate cities,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of New York State. “Now, many of the projects that could transform our struggling downtowns are effectively on hold.”
Homeowner rehabilitation projects are capped at $50,000 and therefore will not be affected.
“Our efforts to protect the New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program in last week’s final budget negotiations fell just short,” said Daniel Mackay, the League’s Director of Public Policy. “The Senate and Assembly will be returning to Albany in the coming weeks, and we will continue our advocacy in hopes of securing full funding for the rehabilitation tax credit at that time.”
According to DiLorenzo, “When the expanded Rehabilitation Tax Credit program was adopted in 2009, a number of modifications were made to reflect New York State’s difficult financial situation. This program has already been adapted to work in a tough fiscal climate. If further changes are imposed upon the program, it will lose all effectiveness as an economic development tool. The tax credits should be allowed to work, unimpeded, in distressed municipalities and neighborhoods across New York State.”
Vermont to Celebrate Battle of Bennington
August 16 is Vermont’s official state holiday—Bennington Battle Day, honoring the American victory over the British at the August 16, 1777 Revolutionary War battle. To celebrate the anniversary all of Vermont’s State-Owned Historic Sites will be open free on Monday, August 16 to Vermont residents and Vermonters at heart.
Four Vermont state historic sites help tell the story of the American Revolution. American forces withdrew from Mount Independence in Orwell, now the least disturbed Revolutionary War site in America, on July 5 & 6, 1777. The Hubbardton Battlefield in Hubbardton preserves the July 7, 1777, location of the Revolution’s only battle fought in Vermont. The next day the Vermont constitution was completed and signed at the Old Constitution House in Windsor. The 306 foot tall Bennington Battle Monument, the tallest structure in Vermont, marks the site of the arsenal British and German troops were trying to capture that August 16th day they were defeated at the Battle of Bennington.
At the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, see the new Education & Museum building and enjoy one of the best preserved presidential sites in the country.
For further information about the locations and hours of these sites, visit the Vermont state-owned historic sites web site: www.HistoricVermont.org/sites or contact John Dumville at (802) 828-3051.
This Weeks New York History Web Highlights
- American Folk Art: A Split Personality Hotel Sign
- Adirondack Almanack: Plattsburgh’s Link to a Maritime Tragedy
- New York Fashion: The History of Indian Moccasin
- Way Back Machine: The Mayor Is Shot
- Long Lake, NY: Long Lake Wooden Boat Show
- Kingston Happenings: Kingston’s Industrial Past
- Times Union: 125 Yrs of Grant’s Presence
- Photos: 18th Century Day at Schuyler House
Antiques Show and Sale at the Adirondack Museum
The Adirondack Museum will host it’s annual Antiques Show and Sale on August 14 and 15, 2010. Forty-five of the country’s top antique dealers will offer the finest examples of premium vintage furnishings and collectables. For a complete listing of dealers, visit the “Exhibits and Events” section of the Adirondack Museum web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org.
Show hours will be 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on August 14, and 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on August 15. The Antiques Show and Sale is included in the price of general museum admission.
The 2010 Antiques Show and Sale will include: vintage Adirondack furniture, folk art, historic guideboats and canoes, genuine Old Hickory, taxidermy, books and ephemera for the collector, fine art, oriental and Persian rugs, camp and trade signs, Olympic advertising, and everything camp and cottage.
A shipping service will be available on each day of the show. Porters will be on site to assist with heavy or cumbersome items.
Rod Lich, Inc. of Georgetown, Indiana will manage the show. Rod and his wife Susan Parrett have 32 years of experience organizing premier antiques shows throughout the country. To learn more about Rod Lich, Inc. visit www.parretlich.com.
The Antiques Show Preview Benefit will be held on August 14 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Guests will enjoy exclusive early access to the show, a champagne brunch, and music. Proceeds from the benefit will support exhibits and programs at the Adirondack Museum. Preview benefit tickets are $125 and include admission to the Antiques Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday. To reserve tickets call (518) 352-7311, ext. 119.
Train Sparks Wilderness Heritage Corridor Events
July 17th marked the beginning of Upper Hudson River Railroad’s two-train Saturdays, when both morning and afternoon trains are scheduled, taking passengers northward in the morning to enjoy not only the scenic excursion by rail, but also allowing them to enjoy an outing in one of the First Wilderness Heritage Corridor communities along the route. These Saturday offerings will continue through August 21st.
Corinth
Saturday passengers in Corinth will have an opportunity to board a bus about an hour before train time for a short tour of the city, and then take the train north, over the 94-foot high trestle crossing near the confluence of the Hudson and Sacanadaga at Hadley.
Hadley
Guests choosing to spend the day in Hadley and Lake Luzerne get off the train at the Rockwell Street Stop and may walk or ride a horse-drawn carriage (free to those with train tickets) to historic sites, a museum, and a gallery. Those craving action might opt for a rafting trip.
Stony Creek
The train chugs to its next stop, 1000 Acres Ranch Resort, in Stony Creek, where special Saturday options are offered —- special golf or riding packages coupled with a buffet lunch. Other will opt to board a van for “A Touch of the Wild,” a tour that explores an old farm, dines at the Stony Creek Inn and then visits Wolf Pond Stables to observe special horse/rider communication and training methods.
Thurman
The train’s northern terminus is Thurman, where passengers may indulge in the “Forest, Farm and Country Fixin’s Tour.”
Forest, Farm & Country Fixin’s Escape
Escape to the little mountain town of Thurman, NY, aboard a van that will take you to hidden sites waiting to be discovered. Open to those arriving on Upper Hudson River Railroad and those arriving by own vehicle. Those interested must reserve a spot by noon on Friday, the day before the tour. Ideally, one obtains a prepaid online registration. Those without Internet availability may phone 518-623-9595. One fee covers van, sites, luncheon, tax and gratuity. (To reserve a train ticket visit www.uhrr.com.) Tour vans depart Thurman Station 10:30 a.m. (or as soon as UHRR passengers detrain). If you tour, you’ll visit first: Martin’s Certified Tree Farm. You’ll see a sawmill in operation and learn how today’s foresters conserve wood and protect the woodlands they depend upon. Sustainable forestry ensures that there will be lumber for future generations. You’ll take a walk in the woods and learn how the Martins selectively cut their trees, seeking out just the right ones to use for the various products in their line – dimensional lumber, Adirondack (waney edge) siding, bar tops, signs and more. The Martins take the stewardship of their woodlands very seriously.
But Martin’s Lumber is not all work and no play- you’ll see the artistic efforts known as “Lucyann’s Stained Glass Stepping Stones” and “Lucyann’s Paper Bead Earrings,” complete with demonstrations of how they are created. Shop for your favorites.
Next arrive at nationally publicized Nettle Meadow Farm & cheese-making facility~ Take a moment to sample some of the fruits of their labors—the cheeses. Then you may shop for gourmet chevre with such enticing flavors as lemon verbena, maple walnut, pumpkin spice, herb, pepper and garlic. Or, if your taste runs to semi-aged cheese, check out the Kunik, Crane Mountain and Three Sisters. All are frozen for easy, safe transporting home. When you arrive, Nettle Meadow staff will take you on a guided tour to meet the members fo the herd that produces Nettle Meadow’s cheese, the comical goats that throng to the fence to say hello, each with its own name. There’s a sizable flock of sheep, too, and llamas who guard smaller pasture-mates from coyotes and other predators. You’ll meet some sanctuary animals taken in by Nettle Meadow, and your tour fee helps to sustain them. Then it’s on to The Glen Lodge & Market, a B&B with Adirondack Great Camp ambiance where you’ll enjoy “country fixin’s” under a pavilion. You’ll applaud the green efforts of The Glen Lodge, recently recognized by Audubon Green Leaf™ certification. They use bio fuel in their vehicles, environmentally-friendly products in the lodge, and support wind generated electricity.
Extra time after you eat? You’re within walking distance of the Hudson and Wild Waters Outdoor Center. Or wander through the garden on your way to browse in the gift shop. Van returns to Thurman Station by 3 p.m. Questions? Ask [email protected] or phone 518-623-9595. See more details online.
The First Wilderness Heritage Corridor tours and special activities this summer add a new dimension to tourism in the Lake George Region, showcasing some of our historically important assets and allowing guests to enjoy traditional Adirondack hospitality. It is important to note that all activities involving a van ride require prepaid online registration. Those interested may find all details and contact information at www.thurmanstation.com/Adirondack_Foothill_Tours.html.
Historic Huguenot Family Reunion, Early History Event
Many in the Hudson Valley know of Historic Huguenot Street as a unique place. The architecture, the setting, the sense of timelessness within our modern, busy world – it is true that all of these things distinguish the site. Equally special though is the fact that descendants of the community’s founders and early leaders are still very much involved with and drawn to the Street. More continue to visit the site each year.
Embracing this, Historic Huguenot Street is hosting a “family reunion” for descendants and those interested in the special early history of the site. The Gathering, as the event is called, will be held from Friday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th.
The event will begin with a Friday evening reception and viewing of the newly-installed portrait exhibit, An Excellent Likeness, in the LeFevre house. Saturday is the “meat” of the event, with a full day series of workshops focusing on early history. Topics such as the lives of the Huguenots and Dutch before they settled New Paltz, African-Americans and Slavery, Clothing Design and the role of women in early New York will be featured. Lunch and dinner are included and the day will be rounded out with evening options of a talk about Cultural Pluralism or an opportunity to partake in the popular Haunted Huguenot Street program. The event concludes on Sunday with options of a service in the French Church, an archaeology workshop or a tour of the museum houses.
More information about the Gathering, including workshop descriptions, can be found at www.huguenotstreet.org. The cost for the event is $50 per person or $90 per couple. Special activities are available for children and Saturday meals are included in the cost of registration. For more information, visit the HHS website or call (845) 255-1660.
Vermont: New Calvin Coolidge Museum Opens
A new museum and education center at the childhood home of the only U.S. President born on the Fourth of July has been officially opened. The President Calvin Coolidge Museum & Education Center was dedicated by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas- members of Vermont’s congressional delegation- and descendents of the president nicknamed “Silent Cal” at a ceremony on Saturday.
“This museum is a fitting tribute to our nation’s 30th President, and a testament to how his early experiences in Plymouth Notch shaped John Calvin Coolidge,” Douglas said, noting that Coolidge’s quiet, reserved demeanor was fodder for humorists of his day.
“But it is his modesty and restraint in governing – virtues that came to be associated with his frugal, pragmatic Vermont upbringing – that are now the object of much discussion,” Douglas said, noting that Coolidge was undergoing a “renaissance” in historic and political circles.
The building will have new space for permanent and temporary exhibits- a new gift shop- a large special function room- a classroom- and offices in the lower level for the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation and their small library.
The project cost just over $2 million, with roughly a third of that coming from the foundation and the rest from the state. Coolidge was the last president to serve before the practice of constructing federally-funded presidential libraries began.
The ceremony took place as part of Plymouth Old Home Day, a long-standing tradition in the tiny hamlet, which is preserved much as it was since Coolidge was vacationing here as vice president when he received word of the untimely death of President Warren Harding in August, 1923.
At approximately 2:47 a.m. on August 3, 1923, by the light of a kerosene lamp, notary public Colonel John Coolidge administered the oath of office to his son.
The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, which owns and operates the Coolidge Site, has planned a number of other special events this season including the Plymouth Folk & Blues Concerts on September 4 and 5, and Plymouth Cheese & Harvest Festival on September 19.
Also returning this year are the popular Grace Coolidge Musicales, concerts set for August 8, September 12, and October 3 at the site.
A National Historic Landmark, Plymouth Notch is considered one of the best-preserved presidential sites in the country.
Twelve buildings are on the tour- the site is open through October 17, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily.
For further information, contact the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, (802) 672-3773, or visit www.HistoricVermont.org/sites
NYS Musuem Invites Exhibition Photo Submissions
The New York State Museum is inviting the public to submit their digital photographs of scenic New York State landscapes, the best of which will be showcased in an upcoming Museum exhibition and displayed on the Museum website and Flickr page.
Scenic landscapes exist in every corner of New York State and are often found on picture perfect postcards that read “wish you were here.” The State Museum’s exhibition, Wish You Were Here! New York State Photographed by You will open in the State Museum’s West Hall Corridor on September 3, featuring a selection of the best landscape photographs submitted by the public. These can be photographs of a beloved vacation spot or even the backyard, neighborhood street or other favorite place. Images chosen for the exhibition, as well as others that are submitted, will also appear on the Museum’s website. Photographs will still be accepted after September 3, since new ones will continually be added to both the gallery and website.
Wish You Were Here will complement another exhibition in the Museum’s adjacent West Gallery —- Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New York. Also opening on September 3, this will be the first exhibition of landscape art to be culled from the Museum’s vast collections.
Those wishing to submit photos for Wish You Were Here will find further information at www.nysm.nysed.gov/wishyouwerehere.
Mark Twain in the Adirondacks
As fans of Mark Twain the world ‘round await the fall release of his unexpurgated autobiography a century after his death, scholars, authors, teachers, and other admirers of Twain will gather on the time-carved shores of Lower Saranac Lake to draw a more intimate portrait of the writer and humorist and explore his indelible contributions to American life and letters.
On Saturday, August 14, Dr. Charles Alexander of Paul Smith’s College, Dr. Margaret Washington, Associate Professor of History at Cornell University, and beloved children’s author Steven Kellogg of Essex, NY, will headline the day-long “Mark Twain in the Adirondacks” program at Guggenheim Camp on Lower Saranac Lake.
Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., Dr. Alexander will explore Twain’s surprising connections to the Adirondacks, focusing on his retreat from the outside world to the Kane Camp on Lower Saranac Lake in 1901 and the little-known essay, “The United States of Lyncherdom”, Twain wrote when the news of lynchings in Missouri reached him there. So incendiary, Twain allowed publication of the essay only after his death.
At 11:00 a.m., Steven Kellogg will read passages from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and share why he counts it among his favorite books. Dr. Washington will continue the focus on Huck Finn, guiding the audience through critical debates over the work since its publication in 1885 and Twain’s straightforward treatment of slavery and race.
Following their formal presentations, Kellogg, Washington and Alexander will invite the audience to participate with them in an open-ended conversation about Twain and his lasting influence and power to provoke even today, 100 years after his death.
In November, the University of California Press will publish the first of three volumes of Twain’s half-million word autobiography, most of which the author dictated to a stenographer over the course of the four years before he died in 1910. According to New York Times reviewer Larry Rother, “a very different Twain emerges, more pointedly political and willing to play the angry prophet” (NYT 10 Jul 2010).
“Mark Twain in the Adirondacks” will be held at the rustic Guggenheim. Complimentary coffee, tea and pastries will be provided in the morning and ice cream donated by Stewart’s Shops will be served during the afternoon conversation. People are encouraged to pack a lunch.
A $5 donation is requested for Guggenheim program. Optional hour-long boat tours to the privately-owned Kane Camp where Twain stayed will be offered in the afternoon, starting at 2:00 p.m. Sign-up for the tours is on a first come, first serve basis, beginning when the doors open at 9:30 am. Tickets for the boat tours are $20 each, which includes entrance to the talks at Guggenheim Camp.
“Mark Twain in the Adirondacks” is a joint project of Historic Saranac Lake, John Brown Lives!, Paul Smith’s College, Keene Valley Library, and Saranac Lake Free Library. On July 23, Keene Valley Library hosted Huck Finn Out Loud—a twelve-hour marathon reading of the novel. Volunteer readers and listeners from all walks of life hailed from across the North Country and from Paris, France.
North Country Public Radio is media sponsor of “Mark Twain in the Adirondacks”. Funding has been provided by New York Council for the Humanities, Stewart’s Shops, Cape Air, Paul Smith’s College, and International Paper-Ticonderoga Mill. For more information, contact Amy Catania, Director of Historic Saranac Lake at 518-891-4606 or Martha Swan, Director of John Brown Lives! at 518-962-4758.