Moving the Past Forward
By Don Rittner


The City Council made great strides last week by approving an ordinance that was introduced by council member Karen Messick. It officially designated several new historic districts in downtown. Almost 20 years ago, in 1986, a historic sites survey was completed of the city, with buildings and districts nominated, and except for a few instances, the results largely ignored. The downtown historic district was never finalized and this action by the council has made up for it.

Now, all exterior alterations or plans in these historic districts will fall under the review of the city's 9-member Historic District and Landmark Commission, with advice from their advisory committee. This three-person advisory committee (which should be expanded now with the additional districts) will have under its preview the new districts that include
1st, 3rd (2nd is already designated), and 4th Streets, along with 5th Avenue. Basically all the area from Adams, Fourth, Grand, First, to the river, and parts of King to Jacob, are in the National Historic District. This is the core of downtown and the council should be congratulated for having the vision to protect this area. It was approved unanimously by the city council.

With the increase in number of historic districts, the city should also expand the size of the historic sites commission advisory committee. With only three people on it at present, at least two more people should be added. I suggest adding long time preservationist Russ Ziemba and architect Barbara Nelson - especially Barbara, who by all indications may be
losing her seat on the planning commission, now that the commission is being abolished and turned into a planning board. Why the city would remove a highly qualified architect, after recognizing the very importance of our historic architecture by passing the new historic districts, is weird and seems counterproductive. How can you have a planning board that will make important decisions about our historic architecture with no architect on
the board?

Another potential positive movement in historic preservation is a legislative bill (A1134-A/S2421-B) sponsored by Assemblyman Democrat Ron Canestrari and Republican Senator Vincent Leibell that would give qualified homeowners in New York State a tax credit from 15 or 25 percent against state income taxes for rehabilitating historically significant dwellings. According to the Preservation League of NYS, over 7,400 homes in the Capital Region, by virtue of their National Register/State Register
status, are already qualified for the rehab credit. There are a number of buildings in Troy that are on the national register that may be eligible for this tax credit. Some 44,000 residences in the State have already been identified. Rehab expenses will be credited up to $50,000 per residence for owner-occupied residential structures. The Preservation League has listed at least 2,100 homes in Canestrari's own district that would qualify for this
program. This is the first time a financial incentive has been offered to homeowners of historic homes (there exists tax credits for commercial structures already). Even the Governor supports the bill but whether it sees approval is up in the air. In other words, write to your local assemblyman or senator.

Of course this could be a real plus in areas that are now in decline or in need of improvement such as our North Central area, and perhaps South Troy. These tax incentives help stabilize communities and increase the value of homes and provide more taxes and quality of life. Historic homes in economically distress areas (Empire zones and areas that have a median income below the NYS average) and non-distressed areas are eligible. If you live in a distressed area, spending at least $5,000 in improvements would
qualify you for a tax credit, or spending $20,000 if you lived in a non economically depressed area.

New York State is certainly not the leader in this area as 21 states already offer these kinds of neighborhood-reinvention programs. I am hoping that it passes soon so that we are not the last State in the Union to recognize the value of such a program. New York already failed to act on it in 2001 and 2002 even though the assembly has majority sponsorship. While the State's post-9/11 budget crisis has been cited by legislative leadership as the
reason not to pass the bill in recent years, New York's climb back to economic recovery in 2004, and the economic stimulus that this program itself will provide, underscores the need to secure this legislation for urban and rural neighborhoods across the state this year.

The Preservation League lists about 7,000 homes in the Capital Region that qualify for the proposed New York credit and around 3,000 are in economically distressed areas. All of these programs ­ tax credits and historic district designations - have the potential to insure that the architectural heritage of our great city can be around for generations to enjoy. The city council has taken a bold first step. Let's hope that our State lawmakers can have the same vision.