Buffalo, NY Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Approval needed
- Public Works Commissioner + Council resolution
- Applies to
- City-owned statues and monuments
- Public art set-aside
- 1% of budget on projects at/above $1M
- Selection body
- 5-11 member Art in Public Places Committee
- Art program effective date
- September 1, 1999 (§ 409-9)
Summary
No City-owned statue or monument in Buffalo can be removed, relocated, or installed without sign-off from both the Commissioner of Public Works and the Common Council, under City Code § 409-1. Once the Council passes a resolution, the Commissioner carries out whatever the Council directs. The same chapter separately funds new public art on large capital projects.
No statue or monument owned, possessed or controlled by the City may be removed, relocated or installed without first obtaining the permission of the Commissioner of Public Works and the Common Council. Upon passage of a resolution of the Common Council, the Commissioner of Public Works shall remove, relocate or install such statues or monuments as the Council may direct.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 409, Statues and Monuments; Public Art, opens with Article I's single section, § 409-1, derived from Sec. 349-A of Chapter VI of the 1974 Charter and Ordinances, meaning the removal-approval mechanism predates the modern monument-removal debate by decades. Article II, the Art in Public Places Program, was adopted separately on July 27, 1999, effective August 9, 1999, and takes a different approach: it requires that any capital improvement project, including multiphase projects at a single site, with a budgeted construction and design cost of $1,000,000 or more, set aside an amount equal to 1% of that budget for planning, designing, constructing, repairing, and maintaining works of art, per § 409-3A.
The Department of Public Works must notify the Executive Director of the Arts Commission once a qualifying project is identified, per § 409-3B. An ad hoc Art in Public Places Committee of not less than five and not more than 11 members, appointed by the Buffalo Arts Commission and made up of professionals in art, architecture, art history, or art conservation who are not sellers of public art, selects and places the artwork for each project under § 409-6. The Common Council can waive the 1% requirement by resolution under § 409-4 if a project isn't suited to it, and finished works can be placed on or about any capital project or other City-owned, -leased, or -rented property, temporarily or permanently, under § 409-8.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 409 does not set its own fine for an unauthorized statue or monument removal, so a violation of § 409-1's approval requirement falls back on the citywide general penalty at § 1-15: a fine or penalty of not more than $1,500, imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both, with each day a violation continues potentially counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can approve removing a City-owned statue in Buffalo?
Does Buffalo require public art funding on city construction projects?
Who chooses the art for a Buffalo capital project?
Can the 1% public art requirement be waived?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Buffalo
New York rules heatmap·Compare Buffalo to another location·View the New York historic preservation overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.