Letchworth Village, once synonymous with the infamous scandal-ridden Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, has long fought to erase a similar stigma.
Elegant buildings constructed with Pennsylvania stone, arched windows and unobstructed views paint a picture of a lovely suburban development. Built in the early 1900s, the town has worked to have some positive light shed on the property”™s progress.
“When this place was built, Rockland was really the country,” Stony Point Town Supervisor William Sherwood said. “Just take a look at these buildings and the care and concern that went into planning this community. It had a farm. and for many years was a success and a place where the residents worked.”
Then, Sherwood said, Letchworth Village was sued for having the disabled work in the fields, which produced most of the community”™s own food.
“It also had a stable and was a self-sufficient community,” said the former judge who has been Stony Point”™s supervisor for a year. “But the lawsuit was won and Letchworth Village was mandated to pay the workers. It couldn”™t afford to do it, so eventually, it became a human warehouse, just like Willowbrook, sharing the same ugly notoriety and was eventually closed down and the residents placed in private home communities.”
Letchworth Village”™s elegant buildings and property was bought by the town in the 1990s. To date, the municipality has built a 200-acre golf course named Patriot Hills and an adjoining catering and dining facility. “Our 18-hole golf course is listed among the top 20 in the United States. We”™re doing our best to remake this place,” Sherwood said.
Some of the property has been bought by Camp Venture, which built a therapeutic riding center for the clients who use its services. “When it was discovered that horseback riding helped mentally disabled people and gave them a sense of connectivity, it has become popular to try to provide the service.”
Another building fronting the main road is being refurbished by the town, with the upstairs nearly completed and geared toward the town”™s youth population, with a new basketball court and other amenities.
“The first floor has a bowling alley, an auditorium with a stage and a projection booth. The town intends to keep and use Kirkbride Hall for a new senior center as well as build on the community center.”
Letchworth Village is also home to Rockland”™s Cornell Cooperative Extension, which will soon be moving to Rockland County Community College”™s campus. The Sheriff”™s Department is looking at Letchworth Village”™s former stables for use for its horses next to Camp Venture”™s riding center. “They are in good shape and need some cosmetic work, but will work out fine,” Sherwood said.
The remaining 22 acres of buildings and property are waiting for a buyer or buyers.
“It”™s a beautiful property and we are open to all offers,” Sherwood said. “The property is not zoned so we have flexibility. We”™d just like to see it be used. Whether someone wanted to buy all of it or part of it, we”™re negotiable. Some of the buildings are truly beautiful. Others just need to be taken down. But for the most part, they were really crafted with care and thought. If they can be turned into apartments or if someone wants to look at it for office space or a combination of residential and commercial, we are ready to work with a prospective buyer.”
One thing irks Sherwood, as it does many other residents in Stony Point. “We”™ve tried for years to get the Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission to change the name on the sign on the Palisades Parkway ”“ Letchworth Village is literally a half mile from the entrance. But we haven”™t had any luck. The name has a stigma attached to it, and we”™d like to remove it. We know times are tough for the state, but changing that name would also help change some attitudes and help de-stigmatize this property.”
Sherwood said Stony Point is working to keep its tax base down, although the North Rockland area was hit particularly hard when the Mirant power plant was reassessed. Stony Point shares a school district with the town of Haverstraw, North Rockland. “We don”™t know if Bowline, Mirant”™s other plant, is looking for a reassessment, but we”™ll deal with it.
Sherwood, a Republican, is excited about the new administration. “We all have high hopes for Andrew Cuomo. The state needs fixing, and I think he”™s really bringing the message to the people and to the lawmakers up in Albany. We do need tax relief desperately. We also need ratable. We”™ve been working with Steve Porath of the Rockland Economic Development Corporation. He”™s working gratis with our town”™s planning board to help get this property back on the tax rolls. The time”™s right for investment, with prices and mortgages so low. We just hope an interested buyer will come along and see the potential and that the state creates incentives for investors.”
