PRESERVATION LEAGUE AWARDS PRESERVE NEW YORK GRANT

Rockland County organization secures $7,724

Press Release

The Preservation League of New York State recently announced a grant to the GARNER Arts Center, formerly GaGa. The League made a grant of $7,724 to complete a State and National Register Historic District nomination for the Garnerville Arts and Industrial Center Complex.

The Garner Print Works, now the site of the GARNER Arts Center, was built in 1828 and is named after the Garner brothers, the second owners of the calico printing plant. At one time, the plant employed some 800 workers and grew to include the printing and dyeing of wool, cotton and linen. The plant closed briefly during the depression but was brought back to life in the 1930s by the Garnerville Holding Company, the current owner of the complex, which includes more than 30 buildings.

The not-for-profit GARNER Arts Center (previously the GAGA Arts Center) was formed in 2008 to sponsor art at the Garnerville Industrial Terminal through events, festivals, student educational opportunities, and open gallery space. In late summer, 2011, heavy rains from Hurricane Irene forced a huge volume of water and debris through the mill raceway at the core of the complex. The Main Gallery and many studios sustained serious damage, and the complex was named to the League’s Seven to Save list of endangered places for 2012-13.

Following the Seven to Save designation, GARNER Arts Center received a Technical Assistance Grant of $3,000 from the Preservation League to complete a feasibility study to convert Building #35, the former cafeteria, into their new Main Gallery space.

The recent Preserve New York grant funded the completion of a State and National Register Historic District nomination by Gregory Dietrich Preservation Consulting, which was submitted to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. If approved, this listing will allow the center to take advantage of historic preservation incentives such as the NYS Environmental Protection Fund grants and Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits.

“We were thrilled to have received the Preserve New York grant,” said Robin Rosenberg, president of GARNER Arts Center. “Following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Irene to our complex – and the total loss of the gem that was our Main Gallery – this grant has provided an opportunity for us to protect this unique historic and cultural resource, and obtain access to funding sources that will help preserve our former mill complex as an historic district. The nomination to the State and National Registers revealed fascinating architectural details, but an even more fascinating historical narrative. We are hopeful the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will list our complex on the State Register and send it on to the National Register for review. We believe that listing will prove vital to our efforts to preserve the complex and find a new life for it in the 21st century.”

  GAGA Arts Center, GARNER Arts Center, garnerville, The Preservation League of New York State