Muscoot Farm renamed for former County Executive Al DelBello

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.