County Says “Nay” to Horses on Tilly Foster Anytime Soon
As animals begin to return to Tilly Foster Farm going forward, horses are the one set of animals that noticeably will be missing.
During a July 15 Physical Services Committee meeting, the issue of if and when horses should return to the Southeast farm was raised by a handful of residents. Pointing toward Tilly Foster as an historical horse farm and a way to raise revenue, concerned residents called on the county to take the initiative to bring the animals back. But the county executive administration and legislature said now was not the time to consider horses, citing other priorities take precedent.
County resident Katherine Dwyer, who used to board her horse on the farm, said it was “appropriate” to have a horse boarding business at the farm. She said much of the Lower Hudson Valley is a “huge horse corridor” and a large sum of money is spent on horse boarding around the region each year.
Another county resident Thomas Maxson wrote a letter to county officials and said the past horse boarding operation generated a substantial amount of money. Between 2009-2012, Maxson said about $263,000 was made as a result of the horse boarding. He also added it went well with the historical aspect of the Tilly Foster.
During the meeting, legislators on the committee weren’t welcoming to the idea at this juncture, but didn’t close out the idea all together.
Physical Services Committee chairman Carl Albano said, “Horses have never been ruled out here.”
“If somebody comes to us that can make this work financially, it would be a great idea,” Albano said. “Nobody’s against that.”
Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra wasn’t as amicable to the idea of horses on the farm because it only serves certain residents and visitors with horses and is not as open to the general public.
“It’s a club,” she said. “If you put a horse boarding facility there, it’s for a select few.”
Legislator Ginny Nacerino added the county is focused on the infrastructure of the farm, and it’s not prepared to have horses on the farm yet.
Deputy County Executive Bruce Walker, who has led the revitalization of Tilly Foster, said multiple and smaller farm animals are returning to the farm. So far, the farm had chickens delivered last week and one turkey that has been there. Some of the animals Walker said could come to the farm include pigs, goats, sheep, and other animals that are low maintenance and good with little children, though nothing is finalized.
He also said the facilities, as they are today, are not suitable for horse boarding. Going forward though, the county would eventually examine the possibility of bringing horses back down the road. He said he had heard from some residents that they weren’t happy with the boarding operation when it was on the farm because they felt “excluded.”
When a boarding operation was on the farm, Walker said the boarding business was essentially using the farm on the backs of taxpayers and making money that was going toward the business and not back to the county.
“There’s a very, very small minority of people who are jumping up and down,” Walker said. “And we are not moving because of a small minority, meaning a handful of people want horses on that property.”
“It’s unfortunate there’s a lot of negative energy around this because we are trying to do the right thing,” Walker added.
