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| Photo by Nathan Kensinger for Curbed New York, October 1, 2015. |
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Little Puerto Rico in New York
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New York City's casitas (little houses) are cabins, bungalows or cottages surrounded by gardens that attempt to replicate a small portion of the rural landscape of Puerto Rico. These distinctive gathering places are specifically associated with Puerto Rican immigrant culture in the 1970s. This was a time of extreme stress for this group, and the casitas were created in an attempt to stabilize and preserve Puerto Rican culture. During this period, casitas were constructed on formerly vacant lots throughout the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. For decades, they have served as social clubs, cultural centers and extended living rooms for local Puerto Rican residents. Once numbering close to 100, only about thirty casitas survive. With support from the National Park Service's underrepresented properties grant program, the State Historic Preservation Office is helping the nonprofit City Lore organization through its Place Matters program to survey surviving casitas and document the Puerto Rican immigrant experience in an effort to recognize and preserve these local landmarks. City Lore will also lead community educational workshops on the history of Puerto Rican immigration, casitas and traditional Puerto Rican musical forms.
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The second video in the We Are NY series celebrates
Elmwood Village in Buffalo. This large, visitor-friendly neighborhood developed as a streetcar suburb at the turn of the century during the height of Buffalo's economic and commercial growth. The village is home to hundreds of local residents attracted to its tree-lined streets, historic houses, distinctive apartment buildings, churches and parks as well as a bustling commercial strip along Elmwood Avenue. The neighborhood also draws local and out-of-town visitors to its many museums, restaurants, shops, markets, concerts and community events. The video captures how a variety of local people feel about living, working and having fun in this vibrant historic district, which is listed on the
New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. We hope you enjoy it!
[The video] is amazing. The footage is breathtaking, and the content is perfect. Thank you for featuring our great neighborhood!
Carly Battin, Executive Director, Elmwood Village Association
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Rise Up Together
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Stonewall Inn, September 1969. Photo by Diana Davies. New York Public Library Digital Collections.
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The events that began at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 marked a monumental change for lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Americans. Stonewall, which occupied 51-53 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, was a gay bar that was raided on June 28, 1969. Patrons and a crowd outside resisted, and confrontations continued over the next few nights in nearby Christopher Park and on adjacent streets. This uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality. In 1999, Stonewall Inn became the first site in the country to be listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places for its association with the LGBTQ civil rights movement. This summer, the site of the Stonewall uprising was declared a National Monument, and Governor Cuomo designated the Stonewall Inn a state historic site. Stonewall will be the subject of the next We Are NY video.
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New York to Kingston in 4 Hours
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 The pilot wheel from the steamboat
Mary Powell is one of the many treasures included in the collections of
Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston. The
Mary Powell, which sailed the Hudson River from 1861 to 1922, was one of the most well-known American side-wheeler steamboats at the time. The steamboat's route ran from Kingston to New York City in the morning, with stops at Poughkeepsie, Milton, Newburgh and Cornwall; in the evening, the boat reversed its journey. The
Mary Powell could reach a speed of around twenty-five miles per hour. The boat's fastest trip upriver was in 1881 and took four hours and ten minutes. During the early nineteenth century, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston of
Clermont (State Historic Site) collaborated with Robert Fulton in inventing the world's first practical steam-powered boat, which made its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany on August 17, 1807; a trip that took about thirty-two hours. Visit New York's
state historic sites to experience great moments in New York State history.
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Enslaved
at Johnson Hall
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 An eighteenth century stone building at Johnson Hall State Historic Site in Johnstown has been restored and will be used to help tell the story of the enslaved people who worked on the estate, which was owned by Sir William Johnson, one of the most influential men in North America before the Revolutionary War as well as the largest slave owner in Britain's New York province. Johnson was an Irish immigrant and wealthy landowner who became the British Crown's Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Northern District. His vast working estate was the center of trade and diplomacy and a meeting place for people from many cultures. The estate's mansion was flanked by two stone blockhouse-style buildings that were intended to offer protection from attacks by French and Native American forces. The stone building on the east side of the mansion was destroyed by fire in the 1860s and replaced a century later with a reconstruction. The stone building on the west side of the mansion had been altered and unused for many years. The rare surviving structure has been restored to its original appearance, including the historically accurate reconstruction of its working fireplace, wooden floors, windows and hardware. The building will be used as an interactive classroom to educate visitors about the work and living conditions of enslaved people in colonial New York. The project was funded under the Governor's NY Parks 2020 program, a multi-year, almost $1 billion public/private commitment to repair and revitalize New York's state parks and historic sites.
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Airplane Garage to Gas Station
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For many years, Hangars 1 and 2 at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn sat vacant, neglected and in need of rehabilitation. Built in 1931, they were part of a series of hangars that served New York City's first municipal airport, which was the starting point and terminus for many record-breaking continental and international flights. During World War II, the airfield became one of the most important U.S. Navy installations, transporting naval aircraft from regional assembly plants to the West Coast for deployment in the Pacific Theater. Through a partnership between the National Park Service and the Williams Companies, the abandoned hangars have been restored and adapted for use as a natural gas metering and regulating station as part of a regional pipeline project. Located in the Gateway National Recreation Area, the hangars are contributing properties in the Floyd Bennett Field Historic District, which is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places
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Safe at Home
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 A vacant warehouse located along the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo has been rehabilitated into an affordable housing complex for local residents in need, including people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and people who may have faced housing discrimination elsewhere. Built in the early twentieth century, the warehouse was the home of the Buffalo Trunk Manufacturing Company for decades. The residential conversion is a partnership between Southern Tier Environments for Living and Evergreen Health Services. The $16 million project combined various sources of state and federal funding, including NYS Homes and Community Renewal, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, Low Income Housing Credits, First Niagara Financial Group, and state and federal preservation tax credits. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing funding for onsite social services and rental subsidies. The complex not only offers safe, affordable housing, but also provides access to a variety of support programs, such as substance abuse services and job training.
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This past summer the remains of fourteen enslaved people were reburied at St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands, not far from where their original unmarked graves were discovered during a 2005 construction project. Based on an investigation of the burial site and analysis of the remains by experts at the New York State Museum, it was determined that these remains were about 200 years old and represent six women, one man, two children and five infants. The individuals were of varied descent, primarily African and one Native American. The burial ground was dated between the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and research indicates that it was part of the large estate owned by the locally prominent Schuyler family, which owned enslaved people during the Colonial era. In 2015, a group of local artists, woodworkers and students donated their time and talents to creating burial containers for each set of remains. In June of this year, the beautifully crafted containers holding the remains laid in state at Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site in Albany as part of a daylong commemoration of these people. The following day, the remains were reburied with great ceremony beside a granite tombstone that marks the site. "Here lies the remains of 14 souls known only to God. Enslaved in life, they are slaves no more."
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Surf & Turf
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 Conceived during the 1920s, Jones Beach State Park is one of the jewels of Long Island's regional park system. The massive recreational complex, which was created to offer New Yorkers access to the Atlantic Ocean, boasts a fully integrated design, including parkways, beaches, boardwalks, swimming pools, bathhouses, restaurants, a theater, and its landmark water tower as the center of a grand formal plan. While it serves millions of visitors, park maintenance has been uneven through the years. As part of Governor Cuomo's and the state legislature's commitment to revitalizing state parks with a much needed infusion of capital funding, expected to be close to $1 billion by 2020, the park's Art Deco style West Bathhouse is being restored to its original grandeur. In addition to essential repairs and interior improvements, the bathhouse now features a Taste NY café, which promotes New York-produced food and beverages. In addition, a new energy efficient and storm resistant building is being planned for the East Mall on the site of a demolished structure; it will house food preparation facilities for the park's new dining options.
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