Land gift overload: Donated properties too costly to maintain
- The long%2C rich history of county parkland
- Historic houses are budget busters
- Troubled history with Miller House%2C Merestead
Just about anyone who lives — and pays taxes — in Westchester has come to appreciate the fantastically rich and varied parks system owned and maintained by the county. Some 18,000 acres of prime real estate — from Willson's Woods in Mount Vernon up to Blue Mountain in Peekskill, from the shores of Croton Point across to the Read Sanctuary in Rye — have been kept out of the development stream and open to the public for swimming, biking, hiking, sailing and birding nearly every day of the year.
Depending on the economy and the political attitudes of who's in charge, the county has at various times gone on buying sprees to add to the mix. Glen Island Park in New Rochelle and the Bronx River Reservation were added in the 1920s. Ward Pound Ridge in Cross River, the county's largest park at 4,315 acres, was bought in 1938. The county purchased the 777-acre Muscoot Farm in Somers in 1967.
Private donations helped, too. Also in 1967, for example, Zilph Palmer Devereux gave the county parks department 120 acres of her family's land near the Jay Property in Rye to form the beginning of the Marshlands Conservancy. In 1978, Fanny Wickes Parson gave another 17 acres to expand that county park.
Increasingly, though, the county is saying thanks but no thanks to generous benefactors who want to leave their property to the county as parkland. In this era of budget belt-tightening and property owners overwhelmed by the highest taxes in the country, it's simply too expensive to maintain the donated properties, even when the gift includes a multimillion-dollar endowment.
The most recent example is Henriette Suhr, who wanted to leave her richly gardened 13-acre property in Chappaqua, known as Rocky Hills, to the county as a small strolling garden and horticultural center. Again, thanks but no thanks, the county told her late last year: not enough parking, high maintenance costs and too small an endowment.
"Not having it with the county is probably a better thing," says Katie Hite, executive director of the Westchester County Historical Society. "It's not what the county does."
"The property needs a full-time master gardener, and the county is not going to have someone like that on its payroll," she says.
Lessons learned
Perhaps the county has learned wise lessons from two other problem properties on its books: the historic (and falling down) Washington-was-here Miller House in North White Plains and the 40-acre Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, which came with a 30-plus-room mansion in need of lots of work.
"Keeping up a historic property is very expensive," Hite says. "You really have to know what you're doing. No municipality has the resources to do it."
When it comes to donated property, perhaps the Westchester County parks department learned the most about the vagaries of inheriting large properties with valuable old houses from its experience with the 135-acre Merestead estate in Bedford. The estate was deeded to the county in 1982 in a life estate arrangement, and the parks department took over when the last survivor died in 2000. It's been a big headache ever since, and now the county is faced with a multimillion-dollar repair bill to keep the house in working order.
"The house definitely needs work — it's really beginning to show its age," says county Legislator Peter Harckham, D-North Salem. It needs a new roof and windows; water, electric and septic systems; brick pointing; and work to bring it into Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. "That tab could be $5 million." The county board has already approved a $500,000 bond to do the design work in advance of the capital upkeep.
For years, the county has been in negotiations with Copland House to have that Cortlandt-based nonprofit take over parts of Merestead, Harckham says. Regardless of whether a deal is reached with a nonprofit, "we still need to do that work. Those older houses deteriorate very quickly."
In Rockland, these problematic historic properties, donated or acquired, are mostly headaches on the municipal rather than county level. The artist Henry Varnum Poor's stone-and-wood farmhouse on 5.3 acres off South Mountain Road in Ramapo has been in the news of late because of allegations of neglect against the town, which bought the historic property in 2008 to keep it from being town down.
A way forward
Many experts in historic preservation, as well as experienced local officials, say that the best way to maintain and save these historic parks and properties is to form public-private partnerships around the properties. These "friends of" groups raise community interest and much-needed cold cash to pay for educational programs and basic maintenance that municipalities can no longer afford.
There is now a Friends of Westchester County Parks group, and many successful local ones, too: Lasdon Park, Marshlands Conservancy, Muscoot Farm, Rocky Hills and Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary all have such groups.
There is just not enough foot traffic at these sites and parks to generate enough income, says Harckham. "While these properties are incredibly important as historical artifacts, they are quite cost prohibitive."
Adaptive reuse of these historic properties is the way to go, he says. "We want to honor the intent of the gift, while finding a modern use."
Having the county lease the property to a private group while retaining ownership is another good option, says Hite, noting that this has recently been successful at the Jay Heritage Center in Rye.
"I'm hoping something similar will happen with Merestead," Hite says. "What you want is for the county to lease it to somebody who can sustain it. What you're looking for is somebody with the resources to propel it forward."
Beyond public-private partnerships, you need to find a way for these properties to pay their own way, too, Hite says, perhaps as an inn or a bed-and-breakfast with an educational component.
"Most people in the preservation business no longer think that being a museum will save the day," she says. "You need a money-making contribution."
As far as the politics involved, "This is not happening because anybody is venal," Hite emphasizes. "It's happening all over. Everybody needs to work together to solve the problem."
"This (historic preservation) is the easiest thing you can not do when you're looking at your budget," she says. "It's not somebody not caring."
ROCKY HILLS, CHAPPAQUA
Background: In 1956, Henriette Suhr and her husband, Billy, first began to plant a garden around their late-19th-century farmhouse at 95 Old Roaring Brook Road. Over the years, they added thousands of specimen rhododendrons and azaleas, lilacs, peonies and spring-blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils and Virginia bluebells. This year, the garden is celebrating its 20th anniversary as one of the seven original gardens, nationwide, that have opened to the public every year since the 1995 inception of the Garden Conservancy's prestigious Open Days Program.
In 2000, Suhr decided to donate her 13-acre property, which is known as Rocky Hills, to Westchester County, at the request of the then-parks commissioner. Upon her death, it was to become a strolling garden and horticultural education center. The Garden Conservancy acquired a conservation easement on the property, which was to protect it from development, and an agreement was signed by Suhr, the Conservancy and the county. As part of the agreement, Suhr was to provide a $500,000 endowment for the maintenance of the property.
And then the county decided it no longer wanted the property because it didn't have the funds or wherewithal to maintain it. In December, the county's Board of Acquisition and Contract voted unanimously to terminate the agreement.
"This was a terrible blow," Suhr says. "This is what my last 15 years have been all about."
Annual maintenance costs: About $150,000 a year for gardeners, tree work, repairs, water and new plants, Suhr says, most of which she pays herself with some help from the Garden Conservancy and the Friends of Rocky Hills.
Current annual taxes: $39,540.62
Positives: This is one of the best private gardens in Westchester, with nearly 70 varieties of ferns, rare yellow magnolia trees, and thousands of specimen shrubs and trees.
What's next: Suhr, who is 97, is trying very hard to preserve her property as some sort of public garden, with ongoing discussions with various preservation groups.
MERESTEAD, BEDFORD
Background: Dr. Robert Lee Patterson and his wife, Margaret Sloane Patterson, deeded their 130-acre estate on Byram Lake Road to Westchester in 1982. It was a life estate arrangement, with the Pattersons retaining use and occupancy of the fields and forests and the 28-room Georgian Revival mansion, built by Delano & Aldrich in 1906, until the death of the surviving spouse. When Margaret died in 2000, at 90, in the same bed in which she was born, it became a public park.
The Pattersons also included an endowment for maintenance, which was around $8 million before the county took over, according to former parks Commissioner Joe Stout. At the end of last year, the endowment had a balance of $4,142,233.51, according to Dave Cabibbo, fiscal analyst with the county Board of Legislators.
Right from the start, the county didn't quite know what to do with the place. Catalogers totaled up all of the stuff in the house, and appraisers were brought in to evaluate the Pattersons' collection of art, furniture and presidential memorabilia. Walking trails now traverse much of the property.
Of late, Copland House, based in Cortlandt, has been hosting a series of concerts at Merestead.
Maintenance costs: $351,449.39 for year-end 2013, says Dave Cabibbo, fiscal analyst with the county Board of Legislators. The trust gained $567,202.47, so $215,753.06 was returned to the endowment. But keep in mind the $5 million needed in capital upkeep for the house.
Estimated annual taxes if privately owned: $172, 400
Positives: It's a large, open parcel in Bedford with enormous potential.
What's next: Westchester is trying to reach an asset management agreement with Copland House, says Harckham. They would use the main residence for an artist-in-residence program and fix up the outer buildings as composer studios. "The county would maintain the house, take care of the bricks and mortar."
LASDON PARCEL, SOMERS
Background: As the owner of 4 acres of property directly across Route 35 from the entrance to the county-owned Lasdon Park and Arboretum, Stephen Bolnik wanted to leave his land to the county parks department when he died. He thought it would be the perfect way to keep the views of the park open, green and free from development.
Wary of the costs of maintaining three run-down buildings on the site and removing underground storage tanks, the county told him no thanks. Instead, it was suggested he give his land to the Friends of Lasdon Park. Great idea, he thought, but then he died suddenly in 2012 before he could change his will that bequeathed the parcel to the county. Finally, a deal has been reached between the Friends of Lasdon and Bolnik's estate that will put the whole property up for sale, with half of the proceeds going to Bolnik's heirs and the rest to the Friends, which will keep its 2-acre half undeveloped.
Current annual taxes: $14,997
Positives: A 2-acre woodsy parcel fronting Lasdon Park will remain undeveloped. The Friends of Lasdon Park is likely to get several hundred thousand dollars from the sale, which may ultimately help pay for its long-sought conservatory on the grounds of the park. "It's an excellent deal for the park and the Friends of Lasdon," says Michael Katz, president of the Friends. "Fifty-fifty is the best deal we could get."
What's next: Everyone is waiting to see how much money the sale of the property brings in. It's listed for $749,000 with RE/MAX Ace Realty (MLS No. 4418937).
MILLER HOUSE, NORTH WHITE PLAINS
Background: The Miller House, better known as Washington's Headquarters, was built in 1738 and the house anchored a 600-acre farm. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house was a Continental Army headquarters during the Battle of White Plains in 1776, according to historians, and General Washington stayed there.
Westchester County bought the farmhouse in 1917 and it was run as an educational resource first by the Daughters of the American Revolution and then by the county. Tours and activities stopped around 2002 and the house has become severely run-down and has serious structural problems. Preservationists and neighbors have been fighting to have it renovated and reopened. At the same time, a debate has raged over whether it should be moved away from Virginia Road because a concrete plant across the road spews dust onto the property and trucks rumble past.
In 2008 a report said the house was in immediate need of hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. In 2010, the Westchester Board of Legislators authorized $1.3 million in bonds for repairs.
2014 budget: $5,743
Estimated annual taxes if privately owned: $20,971.
Positives: The house has historical value as a living connection to the Revolutionary War and to Colonial living. It also provides many examples of historic building methods.
What's next: A proposal to move the house to a piece of property in North White Plains owned by the Town of North Castle is in doubt and the town's historical community is advocating that it be fixed in place. The North Castle Landmarks Preservation Committee issued an order more than a year ago requiring the county to fix the house but has received no response. Despite having the bonding in place, the county has taken no steps to fix the deteriorating house and officials said they are still in talks with the town. A blue tarp covers the roof.
LENOIR PRESERVE, YONKERS
Background: The Lenoir Mansion was built of locally quarried granite between 1850 and 1870 for future presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The two wings were added around 1907 by C.C. Dula, who named the mansion after Lenoir, North Carolina, where he grew up. Westchester acquired the property in 1976. An adjoining property, known as Ardenwold or the Stillwell Estate, was bought in 1979, for a total of 40 acres off North Broadway in Yonkers.
Today, an old carriage house is used as a Nature Center by the county, with a bird-feeding station and butterfly garden managed by the Hudson River Audubon Society. There are weedy, run-down nature trails through the park, which links to the Old Croton Aqueduct. A few years ago, the county ran a community garden out of the preserve.
The house, which has more than 30 rooms, had been leased to the Yonkers Board of Education for offices and teacher conferences, but they are now out and the building is empty.
"It needs a new roof and interior work as well," says Peter Tartaglia, deputy parks commissioner. "The grounds need work, too."
The mansion has been used for occasional TV, film and fashion shoots. Notable ones include "A Beautiful Mind" starring Russell Crowe and the 84th episode of "Sex and the City."
Maintenance costs: $72,425 budgeted for 2014, according to Dave Cabibbo, fiscal analyst with the county Board of Legislators. "There is also a capital project for a total amount of $5.77 million for various components." That has not been advanced in the legislature.
Estimated annual taxes if privately owned: $116,278
Positives: This is a large parcel in northeast Yonkers, convenient to major highways. It is considered a valuable birding site.
What's next: "We are looking to see if we can come up with some form of a public-private partnership with another group, to use and maintain the park," Tartaglia says.
Staff writers Elizabeth Ganga and David McKay Wilson contributed to this report.
A FEW OTHER PLAYERS
Westchester Land Trust, 403 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, 914-234-6992, www.westchesterlandtrust.org. Founded in 1988, the land trust now has protected land in 28 communities, including 4,872 acres on 179 conservation easements, 641 acres on 26 preserves owned by the land trust, and more than 2,000 acres protected in cooperation with other organizations and municipalities.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C., 202-588-6000, www.preservationnation.org. This national nonprofit works to save and preserve historic sites nationwide. Locally, it owns and operates Lyndhurst, the Gothic Revival mansion and grounds at 635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown, 914-631-4481, lyndhurst.org.
Historic Hudson Valley, 639 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, 914-631-8200, www.hudsonvalley.org. This nonprofit educational group owns and runs several important historical sites, including Washington Irving's Sunnyside, Philipsburg Manor, Montgomery Place, Van Cortlandt Manor, and Union Church of Pocantico Hills.
Hudson Highlands Land Trust, 1180 Route 9D, Garrison, 845-424-3358, www.hhlt.org. Founded in 1989, the land trust owns 39 acres outright, holds conservation easements on 59 properties and has permanently preserved 1,300 acres from development.
Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, 845-424-6500, www.gardenconservancy.org. Since 1989, the conservancy has helped more than 100 exceptional gardens across the country survive and thrive. A select few, including Rocky Hills in Chappaqua, have become ongoing preservation projects.
More online
To see a video of Henriette Suhr talking about her garden, go to lohud.com. Follow Bill Cary's In the Garden blog at gardening.lohudblogs.com. Twitter: @BillCaryNY