Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended adding 22 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Sylvester Manor, located on Shelter Island was one such property.

State and National Register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Spurred by the state and federal commercial historic rehabilitation tax credits administered by the State Historic Preservation Office, developers invested $1 billion statewide in 2013 to revitalize properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, while homeowners using the state historic homeowner rehabilitation tax credit invested more than $14.3 million statewide on home improvements to help revitalize historic neighborhoods.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 90,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.

Sylvester Manor located on Shelter Island is a 225-acre site which houses a 1737 Georgian manor as well as nationally significant archaeology that has provided tremendous insights into the early interaction between European Americans, Native Americans and enslaved African Americans engaged in barrel-making and other activities to supply provisions to plantations in Barbados.

More information on the nominations is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at: http://nysparks.com/shpo/national-register/nominations.aspx.