Summer 1992 Table of Contents
Sacred Sites Raises the Roof on Buffalo Church
By Robin K. Bodo
The Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Buffalo was recently awarded funding to assist with the replacement of the roof on their community house by the Sacred Sites and Properties Fund, a program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church joins four other Buffalo churches in obtaining funding from this granting agency.
In 1988 Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church received $5,000 for masonry repairs. First Presbyterian Church received $5,000 toward roof repairs and the Unitarian Universalist of Buffalo Church received $5,000 for masonry repairs, both in 1990 funding rounds.
Sacred Sites was established by the New York Landmarks Conservancy to help meet the need for technical and financial assistance for the preservation of New York State's historic religious properties.
Since its establishment in 1986, this grant funding source has awarded over $100,000 for repair or study of needs of religious properties in Western New York alone.
"Religious properties throughout New York State are threatened by deferred maintenance and rising operating costs," said Susan Henshaw Jones, executive director of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. "To meet this challenge, we are trying to help congregations address their maintenance needs."
The Sacred Sites and Properties Fund grants can be up to $15,000 and must be matched by the sponsor. The average grant ranges from $3,000 to $8.000. Funds can be used for planning restoration projects or, as in the cases of the four Buffalo churches, actual restoration work.
In order to qualify for funding a property must be owned by a religious institution, be located in the state of New York and be either listed on the National Register of Historic Places or be designated under a local preservation ordinance.
The three scheduled grant request deadlines per year are January 15th, May 1st and September 1st, but funds for emergency work are available on an ongoing basis.
The Landmarks Conservancy also co-sponsors workshops promoting the appropriate care of historic religious buildings.
For more information on the Sacred Sites and Properties Fund, contact Edward T. Mohylowski, Director, Sacred Sites and Properties Fund, New York Landmarks Conservancy, 141 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 or call 212 995-5260.
Applications for funding are also available locally through the Preservation Outreach Partnership, 133 South Fitzhugh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
