Properties in Sag Harbor, Port Jefferson, Huntington, St. James, East Hampton, Southampton and East Hills are included in Long Island’s list of endangered historic places.
Preservation Long Island’s Endangered Historic Places List for 2021 includes seven sites and one district facing a variety of threats from demolition and overdevelopment, to a lack of municipal funding and support for historic preservation in communities throughout our region.
Important historic places across Long Island are threatened by a variety of adverse conditions, from outright demolition to a lack of appreciation for their historic value, or the inability to develop sustainable long-term plans for preservation and stewardship.
Preservation Long Island (formerly the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities), established the Endangered Historic Places Program (EHPP) with the goal of raising region-wide support for historic places facing precarious circumstances.
“The program offers Long Islanders an opportunity to advocate for preservation in their communities while learning how to use tools like landmark designation, tax incentives and public outreach,” Alexandra Wolfe, Preservation Long Island’s Executive Director, said. “Our program partners receive priority technical assistance from our professional staff and their listings are featured on our website and social media.”
The pandemic did not have a negative impact on the public response to the open call for nominations issued last November.
“This year marks the largest number of nominations received in a single program year since the establishment of the program in 2010,” Sarah Kautz, Preservation Long Island’s Director of Preservation and Advocacy said. A total of 18 nominations were submitted for the 2021 program year from communities across Long Island.
A panel of Preservation Long Island staff and trustees, as well as experts in architecture, historic preservation, and other related fields selected the properties based on three key criteria: overall historic significance, severity of the threat and impact the EHPP listing will have on efforts to protect the nominated site.
Visit the 2021 Endangered Historic Places page on their website to learn more about each of the selected sites, and to register for the free virtual events.
Preservation Long Island invites all Long Islanders to join us in celebrating and supporting the important sites on Long Island’s List of Endangered Historic Places for 2021: John Mackay III’s “Happy House”, Village of East Hills, Nassau County. One of the few remaining Gilded Age country houses in East Hills Village is threatened by demolition and subdivision.
Preservation Long Island is a nonprofit organization that works with Long Islanders to raise awareness, appreciation and support for the protection of our shared past through advocacy, education and the stewardship of historic sites and collections. For more information, visit preservationlongisland.org.
—Submitted by Preservation Long Island
