Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to add 19 more landmarks across New York to the State and National Registers of Historic Places — a move aimed at preserving everything from post-war housing in Brooklyn to a women’s club leader’s home in Cortland.
The newly announced nominations span cities, small towns, and former industrial centers. Each site, the governor said, tells a piece of New York’s diverse story.
“The history of the people of New York is imprinted in the architecture and places around us,” Hochul said. “These nominations show our commitment to preserving that rich and diverse story.”
Among the nominees:
- A 1972 senior housing tower in Cohoes
- A Lustron prefab steel house in Syracuse
- An Arts and Crafts-style church on Staten Island
- Brooklyn’s Bay View Houses, built for middle-income tenants in the 1950s
- The historic industrial town of Au Sable Forks in the North Country
The nominations were recommended by the State Board for Historic Preservation following a review on December 3. If approved, they’ll be added to New York’s official historic register and submitted to the National Park Service for federal listing.
Beyond recognition, the listings open doors to grants, tax credits, and other financial support that can help with preservation.
“These programs create opportunities to inspire pride of place, encourage investment, and catalyze collaborations,” said Kathy Moser, acting commissioner for Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
New York is a national leader in using historic preservation tax credits. From 2018 to 2024, projects using the credits tallied $7.17 billion in rehab costs. Since 2009, the state has seen over $16.4 billion in project spending through the program — creating more than 91,000 jobs and generating nearly $1.8 billion in tax revenue.
The nominations also include sites tied to civil rights, post-war housing innovation, women’s history, and environmental sustainability. For example, Buffalo’s Norstar Building — constructed in the early 1980s — was among the first in the city to use solar collectors and passive lighting to cut energy costs.
The list touches nearly every corner of the state, from the forested hills of Chautauqua County to the streets of the Bronx, where 1970s “scatter site” housing reflected early efforts to integrate neighborhoods after the Civil Rights Act.
“These additions help us expand our understanding of the past,” said Deputy Historic Preservation Commissioner Daniel Mackay, “and connect more people and communities to their heritage.”
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