Nancy Kern reports at Columbia-Greene Media that the Town of Durham is no longer eligible for many grants and other benefits after being decertified over noncompliance with the New York State Historic Preservation Office’s Certified Local Government program. The reason was Durham’s failure to have an active historic commission. On March 4, 2022, three members of the historic commission — Ellen Fried, Ken Mabey and Rosemary O’Brien — resigned in protest over the dismissal of Commission Chair Patrick Ciccone, which has now led to the decertification, since Town Supervisor Shawn Marriott failed to appoint new members to the commission. Ciccone, the fired former commission chair, said, “This is part of a pattern.... While I was serving, Marriott ignored all attempts to meet with the commission, including a critical meeting during the environmental review. He ignored requests from other commission members to comment on my dismissal, ignored all inquiries from the state, and now he is left in the situation where the town is decertified and no longer has access to grants.” Marriott could not be reached for comment, and Deputy Town Supervisor Lisa Cirillo declined to comment. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.