Op Eds

The Preservation Association of Central New York (PACNY) awarded the Oswego Renaissance Association (ORA) the Jasena R. Foley Education Award, given to individuals or groups who educate, promote, engender or advocate a preservation ethic in Central New York at their annual Awards Reception Tuesday July 19 in the newly restored Hotel Syracuse.

The Awards Reception was hosted by local television celebrity Laura Hand who presented the award to Paul Stewart and Steven Phillips; the founders of the Oswego Renaissance Association.

In her presentation Laura Hand highlighted the “extraordinary” efforts and success of the ORA in Oswego’s neighborhoods achieved by this all volunteer organization of residents of Oswego. She went on to say that the ORA’s Healthy Neighborhood approach "is a model that can be duplicated in communities across the state.”

The ORA has leveraged more than one million dollars in private capital in 4 targeted neighborhoods throughout the City of Oswego. Its “Healthy Neighborhood” approach requires neighbors to apply in groups of homeowners which compounds the financial and social investments in that group’s neighborhood. The ORA strategy and results were also included in the successful $10M Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) that was awarded to the City of Oswego in July.

PACNY, founded in 1974, the Preservation Association of Central New York is dedicated to the conservation of our area’s historic architecture, neighborhoods and main streets, preserving the past through adaptive reuse to serve as a living part of our community.

Since 1974, PACNY has led efforts to save historic resources throughout the region – including sites such as Hanover Square, Armory Square, Hawley-Green, Sedgwick, the Landmark Theater and many more local treasures – all of which have been threatened with demolition or unsympathetic development at one time or another.

For additional information on the ORA visit their website at www.oswegonyonline.com or follow them on FaceBook.

The ORA is supported by; The Richard S. Shineman Foundation, Pathfinder Bank, Exelon Generation, SUNY Oswego, Breakwall Asset Management and other sponsors.