New York State 250th Commemoration Commission Update

The New York State 250th Commemoration Commission will be holding its first meeting on Wednesday, May 15th beginning at 10:30 am. The meeting is open to the public and will take place at the New York State Museum’s Huxley Theater, located at 222 Madison Avenue, in Albany.

The Commission is tasked with planning the commemoration of America’s 250th Anniversary on July 4, 2026.

Remote viewing of the meeting is available at this YouTube link. The Commission has announced that it will meet quarterly.

If you would like to comment publicly on the work of the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission, send comments in advance to phil.giltner@parks.ny.gov.

A full agenda for the May 15th meeting as well as more information about the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission can be found here.

Commission Developments

On February 24, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the “New York State 250th Commemoration Act,” establishing a state commission to facilitate the planning and development of the commemoration of the 250th in New York State. This bill was introduced in the State Assembly by Assembly member Carrie Woerner and in the State Senate by Senator Shelley B. Mayer and passed both houses of the legislature unanimously.

The powers, functions, and duties of the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission include:

• Develop plans to promote and coordinate activities to commemorate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the American Revolution
• Include heritage organizations as the focal points for the commemoration;
• Coordinate forums across the state to seek ideas from the public on the commemoration including how New Yorkers, American and those from other countries may celebrate the anniversary;
• Coordinate activities with civic, educational and heritage organizations to develop public interest and involvement in the planning and development of the commemoration;
• Promote and encourage educational outreach programs using media and technology including electronic communications to achieve national and international impact
• Coordinate the planning of commemorative events for all interest communities throughout the state;
• Invite other interested states and nations to participate in programs and events for the commemoration;
• Coordinate and promote the holdings of meetings, conference, seminars and conventions in interested communities using such anniversary as an attraction and theme;
• Coordinate and promote the holding of community engagement and educational events in interested communities using such anniversary as an attraction and theme;
• Seek funding from private individuals, foundations and corporations to support capital improvements, preservation and conservation needs associated with events and sites commemorating such anniversary;
• Coordinate and cooperate with state entities and tourist promotion agencies;
• Coordinate and cooperate with local, state and federal entities including those relating to heritage are promotion and any federal commission created to participate in planning ad development of the anniversary;
• Set goals and benchmarks for the work of the commission.

Members

Commission members have also been appointed according to the website. The Board consists of 21 members as listed below.

Members consist of the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Commissioner of Education, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Empire State Development, The Commissioner of the Office of General Services, the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Council for the Arts, and the Director of the Canal Corporation (or their designees) as well as four members appointed by the governor, three appointed by the temporary president of the Senate, three appointed by the Speaker of the Assemble, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Assembly, and the New York State Historian.

According to the website “The majority of the members that make up the commission shall have a professional background in the fields of local government historian, academic historian, museum professional, social studies teacher or professor, tourism professional, archeologist, anthropologist, or other field of New York State history or historic preservation, or volunteer fundraising experience.”

The members serve without compensation but are allowed the necessary and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

In addition to the Ex-Officio State Agency Members, the following members have been appointed:

Appointees of the Governor
Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, New-York Historical Society
Marie Salerno, Founding President and CEO, National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy

Appointees of the Temporary President of the Senate
Joy Bivens, Director, Schomberg Center
Constance M. Kehoe, President, Revolutionary Westchester 250
Rich Pyszczek, President, Niagara Frontier Council for the Social Studies

Appointees of the Speaker of the Assembly
Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director, Eastville Historical Center
Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian and Chair of the Saratoga County 250th Commission
Dr. Jenn Voigtschild, Command Historian, United States Military Academy at West Point

Appointee of the Minority Leader of the Senate
Barbara Russell, Town of Brookhaven Historian

Appointee of the Minority Leader of the Assembly
Lisa Romano Moore, Executive Director, Onondaga Historical Association

Strategic Plan

The New York State 250th Commemoration Commission was established under the New York State 250th Commemoration Act, Section 14.12.

The Act requires that “The commission shall develop a strategic plan, which shall recommend plans for commemorating the state’s role in the founding of the nation and the ensuing two hundred fifty years of history.”

The Commission was required by the act to “vote to finalize the recommendation contained in the strategic plan” by December 31, 2022. No information could be found about the strategic plan at press time.

New York Almanack has been following New York State’s celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution here.