6 diverse NYC sites recommended for historic preservation

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 23 various properties, resources and districts across the state to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The selections are meant to reflect "the striking diversity of New York State's history," as a press release puts it, and six of them are right here in New York City.

Here's the write-up for each selection in NYC:

Earl Hall, Columbia University, Manhattan - Completed in 1902, the building was among the earliest structures erected on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia College; it is also an important work by preeminent architecture firm McKim, Mead & White. Earl Hall is also important in LGBT history as the home of the Student Homophile League, officially recognized by the university in 1967, making Columbia the first university in the United States with a gay student group. Beginning in 1970, regularly scheduled gay dances in Earl Hall became one of the most important gay social events in New York City.

Greenacre Park, Manhattan - The 6,360-square-foot park on East 51st Street exemplifies the mid-20th century vest-pocket park movement, which promoted the creation of small urban parks to celebrate urban life after decades of urban renewal and the destruction of vast swathes of urban fabric.

Old Town of Flushing Burial Ground (Martin's Field), Queens - The burial ground is the final resting place for approximately 1,000 individuals buried between 1840 and 1898, most of whom were Flushing's poorest citizens, with a large percentage of African American and Native American descent.

The Ridgewood Reservoir, Brooklyn/Queens - Constructed beginning in 1865, the main distributing reservoir for the City of Brooklyn provided water to allow Brooklyn to become the third largest city in the country by 1890, supply the steam engines that made Brooklyn an industrial powerhouse, and become the largest beer producing city in the United States.

The Saxe Embroidery Company Building, Bronx - The 1904 factory building was initially constructed for a family-owned business specializing in embroidered medallions and monograms and ultimately housed a range of small-scale local manufacturing enterprises.

LANAI, Manhattan - Built in 1911, LANAI (now known as ARGO) is the oldest known surviving example of a shallow draft luxury houseboat designed by renowned built builder John Trumpy, built at the Mathis Yacht Building Company.

The other 17 nominations are located in the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Mohawk Valley and Western New York. Check out the full list here.

Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsor these 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.

State and National Register listings can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for public preservation programs and services like matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. In 2013 Governor Cuomo signed legislation to bolster the state's use of rehabilitation tax credits; since then the state and federal program spurred $3 billion of investment in historic commercial properties.

There are more than 120,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts.