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Economic Development

REDC Awards Nurture Infrastructure, Ignore History

February 23, 2015
by Peter Feinman

This post is part of a continuing series on discerning the actual policies of New York State regarding promoting history by following the money it awards through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) process.

The focus in this post is on where the State awards money in support of cooperation and collaboration. In other words, the awards here aren’t for a specific event or site but are more sweeping in scope. They seek to support multiple organizations and entities working together on behalf of a larger goal than any one group could achieve on its own. There are lessons to be learned here for the history community which is not the recipient of any of these awards. Continue reading “REDC Awards Nurture Infrastructure, Ignore History” →

REDC Tourism Awards Support Booze Destinations

February 2, 2015
by Peter Feinman

Empire State Development under the leadership of Ken Adams is the organization which includes ILoveNY (under Gavin Landry), which is responsible for the Path through History, but which has no full time staff. The mission of Empire State Development Market New York (ESD MNY) is:

The Market New York Grant program supports regionally-themed New York-focused projects that promote tourism destinations, attractions, special events and other travel related activities that help achieve the Regional Councils’ long term strategic goals for economic growth, which include attracting more visitors to New York State. Continue reading “REDC Tourism Awards Support Booze Destinations” →

State Parks, Historic Preservation REDC Awards

January 28, 2015
by Peter Feinman

This posts is the fourth in a series of posts examining the awards approved by the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) from the perspective of the Path through History. In this post, we turn to the awards by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as part of the Heritage Areas System (HAS).

This is for projects to acquire, preserve, rehabilitate or restore lands, waters or structures, identified in the approved management plans for Heritage Areas designated under sections 33.03 and 33.05 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law, and for structural assessments or planning for such projects. Some of the funding is substantial. Continue reading “State Parks, Historic Preservation REDC Awards” →

The REDCs, History and the NYS Council on the Arts

January 22, 2015
by Peter Feinman

This posts is the third in a series of posts examining the awards approved by the Regional
Economic Development Councils (REDC) from the perspective of the Path through History.

Below is a list of projects which were found based on the term “history” for the search criteria. Although there are not many grants with a specifically historical-focus, the ones that do tend to be funded by New York State Council on the Arts as part of its Culture & Heritage Project Grant. Below are the awards for 2014 by the Council of Arts that are relevant to the history community. Continue reading “The REDCs, History and the NYS Council on the Arts” →

NY History And Economic Development Councils

January 14, 2015
by Peter Feinman

This posts is the second in a series of posts examining the awards approved by the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) from the perspective of the Path through History.

In the first post we saw that in 2013 and 2014 there were only two grants directly connected to the Path through History and both were media-based awards. There also was a glimpse of hope in an award that could potentially generate a Route 28 Path through History. This awards hints at the unrealized potential of the Path through History project. Continue reading “NY History And Economic Development Councils” →

Economic Development Councils And Path Through History

January 4, 2015
by Peter Feinman

The Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) awards for 2014 were recently announced. These councils were created by Governor Andrew Cuomo as a conduit for the disbursement of state funds among 10 designated regions. Each region holds meetings to discuss the economic development proposals which have been submitted for their region. The approved proposals are then submitted for statewide consideration and the results were announced in December. Now that the 2014 awards have been announced, it’s time to consider what it all means for the history community. Continue reading “Economic Development Councils And Path Through History” →

Heritage Tourism Lessons from the Tappan Zee Bridge

November 3, 2014
by Peter Feinman

Once upon a time America was known for its building projects, for its infrastructure, for its vision of a better tomorrow. New York was in the forefront of such optimism and achievement. Think of the Erie Canal which helped make us the Empire State, the Croton Aqueduct, the Brooklyn Bridge, the skyscrapers from the Woolworth Building to the Empire State Building to the Twin Towers, and, of course, Robert Moses. Now the new Tappan Zee Bridge bids to join this pantheon of larger than life achievements made in New York.

Besides all the other concerns related to the bridge, there is the issue of tourism. Back in June, Mary Kay Vrba, tourism director for Dutchess County and leader of the Hudson Valley Path region, spoke to 50 people at “Destination Rockland: Blazing New Trails in Tourism.” Visions of jingling cash registers filled the heads of the participants who envisioned tourists by foot, bike, and later a revitalized bus system bringing people from the east side of the river to Rockland County. Alden Wolfe, chairman of the Rockland County Legislature convened the conference as a “launching point” for future discussion on this subject. Continue reading “Heritage Tourism Lessons from the Tappan Zee Bridge” →

The Half Moon and The Hermione: A Tale of Two Ships

October 22, 2014
by Peter Feinman

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. So it goes for two ships and their diametrically contradictory paths through history.

The Half Moon is a full scale replica of the original Dutch ship of exploration sailed by Henry Hudson for the Dutch East India Company in 1609. The original Half Moon was the first European ship to document entry into what we now call the Delaware Bay and River, and to explore the Hudson River to its navigable limits.

The HermioneThe Hermione is a full scale replica of the French ship that brought LaFayette to America in 1780 and which joined Admiral de Grasse’s fleet for the Battle off the Capes on the lower Chesapeake and the siege at Yorktown. The ship then sailed to Philadelphia in 1781 where the Continental Congress visited and paid tribute to it. Continue reading “The Half Moon and The Hermione: A Tale of Two Ships” →

Promoting NY History Tours: ILoveNY And China

July 31, 2014
by Peter Feinman

Last week, I asked readers to “consider what might happen if Empire State Development and I Love NY actually promoted New York State History and reached out to tour operators to visit historic New York.”

That drew a comment from “Cathy” about her experience in Rockland County: Continue reading “Promoting NY History Tours: ILoveNY And China” →

NYS’s Tourist-Industrial Complex

July 20, 2014
by Peter Feinman

I have used the term tourist-industrial complex to refer to the recipients of the New York State funding from the Path through History project, but the funding goes beyond the Path project or even tourism. This funding did not go to the history community. Instead tens of millions of dollars went to advertising. That has now become an issue in the media and in the ongoing gubernatorial campaign.

A recent article by Joseph Spector, the Albany Bureau chief of Gannet Company attempts to address where the money funneled to Empire State Development (ESD), which includes ILoveNY and therefore the Path through History project, went. Continue reading “NYS’s Tourist-Industrial Complex” →