Muscoot Farm in Somers was renamed Alfred B. DelBello Farm Park during a ceremony Sept. 22 at the 777-acre property in Somers.
Dee DelBello, widow of former County Executive Alfred B. DelBello, was joined by her son, Dr. Damon DelBello, County Executive Robert Astorino and a host of dignitaries, family and friends as the official name change took place.
“Al was so very, very proud of this accomplishment,” said Dee DelBello, the publisher of Westfair Communications in White Plains. “He wanted inner-city people to come up close to the animals, to really experience the farms and produce and everything that agriculture means to our history in this county.”
“Dedicating Muscoot in Alfred DelBello”™s memory is fitting on many levels,” Astorino said. “Al had the vision to develop this magnificent property into a fun destination that would help generations of Westchester families and regional visitors to appreciate the history and place of agriculture in the county.”
The farm was acquired by the county in 1968, but it was DelBello who pushed to rehabilitate and preserve it as a county park with a strong agricultural and educational component. DelBello opened the park to the public in 1975 and dedicated it in 1976.
