Buffalo
could benefit big time from the passage of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Act of 2003.
Why it would almost be like a scene from a recent motion picture.
In a February 4 article entitled "Some Breaks in the Budget for Causes Small
and Large," The New York Times reported that Governor Pataki has proposed "an
income tax credit of up to $50,000 for homeowners who fix up historic properties
in distressed areas, after two dozen preservation groups pushed for it through an
e-mail and letter-writing campaign last fall. They argued that renovations would
mean money for local economies, tapping into one of the governor's favorite themes:
economic development." Daniel Mackay of the Preservation League of New York
State was quoted: "This is not about giving money away to preservation, but
about generating local economic recovery."
Whatever the final version of the law may be, the Preservation Coalition should do
its part in assisting current and prospective homeowners wishing to live in renovated
historic houses in our established historic districts or in any new districts that
may be discovered and documented in the near future.