New York Preservation League honors eight advocates and historic projects across the Empire State

The Preservation League of New York State has announced its annual slate of winners for the 39-year-old Excellence in Historic Preservation Awards program. The initiative works to celebrate the best practices in the field of preservation, highlighting groups and individuals whose efforts protect the “shared cultural heritage [that] grounds us and unites us.” 

“[The 2023 Excellence Award winners] represent how historic preservation addresses critical issues, from climate action to affordable housing, from spurring economic development to uplifting underrepresented histories,” the Preservation League’s President, Jay DiLorenzo, said in a statement.

The 2023 awardees are:

Olean's First National Bank & Siegel’s Shoes Revitalization, Olean, Cattaraugus County (cover photo)

Jury description: "The First National Bank of Olean and the adjacent former Siegel’s Shoes building have been revitalized to provide much-needed high-quality housing, office, and commercial space in downtown Olean. Vacant for more than two decades, the city’s Urban Renewal Agency worked hard to find a path forward, which included historic district designation to allow for the use of Historic Tax Credits. The rehabilitation of these historic spaces was led by preservation architect Elise Johnson-Schmidt and developer Savarino Companies."

Nash Lofts, Buffalo, Erie County 

Jury description: "The Nash Lofts building sits at a prominent place in the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor. Constructed as four separate buildings that are now connected, this adaptive reuse project tackled challenging logistical issues and found creative solutions — including utilizing a former vehicle ramp within a tiered residential unit. In addition to creating high quality apartments, the Nash Lofts house commercial space on the first floor and will provide free office space to the local NAACP branch in perpetuity, just steps from where the organization first began."

Jury description: "Claudette Brady has been a staunch advocate for her Brooklyn community for decades. Spearheading the campaign for historic district designation of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Claudette rallied her neighbors and made historic preservation meaningful for the people of the neighborhood. In the years since that successful campaign, Claudette has continued advocating for historic preservation, uplifting the history of traditionally underrepresented people, and centering them in the conversation about what we preserve and for whom."

Bridge to Crafts Careers Program, Brooklyn and the Bronx 

Jury description: "A partnership between World Monuments Fund, Woodlawn Cemetery, and Green-Wood Cemetery, the Bridge to Crafts Careers program (B2CC) was established to offer underserved youth in the New York City area hands-on technical training with the opportunity for placement in a stable career. The program launched first at Woodlawn in 2015 and expanded to Green-Wood in 2018. To date, 479 B2CC interns have completed over 140,000 training hours, enabling them to secure positions in trades unions, architectural arts studios, and construction-related fields. B2CC provides a valuable service by contributing to the quality of skilled historic trades workers and setting the standard for cultural heritage stewardship. This program ensures that the unique identities and range of typologies, materials, and histories of tens of thousands of cultural resources are cared for by a new generation of emerging tradespeople."