Suffolk County Nonprofit Secures Preservation Funding

Related Media

A Preserve New York grant will fund a Historic Structure Report for the Manor House at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island.

• A Preserve New York grant will fund a Historic Structure Report for the Manor House at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island.

ALBANY, NY (11/02/2015)(readMedia)-- The Preservation League of New York State recently announced a Preserve New York grant to a Suffolk County not-for-profit organization.

The League made a grant of $10,000 to the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm to support the cost of completing a historic structure report at the Sylvester Manor House on Shelter Island. The house is part of the larger Sylvester Manor complex, which includes 225 acres of significant landscapes – both designed and agricultural – outbuildings and other structures, including an impressive 1910 windmill.

The site is significant across several disciplines, including architecture, African-American history, Native American history, landscape design, historic farming, archeology, and for its extensive collection of family artifacts. It was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This project is the first phase of the Manor House historic structure report, and the first time the property has had this type of report prepared by an architect, although historical and archeological studies have previously been completed. The report will inform comprehensive preservation planning initiatives for the site. Michael Devonshire of Jan Hird Pokorny Associates (JHPA) in New York will produce the report.

"The board and staff of Sylvester Manor are thrilled to have the support of the Preservation League as we launch this crucial first wave of preservation assessments since taking ownership of the manor house just last year," said Maura Doyle, History and Historic Preservation Coordinator for the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. "As a new organization, we are inspired by the confidence the League has in us as stewards of this unique historic property, and in our selection of Michael Devonshire and his team at Jan Hird Pokorny Associates to steer this exciting first phase of preservation work."

Doyle continued, "Sylvester Manor Educational Farm is grateful for Mr. Devonshire's deep appreciation of the uniqueness of the property, and cheerful willingness to mentor visiting students of historic preservation during his site work with us. As an historic property with a 'hands-on' educational mission, we feel very fortunate indeed to have Mr. Devonshire, JHPA and the Preservation League in partnership with us."

Michael Devonshire, director of preservation at Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, expressed similar enthusiasm for the Sylvester Manor project. "If the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm is the living body that is powerfully thriving on Shelter Island, then the Manor House is the soul of the place. It is at once an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship, and now left to us with its legacy of changes and additions suiting the generations that have inhabited the place. All of this has been preserved for us and put into our care."

Devonshire continued, "The undertaking of a condition assessment of the Manor House, which will include the assessment of existing conditions and a phased program for intervention, will be the first step in understanding in how the building has endured nearly 300 freezing winters and scorching summers. It will guide the present caretakers of this distinguished piece of our social and architectural patrimony in their efforts to stabilize, repair and restore as necessary each element and system of this important site, to ensure its longevity for the future."

The Preserve New York Grant Program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. "With the announcement of the 2015 awards, the total support provided by Preserve New York since its launch in 1993 is just over $2 million to 320 projects statewide," said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. "Preserve New York has a strong track record of bolstering local preservation efforts and delivering a strong return on investment."

"At its August, 2015 meeting, the Preserve New York grant program panel selected 14 applicants in 11 counties around the state to share $114,990 in funding," said Erin Tobin, the League's Director of Preservation. "As always, the competition for these funds was intense. The Preservation League is delighted to help advance the preservation efforts of the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm with timely funding from Preserve New York."

Organizations and municipalities receiving grant awards in 2015 are: Albany County: City of Albany Department of Development and Planning; Cayuga County: Seward House Museum, Auburn; Chautauqua County: Jamestown Renaissance Corporation; Chemung County: Elmira Downtown Development, Inc. (EDD); Erie County: Landmark Society of Western New York; Monroe County (2): Town of Greece, Department of Development Services; Maplewood Neighborhood Association, Rochester; Montgomery County (2): Montgomery County Department of History and Archives; Village of Palatine Bridge; Niagara County: City of North Tonawanda; Schenectady County: Vale Cemetery Association, Schenectady; Schoharie County: Village of Schoharie; Suffolk County (2): Higher Ground Inter-Cultural & Heritage Associates, Brookhaven; Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, Shelter Island.

For more information on the Preserve New York Grant Program, please call 518-462-5658 x 10 or visit the League's website at www.preservenys.org .