FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                            Oct. 31, 2007

PRESERVING COMMUNITY CHARACTER CONFERENCE NOV. 16 IN YONKERS

How can we best identify and preserve the character of our communities?  A conference titled Preserving Community Character will identify the elements of a community that contribute to its character and outline techniques for enhancing the character and preservation of communities.
The conference will be held at the Yonkers Riverfront Public Library on Friday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The conference is open to the public and has a $10 registration fee.

Keynote speakers will be Frank Sanchis, senior vice president of the Municipal Art Society of New York and author of American Architecture: Westchester County, New York, and Stephen Tilly, AIA, principal, Stephen Tilly Architect. There will be breakout sessions on sustainable community criteria (LEED for Neighborhood Development) , gentrification and community character, and tools to preserve historic character and open space.  

Residents, elected officials, members of local historic preservation, land use, or planning boards, architects, planners, preservationists, and local historians should find the conference of particular interest. Conference sponsors include the Westchester County Department of Planning, Westchester County Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, Westchester County Historical Society, Westchester Municipal Planning Federation, American Planning Association New York Metro Chapter, American Planning Association Urban Design and Preservation Subdivision, and American Institute of Architects Westchester Mid-Hudson Chapter.     

To register: make a $10 check out to the Westchester County Historical Society (WCHS) and mail to WCHS, 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523.  For information call WHCS at (914) 592-4323 or e-mail info@westchesterhistory.com.  

Directions: The Yonkers Riverfront Public Library is located at 1 Larkin Plaza, Yonkers, New York.  Take the Saw Mill River Parkway South to Exit 5, Yonkers Avenue – Turn right onto Yonkers Ave., which merges into Nepperhan Ave. – Take Nepperhan Ave. to the end, then turn right onto Buena Vista Ave. – Turn right onto Hudson St. – Turn left into Buena Vista Garage.   --30--