Putnam County, DEP’s Refusal to Save Belden House is Disgraceful
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
There is absolutely no doubt that the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) sheer neglect will result in the demise of Belden House, a peerless 1760 Carpenter Gothic structure.
According to Jim Milgrew, DEP outreach director, the “DEP has no use for it.” Putnam County Legislature Chairman Jonke and Physical Services Committee Chairman Gouldman apparently concur, adopting a hands-off policy and gag order, denying the Friends of Belden time at their Aug. 17 committee meeting to address the issue, making the case that contradicts Chairman Jonke’s assertion that “the legislature has no role.” Further, efforts to engage County Executive Byrne have also been met with studied silence.
DEP’s Good Neighbor policy is a sham, since their much-publicized vow in 2006 to expend $2.9 million (now at least $4.5 million) has been invested not in renovating the Belden House and grounds but in replenishing their budget, now over $1.3 billion. It has permitted a structure, that has been determined by the state Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation that it is eligible for the state and national historic registry, to become an eyesore, not the eye-catching architectural and historical tourist gem visible from Carmel’s heavily traveled Route 6.
Abdication of responsibility for the preservation of this incomparable evidence of our pre- and post-Revolutionary heritage on the part of the DEP and county and town officials is a blot that must be expunged. Join the Friends of Belden and demand that DEP and elected officials open negotiations and begin the rehabilitation that will result in benefits for generations to come.
Ann Fanizzi, Friends of Belden House
Carmel
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