Cortlandt Town Hall to be Named in Honor of Linda Puglisi
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Rick Pezzullo
She was instrumental in the acquisition of the former elementary school to be used as a town hall, and the move played a pivotal role in her being elected to the seat she held for 30 years. So, it’s only fitting that on Sunday, May 1, in a special ceremony, former Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi will have her name forever etched on Cortlandt Town Hall — becoming the town’s third former supervisor to have a building named in their honor.
“I am extremely honored for this tribute to me,” said Puglisi, who retired at the end of 2021. “This was a great building for us to branch out and consolidate some of our other departments into a town hall. I had a vision that this building would be so great, and it’s really been phenomenal. It really has been a town hall that the community can be proud of.”
As a councilwoman, Puglisi was on the negotiating team to purchase the former Lakeland School District elementary school in 1989. In 1991, residents voted to buy the 30,000-square-foot building in a public referendum. In November 1991, Puglisi was elected supervisor, besting three other candidates, including Supervisor Jack Gaffney, who suffered the brunt of opposition from voters in Croton-on-Hudson, who were unhappy Cortlandt was moving out of the village’s Municipal Building, where it rented space for years.
“We had too many offices all over the place,” Puglisi recalled. “I remember taking a tour through the then closed elementary school and remarking that this lovely and historic former school would be perfect for our town hall purposes. It has been proven over these past 30 years to have been a good decision for our town.”
Current Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker said he thought it was only fitting to bestow the honor on Puglisi since she had the foresight to realize the town hall would serve the needs of the town.
“It was insightful and creative,” Becker said of Puglisi’s first proposal to her board colleagues to pursue the building that was first constructed in the 1930s. “We are pleased to be able to honor her with the naming of the town hall in recognition of her 34 years of dedicated service to our town and community.”
Puglisi is only the second woman to be supervisor in Cortlandt’s history. The first, Muriel Morabito, has the community center on Westbrook Drive named after her. The town’s only swimming pool is named after former Supervisor Charles J. Cook.
“I am so honored and humbled to have our town hall where I worked every day for 30 years have my name on it for now and for generations to come. I am so grateful to Supervisor Becker and the town board,” said Puglisi, whose adult twins, two grandsons and her sister will be enjoying the dedication with her.
The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on May 1. Everyone in the community is invited to attend.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
