Committee To Save St. Paul's Takes A Working Vacation
Submitted By The Committee To Save St. Paul's

Ever conscious of the need to move toward the ultimate redevelopment of St. Paul's, the Committee to Save St. Paul's took time during the summer to monitor ongoing issues and explore new territory. A crucial aspect of the Committee's summertime work was gathering information about the current status of parkland alienations and gaining a greater knowledge of the process.

The New York State Department of Parks is responsible for conducting the process and providing an opinion for each individual alienation case, but it is the Governor and Legislature that make the ultimate decision. The Committee was advised that the length of time from the submission of an alienation request to its conclusion varies widely. There are currently over 20 requests across New York to alienate parkland for various purposes. Of 3 projects, which sought strictly the relief of parkland status, for example, the Committee learned that in the Senate, only 1 received approval and the other 2 were referred to local government committee.

The Committee confirmed that State Parks does not look favorably on a net loss of parkland. It was with the difficulty of the challenge in mind that the Committee's proposal, from inception, included a sizable portion of the Historic Building for continued public use, while combining authentic historic preservation and containment of development within the footprint of the building. As an aid to navigating the process, the Committee received a copy of the hefty 65-page Alienation Handbook through the offices of Senator Kemp Hannon.

The Committee to Save St. St. Paul's was pleased to learn that the Village's nomination of St. Paul's for grant funds under the Nassau County Environmental Bond Act has made it into the final round and has been rated highly by the County's advisory review panel. The nomination calls for funds for abatement of environmental hazards in the basement of the Historic Building and Ellis Hall. The Committee and its development partner, Canus Corporation, have encouraged supporters of the nomination to write to the advisory review panel, and will continue to monitor the Village's effort.

The Empire State Development Corporation announced a second round of funding under the Restore NY program in July. While the Village may not have been prepared to move ahead with this application now, the Empire State Development Corporation is expecting, if the state budget permits, to have a third round of Restore NY funding next year.

In addition to gathering information about grants through the state's Environmental Protection Fund Historic Preservation program and the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Robert Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge for funding of exterior work on the chapel, the Committee has learned that there's a good chance the State Senate and Assembly will reconvene in October and revisit proposed legislation that would significantly expand the availability of state tax credit for historic preservation. For the Committee to Save St. Paul's/Canus Corporation's proposal, an improvement in the state tax credit could mean an additional $7-to-8 million dollars in equity.