Rende Vows to Quickly Raise North Castle Eagle to its Perch
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North Castle’s new supervisor vowed last week that the 40-foot-wide eagle, the unofficial symbol of the town, will soon be restored to its longtime perch overlooking routes 22 and 128 once new poles and lights have been installed.
Supervisor Joseph Rende said the town is in the midst of forming an ad-hoc committee to ensure that the project gets done. Two new poles and lighting will have to be in place before the aluminum eagle can be raised again.
“We’re going to make sure we get that eagle up sooner than later because it’s something that actually gives us all a sense of pride when we enter our town, so it’s really important,” Rende said.
The committee will also weigh the offers of two local businessmen, developer Michael Fareri, who told the Town Board last month that he would like to help the town re-erect the symbol, and Giulio Monaco, a town resident who is the owner of Verde Electric in Mount Vernon.
A town police officer noticed that the eagle had fallen to the ground while on patrol at about 6:25 a.m. on Dec. 11. Two days later police issued a statement saying that they believed the incident was suspicious.
Sgt. Kevin Finateri of the North Castle Police Department said investigators still believe there was foul play involved. However, law enforcement has not yet found a suspect. Police said they have appealed to the public through social media but have so far been unsuccessful in finding a culprit.
Shortly after its discovery, police collected physical evidence at the scene and are continuing their investigation.
“We feel like it was an intentional act that right now we don’t have a timeline nailed down because it’s a very broad timeline, and we don’t have anything to really go on,” Finateri said.
The eagle was erected in time for the nation’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976.
Although a Rye Brook resident growing up, Rende said he attended the original eagle’s unveiling because his father traveled around Westchester to take in the different events communities had scheduled for the Bicentennial.
That first eagle was made of wood. It was painted and repaired in the early 1990s, after it was damaged by vandals.
Then the wood sign was replaced about 10 years ago with the current aluminum eagle.
Rende said it sustained minimal damage when it crashed to the ground last month. It will be put back up when the support system is ready to accept the eagle, he said.
“So I think once we get the new poles in place it’s going to be a pretty quick operation to get the eagle replaced and rehung there and then getting some new lighting on it,” Rende said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/