One of the best things that Albany could have done for Western New York it did last week, when Gov. David A. Paterson came to Buffalo to sign legislation providing tax credits to preserve and rehabilitate historic buildings. The law was a long time coming, but with the bill’s approval, many projects crucial to this region finally may get under way.

Dennis P. Murphy, president of InnVest Lodging Service and owner of The Mansion on Delaware, put it succinctly: “It really puts New York back in the redevelopment game.”

He’s right. The new law provides the kind of economic incentive needed to restore historic structures from homes to office buildings. With it, many regional projects may be able to move head. Among them: the shuttered AM&A’s department store and warehouse in downtown Buffalo; the Kamman Building on Seneca Street in Buffalo; and maybe even the Richardson complex on Forest Avenue or the Central Terminal on Buffalo’s East Side.

More than most cities in New York, Buffalo stands to gain from this law. It has a trove of historic buildings that could benefit from its application. So can many of this city’s historic homes, whose owners will now find restoration more affordable.

The commercial program provides a tax credit of 20 percent of rehabilitation costs up to a maximum of $5 million for substantial rehabilitation of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The residential program is designed for owner-occupied houses listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and provides up to a $50,000 tax credit to cover 20 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs. In either case, structures must be in distressed areas where the median income is at or below 100 percent of the state’s median family income.

Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, was a sponsor of this bill and he deserves special credit for his doggedness in seeing it through to enactment. Buffalo and all of Western New York will reap benefits for years to come because of it.