League Seeks Entries for 2014 Preservation Awards, Video Contest

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The Hotel @ Lafayette in Buffalo won an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award in 2013.

ALBANY, NY (12/23/2013)(readMedia)-- ALBANY, December, 2013 -The Preservation League of New York State is seeking nominations for its 2014 Excellence in Historic Preservation Awards, which recognize significant achievements in historic preservation throughout New York State. The postmark deadline for nominations is February 13, 2014. The awards will be presented during the Preservation League's Annual Meeting on May 14, 2014 in New York City at the historic New York Yacht Club.

"Preservation and reuse of our historic buildings is fundamental to the economic revitalization of our cities, towns, and villages," said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. "The restoration of our historic neighborhoods, Main Streets, and underutilized buildings continues to create jobs, provide housing, promote tourism, stimulate private investment, and conserve energy, resources, and open space. Our annual Awards program allows us to highlight projects that could one day provide new examples of best practices in historic preservation."

The League especially encourages nominations that may provide case studies or models incorporating energy efficiency, adaptive reuse, or New York's Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit program.

"Historic preservation isn't just about saving old buildings, however. It's about who we are, how we got here, and where we're going," said Colleen Ryan, the League's Director of Communications. "We're asking people to help the League celebrate 40 years of preservation in New York State by creating a short video to Show Us the Future of Preservation!"

Videos of between one and two minutes in length will be reviewed by a panel of judges, and rated for content, creativity and video quality. Finalists' videos will be posted on the League's Facebook page in April, and the winner will be determined by the number of "Likes" received. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube and tagged with PLNYS-2014-future by 11:59pm EST on Friday, March 14, 2014.

The award-winning video will be screened at the League's Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the New York Yacht Club on Wednesday, May 14, and the winner will receive $500 and a pair of complimentary tickets to the event.

The Preservation League awards program is supported by a generous grant from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation.

Complete guidelines for the Awards program and the video contest, as well as links to previous award winners, may be found on the Preservation League's website at www.preservenys.org. For additional information on the awards please contact the Preservation League at 518-462-5658 x17; or by email at awards@preservenys.org.

The 2013 Excellence Award recipients were: The New York State Capitol, restoration of laylights and skylights; East 180th Street Station, Bronx; Keramos Hall, Brooklyn; Hotel @ Lafayette, Buffalo; The TAUNY Center, Canton, St. Lawrence County; and The Central Trust Building, Rochester. The Buffalo News, Dawn M. Bracely, Editorial Writer and Stanford Lipsey, Publisher Emeritus, was honored as outstanding publication. The Albany Housing Authority was honored for organizational excellence.