March 20, 2023

The Honorable Kathy Hochul

Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Hochul:

With news breaking last month of corruption and scandal at the America 250 Foundation, Inc, where millions of
dollars of public funds have been mismanaged, it has become apparent that the federally-funded organization
and its public history partner organization, the Association of State and Local History, have failed to establish a
workable plan for the approaching commemorative years (2024-2033).

As part of their damage control, Rosie Rios, Chair of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission and
Emily Sexton, President of the America 250 Foundation, Inc, penned a letter on February 13, 2023, to state
coordinators to shift the responsibility to them, stating “we [will] work diligently to elevate your good work
while collaborating with you on partnerships and programs at the state and territory level.” Simultaneously, the
American Association of State and Local History announced a 2-day virtual conference for local public
historians to gather on April 27-28, 2023, to discuss what, if anything, should be commemorated about the
country’s founding period. Questions remain at the national level, where there appears to be a growing
sentiment against marking the anniversary of the American Revolution in any meaningful fashion.

With New York’s Rev250 commemorative cycle set to begin in 2024, it is late to be entertaining these
questions. Nearly eight years have elapsed since Congress passed the United States Semiquincentennial Act on
July 22, 2016. Even factoring in the instability and challenges of the COVID era, there has been more than
enough time to develop a coherent plan to rally cultural sector organizations to prepare for the commemoration
of our nation’s and our state’s founding. The New York State 250th Commemoration Act of 2021 called for a
special commission to be seated and a strategic plan developed and delivered to the Governor within one year.
The law stipulated that the plan would link partners throughout New York state for a full commemorative cycle
concluding in December 2033.

To date, the commission has not been seated and no plan has been delivered to your desk. The only serious
planning efforts underway are all at the local level and predominantly within the Hudson Valley. In 2019 there
was a flurry of activity surrounding the 250th planning process in New York State. State Historian Devin
Lander held a series of workshops to foster local partnerships which resulted in Constance Kehoe (Westchester
County), Johanna Porr Yaun (Orange County), Dr. William P. Tatum III (Dutchess County), and Lauren Roberts
(Saratoga County) initiating local planning efforts, generating materials to help guide the creation of local
commission and committees, and developing themes and collaborations for a potential New York State Field
Guide. The outlook for New York looked promising when the first official 250th anniversary event,
commemorating the Battle of Golden Hill, occurred at Fraunces Tavern in New York City on January 27, 2020.
The impact and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be understated; however, history-rich
communities across the state have recovered and resumed their planning efforts over the past two years.
Discouragingly, these efforts have not yielded action from state stakeholders. Despite the New York 250th
Law’s provisions for creating budget lines with an implied intention of supporting local efforts and continuous
verbal encouragement to advance these local arrangements, the county-level planning groups have received no
form of actual direction or promises of funding. The resulting vacuum is currently undermining these planning
groups, threatening to dismantle existing commissions and blocking the establishment of new planning blocs.

A third of the battles fought during the American Revolutionary War occurred in New York. There are 81
historical societies and museums in our state dedicated to the history of the Founding Era. 19 of the most
important sites are owned and operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation under direct state government control. New York has played a pivotal role in the story of America
since the Revolution, with numerous sites, museums, and historical societies, from Seneca Falls to Stonewall,
dedicated to tracing the impact of those events on the subsequent 250 years of American history. There is no
state better equipped to connect the history of the advancement of Civil Rights to the American Revolution as
the Federal Semiquincentennial Act charges us to do. The potential of that history and the apparatus already in
existence to explore it remains unrealized.

The neglect now occurring at the state level will potentially cost New York dearly in years to come, with the
most serious impacts hitting the fields of heritage tourism and education. With so many sites and museums
ready to welcome visitors, our state stands to make millions of dollars from a successful, coordinated, supported
Rev250 commemorative cycle. In an average year, the Hudson River Valley National Heritage area has a $967
million impact on the state economy, supporting nearly ten thousand jobs and contributing $112 million to state
and local tax revenues. During a nationwide commemorative cycle that will draw global attention to New York,
those revenues and job numbers can only increase. In contrast, if the opportunity of this historical anniversary is
ignored, New York will be handing that income to the other 12 original states that have already made
tremendous progress in their planning efforts. This cycle also offers the opportunity to reinvigorate local history
education, a mission that has predominantly been moved onto the shoulders of local historical societies over the
past decades of experimentation with the state education curriculum. Without direction and support from the
state, what hope do these local groups have of expanding their educational reach?

It is not too late for planning efforts to recover and surge forward. We urge the executive branch to take
immediate action by seating a commission with historians of the Revolutionary Era, opening budget lines, and
beginning a serious planning dialogue to deliver the promised strategic plan to your desk at the earliest
opportunity.

Sincerely,

James Skoufis Shelley B. Mayer

Senator, 42nd District Senator, 37th District