Bill Text: NY S03050 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation to preserve and maintain state historic sites that are closed for more than a month.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-12 - referred to tourism, parks, arts and sports development [S03050 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S03050-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3050
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 19, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  SERRANO, BAILEY, PARKER -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cultural
          Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation
        AN ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law,  in
          relation to the maintenance and preservation of state historic sites
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Legislative finding. The legislature hereby finds that  the
     2  state has long acted on the recognition that the historical, archeologi-
     3  cal,  architectural and cultural heritage of the state as represented in
     4  state historic sites are amongst the most important environmental assets
     5  of the state and that they should be carefully maintained and  preserved
     6  for future generations.
     7    § 2. The parks, recreation and historic preservation law is amended by
     8  adding a new section 14.11 to read as follows:
     9    §  14.11  Maintenance  and  preservation of state historic sites.   1.
    10  State historic sites shall be subject to the highest standards of  care,
    11  custody and control to assure their preservation for future generations.
    12  For  the  purposes of this section, "mothballing" shall mean the process
    13  of temporarily closing a historic structure  that  involves  controlling
    14  the  long-term  deterioration  of the building while it is unoccupied as
    15  well as finding methods to protect  it  from  sudden  loss  by  fire  or
    16  vandalism;  and "seasonal" shall mean a period of time not to exceed six
    17  months in any given year.
    18    2. During the process of determining the viability of the office main-
    19  taining a historic site open  to  the  public,  the  commissioner  shall
    20  produce  a  written outline of alternative actions that include, but are
    21  not limited to the preparation of a request for proposals for the estab-
    22  lishment of a non-profit group that would contract with  the  office  to
    23  maintain  the  historic site following the agency's established criteria
    24  and best practices and an economic  impact  statement  on  the  proposed
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03074-01-7

        S. 3050                             2
     1  closing  of the site. This outline and economic impact statement will be
     2  made available to the public and a copy shall be delivered to the gover-
     3  nor, the speaker of the assembly and  the  temporary  president  of  the
     4  senate, and the chairs of the assembly committee on tourism, parks, arts
     5  and  sports  development  and  the senate committee on cultural affairs,
     6  tourism, parks and recreation. Following the publication of the  outline
     7  of  alternative  actions, a public comment period of no less than thirty
     8  days shall be implemented followed by at least one public hearing on the
     9  proposed actions by the agency.
    10    3. If it has been determined both by the commissioner  and  the  board
    11  that  a  state historic site shall be closed to the public and not fully
    12  maintained for a period to exceed the normal seasonal  limit  previously
    13  in  place,  the commissioner shall adhere to the standards of the United
    14  States Secretary of the Interior for the mothballing of historic  build-
    15  ings.  Such  secretary's  standards  for  historic  preservation are the
    16  established and acknowledged standards for historic  site  and  building
    17  preservation  throughout  the nation. Such standards for the mothballing
    18  of historic buildings focus on the steps needed to properly deactivate a
    19  historic property for an extended period of time not to exceed ten years
    20  and require continued limited monitoring and maintenance by professional
    21  staff. The standards for the mothballing of historic  buildings  require
    22  the  appointment  of  a  preservation  specialist to assess the specific
    23  needs of the structure and to develop an effective mothballing program.
    24    4. Actions taken in the event of  the  closing  of  a  specific  state
    25  historic site shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
    26    (a)  the  preparation of a condition assessment report of the building
    27  or site by a preservation specialist, a copy of which shall be delivered
    28  to the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president
    29  of the senate, and the chairs of  the  assembly  committee  on  tourism,
    30  parks,  arts and sports development and the senate committee on cultural
    31  affairs, tourism, parks and recreation;
    32    (b) structural stabilization of the building, based on the recommenda-
    33  tions of the condition assessment;
    34    (c) extermination or control of pests, including rodents and  insects.
    35  This  shall  include,  but  not  be limited to, the installation of pest
    36  screens and the inspection of the building by a  licensed  pest  control
    37  expert;
    38    (d)  protection  of the exterior from moisture penetration. This shall
    39  include an inspection of the  building  or  structure's  roof,  gutters,
    40  drains, window and door frames, masonry, siding, and proper drainage;
    41    (e) securing the building and its component features to reduce vandal-
    42  ism  or break-ins. This shall include the notification of local fire and
    43  police departments that the building is being mothballed,  ensuring  the
    44  proper  installation  and  maintenance  of  fire and intrusion detection
    45  systems are in place throughout the structure, along with  any  existing
    46  inspected  fire suppression systems, the fastening of all exterior doors
    47  and windows, the prevention of the overgrowth of the  grounds,  and  the
    48  creation and implementation of a security monitoring plan;
    49    (f)  provision  of  adequate  ventilation  to the interior that is, at
    50  minimum, two air exchanges every hour to prevent mildew damage;
    51    (g) securing or modifying utilities and mechanical systems  to  ensure
    52  no damage takes place due to nonuse;
    53    (h)  development  and  implementation  of a maintenance and monitoring
    54  plan for protection of the structure to be made available to the  public
    55  with  a  copy  sent to the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the
    56  temporary president of the  senate,  and  the  chairs  of  the  assembly

        S. 3050                             3
     1  committee  on tourism, parks, arts and sports development and the senate
     2  committee on cultural affairs, tourism, parks and recreation;
     3    (i) removal, cataloguing of, and proper storage of any and all histor-
     4  ical  collections  held  within the structure including furniture, arti-
     5  facts, art work, textile material, and library  and  archival  material,
     6  consistent  with  established  best practices for the handling and cata-
     7  loguing of such historical collections and objects; and
     8    (j) not less than once every six months at a minimum an inspection  of
     9  the  building  shall  be  made, maintenance action shall be taken on any
    10  deterioration that is found in such inspection and a  report,  including
    11  photographic documentation on the inspection shall be made and presented
    12  to the governor and legislature.
    13    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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