C&S, other CNY firms on new NYS historic business preservation registry

Salina–based C&S Companies is part of the newly launched New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry. 

The online registry was established to honor and promote New York businesses that have been in operation for at least 50 years and have contributed to their communities’ history. The first round of designations includes 100 businesses across the state.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) on March 30 announced the launch of the registry. 

An elected state official must sponsor nominations to the registry, C&S Companies said in its May 9 announcement. New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter (D–Syracuse) submitted C&S’s nomination, the firm added. 

“We appreciate Assemblywoman Hunter and her staff for nominating C&S as a New York State Historic Business,” John Trimble, president and CEO of C&S Companies, said. “Although we now operate across the U.S., considering we were founded in New York State and continue to be locally owned, makes this recognition very special.”

C&S Companies, established in 1968 by engineers Emanuel (Mike) Calocerinos and Frank Spina, began as a general partnership in Liverpool, per a description on the registry’s website. In its news release, C&S Companies describes itself as a design, planning, and construction-services firm employing more than 500 staff members.

Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and State Senator Jose Serrano first proposed the preservation registry.

“Many of our state’s homegrown businesses have helped shape the character and identity of the communities that they call home,” OPRHP Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “From small bakeries owned by generations of the same family, and farms dating back to the 1700s, to manufacturers who ship products around the world, these homegrown businesses serve New Yorkers well. With the launch of the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry, we are excited to showcase the businesses, large and small, that are the backbone of our state’s economy.” 

The honorary program provides educational and promotional assistance to help ensure businesses in the state “remain viable.” OPRHP will coordinate the program. 

An interactive storyboard map — which provides information about the location and history of each business — is available on the agency website:  https://parks.ny.gov/historic-preservation/business-registry/default.aspx

Each elected official may nominate two businesses for inclusion per term. The program is non-competitive and as long as the nomination criteria are met, businesses will be added to the registry. 

The sponsor of the nomination will present business owners with certificates, and they’ll also be provided window decals with the program logo.

Any eligible business interested in a nomination for addition to the registry should contact the state representative for their area, OPRHP said.

Other regional firms added

Besides C&S Companies, other regional firms added to the registry include Fulton Boiler Works Inc., which was founded in 1949. 

Registry firms also include Mayhoods’ Sporting Goods in Norwich which was established in 1960. 

And, Empire Recycling Corporation, originally Empire Waste and Metal, made the list. It was founded in Utica in 1916 by Robert, Morton, and Louis Kowalsky.

The Crystal, Watertown’s earliest restaurant, was also added. It has “remained virtually unchanged for nearly a century,” per the registry’s website. The restaurant, which was established by brothers Dennis and Jerry Valanos in 1925, occupies a “prominent spot” on Watertown’s Public Square.

Sessler Companies of Waterloo and Phillip’s Diner of Ogdensburg are also in the registry.