By Chris Michaud
NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) – Forty New York City cultural
institutions and historic sites will compete for millions of
dollars in grants for preservation efforts in a new grassroots
campaign announced on Thursday.
Members of the public can vote online for the projects that
are most important to them, ranging from a historic homestead in
the New York borough of Staten Island to world-famous landmarks
like the Guggenheim Museum and the Apollo Theater.
The four winning sites will receive grants and an advisory
committee of community leaders working with the project’s
organizer, Partners in Preservation, will allocate the rest of
the $3 million fund to the remaining nominees.
“The 40 selected sites reflect the awe-inspiring range of
landmarks that makes New York the city it is today,” said
Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express, which is
collaborating on the program with the National Historic Trust
for Historic Preservation.
Voting will continue through May 21. All of the sites in the
city’s five boroughs will hold open houses on May 5 and 6 and
feature behind the scenes tours and re-enactments, arts and
crafts, musical performances and art installations.
Historic places seeking grants include parklands such as
Brooklyn’s seaside Gateway National Recreation Area and the
popular High Line, which is built on an unused elevated train
track.
Cultural and arts nominees include the Helen Hayes Theater,
the Museum of the City of New York and the Intrepid Sea, Air &
Space Museum.
“Everyday citizens’ preservation efforts are critical to
saving places that are important to us all, retaining the
character of communities and expanding economic vitality,” said
Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation about the effort’s grassroots nature.
People can cast their votes on
and
http://www.PartnersinPreservation.com.
Partners in Preservation has awarded more than $6 million in
grants since 2006 for preservation projects in New Orleans, San
Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney)
