§ 57.07 — Local historian; appointment; maintenance of historical edifices

New York § 57.07

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ACA: Arts and Cultural Affairs
• Title U: Divisions of History and Public Records

Text

§ 57.07. Local historian; appointment; maintenance of historical\nedifices. 1. A local historian shall be appointed, as provided in this\nsection, for each city, town or village, except that in a city of over\none million inhabitants a local historian shall be appointed for each\nborough therein instead of for the city at large; and a county historian\nmay be appointed for each county. Such historian shall be appointed as\nfollows: For a city, by the mayor; for a borough, by the borough\npresident; for a town, by the supervisor; for a village, by the mayor;\nfor a county, by the board of supervisors. Such historian shall serve\nwithout compensation, unless the governing board of the city, town,\nvillage or county for or in which he or she was appointed or in the city\nof New York, the mayor, shall otherwise provide. In a city having a\nboard of estimate, other than the city of New York, a resolution or\nordinance establishing compensation or salary for such historian shall\nnot take effect without the concurrence of such board. Each local\ngovernment historian shall promote the establishment and improvement of\nprograms for the management and preservation of local government records\nwith enduring value for historical or other research; encourage the\ncoordinated collection and preservation of nongovernmental historical\nrecords by libraries, historical societies, and other repositories; and\ncarry out and actively encourage research in such records in order to\nadd to the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the community's\nhistory. The local authorities of the city, town, village or county for\nwhich such historian is appointed, may provide the historian with\nsufficient space in a safe, vault or other fire proof structure for the\npreservation of historical materials collected. Such local authorities\nand also the board of supervisors of each of the counties of the state\nare hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate, raise by tax and\nexpend moneys for historical purposes within their several\njurisdictions, including historical edifices, the erection of historical\nmarkers and monuments, the collection of war mementos, and, either alone\nor in cooperation with patriotic or historical organizations, the\npreparation and publication of local histories and records and the\nprinting and issuing of other historical materials in aid of the work of\nthe local historian.\n 2. Such local authorities and also the board of supervisors of each of\nthe counties of the state are hereby authorized and empowered, in their\ndiscretion, to contract with the trustees of an historical association\nfor the support of any or all historic edifices situated within the\nboundaries of such municipality; or may share the cost of maintaining\nthe same as agreed with other municipal bodies; or may contract with the\ntrustees of such historical associations to maintain said historic\nedifices for public use under such terms and conditions as may be stated\nin such contract. The amount agreed to be paid for such use under such\ncontract shall be a charge upon the municipality and shall be paid in\nthe same manner as other municipal charges, except in a city having a\nboard of estimate, other than the city of New York, such contracts and\nany payments made thereunder shall be approved by such board of\nestimate. In the city of New York, such contracts and any payments\nthereunder shall be approved by the mayor.\n 3. Such local authorities are hereby authorized to establish and\ncollect reasonable charges to defray the cost of searching for and\nreproducing copies of written or printed historical materials collected.\n