School District Set on Demolishing Melbourne Farmhouse

The discussion on the fate of the Melbourne Farmhouse continued this week, as some concerned residents asked for help from the town board to speak on their behalf to the Yorktown school district officials about delaying the demolition of what they call a "historic" building.

Town board members drafted a letter which was sent to the owner of the property, the Yorktown Central School District, asking them to consider the community members' request. 

Assistant Superintendent of Business Tom Cole said there is no exact date when the Farmhouse would be demolished, but that he had no further comments. He said he . 

The district plans to demolish the building this summer as part of a $37.6 million bond project on which homeowners voted on in 2006, Tom Cole said. Part of the bond project included a demolition of the Farmhouse at a cost of $200,000. If the district were to renovate it, it would cost $1 million. 

"It's their property, it's their decision," Supervisor Susan Siegel said. 

There has also been some discussion to designate the building as a historic landmark. But first, Siegel said, the town must have a Landmarks Preservation Committee, the members of which had resigned years ago. The committee would then have to talk to the property owner, and finally make a recommendation to board members, before the town can hold a public hearing. 

Alan Strauber, a advocate of preserving the building, said back in March that the New York State Historic Preservation Office has found the farmhouse to be eligible for state and national landmark status, but the owner (or the district) had not given consent. 

It was decided back in 2006 that the Yorktown school district would demolish the Melbourne Farmhouse, located on school property.

Over the last five years, the house, which was once used as the Yorktown central administration building, has asbestos, lead and mold issues. The building is in a poor condition, and not all parts of the building are original as some were added later after a fire in the home, Superintendent of School Ralph Napolitano said. All possibilities of how it could be used or restored have been explored, he said when the issue was last revisited.  

Councilman Jim Martorano said he had gotten a number of email from residents asking board members to step in and help prevent the farmhouse from being demolished. 

The idea of the town buying the building for $1 from the school district was also discussed.

"I got no problem in calling the school district or writing a letter to the school district and asking if they could have another look and we do have some community support," Councilman Nick Bianco said. "But please don’t let us buy it for $1 and spend money we don’t have it."

He said he was in favor of preserving the building, but the town would then have to spend a lot of money on removing the asbestos and fixing it up. 

Board members also discussed whether or not they could declare the house a historic landmark without the school's consent. Bianco said even if the property owner did not want the designation, town board members could still hold a public hearing to decide whether or not the public wants to do that.

"It's one of the few laws where the state allows us to do this," Bianco said. 

However, when a similar issue had come up years ago to designate the Old Stone Church on Route 6, now also known at the Winery at St. George, board members at the time were not able to pass a majority vote authorizing them to do so. Siegel said the board would not support doing something against the school district's decision.

Councilman Jim Martorano said the town should not be able to designate a landmark against the property owner's will.

"The individual owner's rights should be paramount over the right of the municipality," he said. 

Councilman Terrence Murphy also said the school district should revisit the issue before demolishing the farmhouse. Currently the school district is waiting to hear back from New York State. And after speaking to school board members, he was told that the time is running out.

"They pretty much said that they’re in the 11th-and-a-half hour," Murphy said.

At the end of the discussion, Yorktown town board members passed a resolution to address a letter from the town to the Yorktown Central School District concerning its plans to demolish the Melbourne Farmhouse. 

The house belongs to one of Yorktown's most famous and earliest families, the Strang family. Daniel Strang purchased the 53-acres the building rests on in 1728, and his grandson John Hazzard Strang build the home in 1812. Adam Kunz bought the property in the 1950s and sold it to the Yorktown Central School District in 1959. The middle and high schools are now located on the property. 

"I consider the resolution of the town board to address the school board a 'victory,' because the town should carry more weight with the school district than just a small group of concerned individuals," William Primavera, who got directly involved with trying to come up with a different solution for the building.

In addition, he said, Chris Sciarra of CS Construction has volunteered to restore and paint the exterior of the building, and many others were willing to help.

"It confounds and appalls me that the district has let the building deteriorate, perhaps by design, when all it needed was some preventive maintenance," he said.