That’s the question that Sam Hoyt thinks is key to saving the late-1920s waterfront building. Right now, the answer depends on which branch of state government you’re asking. Eric Durr, the Public Relations Director for DMNA, told Artvoice that it wasn’t historic, and he had a letter from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)—the same folks Hoyt approached for a determination—proving it. The letter, written by SHPO Director Ruth Pierpont to the NYS Office of General Services (OGS), seems to refer to the CPO Club demolition when it says, “it is the SHPO’s opinion that your project will have No Effect upon cultural resources in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.” There’s a catch, though. The project referred to at the top of the letter (posted online at AV Daily) is the “Buffalo Yacht Club & Garage Demolition” at “3 Porter Ave.” The CPO Club (5 Porter Avenue) is next door to the Buffalo Yacht Club (1 Porter Avenue), and no 3 Porter Avenue exists. When I pointed out these inconsistencies to Durr, he replied that DMNA’s Engineering department had affirmed that the letter referenced the CPO Club. “The Parks and Rec guys called it the wrong thing in their letter,” Durr said. When I asked SHPO’s gun-shy head of the regional National Register & Survey Unit, Daniel McEneny, he made it clear that the letter does not reference the CPO Club. “We’re reevaluating the building, so we have 30 days to comment on that.”