Historic Ithaca, where VAF member Christine O'Malley serves as the preservation services director, received a 2020 New York State Historic Preservation Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Organizational Achievement. The press announcement from Governor Andrew Cuomo recognized their office and other statewide historic preservation advocacy organizations for rising "to the challenge of programming during a global pandemic and tumultuous political year. Their ingenuity, resilience, and creativity proved that preservation is imperative to quality of life and will be essential in navigating the path to economic recovery."