York Hall Of Kings Park Recommended For Historical Place Label

KINGS PARK, NY — York Hall, located on the grounds of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center and now within the Nissequogue River State Park, was one of 13 New York state properties recommended to be added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

York Hall is a colonial revival-style theater building designed by the New York state architect's office and built in the early 1930s. The mixed-use facility could accommodate a wide range of hospital and community activities, including theatrical productions, music, movies; basketball and other recreational sports; dinners; religious services; patient performances, exhibitions, and art sales; and more. It linked the hospital with the community and played a central role in the lives of the staff and patient population, according to the state.

Other nominations include a key site associated with Rochester's LGBTQ+ history, a historic synagogue in Manhattan's Upper West Side, a public park in Ithaca, a church connected to Yonkers's civil rights history, and a re-built Lustron House in the Town of Eden.

"New York's built environment reminds us of our state's rich and diverse history," Hochul said via news release. "These nominations reflect parts of our past and demonstrate New Yorkers' capacity for growth, innovation, demonstration, and change. Adding these sites to our historic registers emphasizes the roles that they have played - and will continue to play - in New York's story."

State and National Register listings can assist owners in revitalizing properties, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

New York has used $4.5 billion in Historic Tax Credits for rehabilitation costs from 2017 to 2021.

Since 2011, the Historic Tax Credit program has stimulated more than $12 billion in state project expenditures, creating investment and new jobs. According to a report, between 2017-2021, the credits in New York state generated 69,769 jobs and generated over $1.3 billion in local, state, and federal taxes.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archaeology and culture of New York state and the United States. There are more than 120,000 historic properties throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Property owners, municipalities, and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Once recommendations are approved by the commissioner, who serves as the State Historic Preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed. Once approved, they are entered on the National Register. More information, with photos of the nominations, is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.