Celebration of The Bard Act
Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Bard Act and Salute to New Yorkers Active in Preservation from the 1950s
Honorees Included: Arnold Bergier Giorgio, Cavaglieri, Doris Diether, Margot Gayle, Carol Greitzer, Huyler Held, Nancy Pearsall, Otis Pratt Pearsall, Jan Pokorny, Henry Hope Reed, Whitney North Seymour, Jr., Claire Tankel, Edward S. Reid, Edwards Rullman
The Bard Act: Working on the assumption that aesthetic control of private property in the interest of the community is a legal exercise of the public power, Albert S. Bard drafted the bill that on April 2, 1956 was signed into law. What we now know as the Bard Act is actually an amendment to the general city law. It reads: "To provide for places, buildings, structures, works of art and other objects having a special character, or special historical or aesthetic interest or value, special conditions or regulations for their protection, enhancement, perpetuation or use -- which may include appropriate and reasonable control of the use or appearance of neighboring private property within public view, or both. In any such instance, such measures -- adopted in the exercise of the police power -- shall be reasonable and appropriate to the persons; or, if constituting a taking of private property, shall provide for due compensation, which may include the limitation or remission of taxes." The Bard Act provided localities across New York State the authority they needed to pass local laws to protect their landmarks.