Letter to the Editor: The Croft May Already Have Been Sold

The sale of The Croft is currently being advertised on the website of a Cincinnati-based company called ResErections that claims to specialize in the moving of large masonry structures. Scrolling down on their website, one can see that they have “been asked to ReLocate this building now” and have cut and pasted in lot of the material from Teatown’s announcement including a link to Teatown’s video:http://www.reserections.com/ They estimate the cost of the move will be $2.5 million.

Scrolling further down one finds information that The Croft will be moved by its “owner” to a new site in Maryland (see attached image). What gives credence to this statement is that a Maryland buyer also was mentioned in the recent NYT article. This news is upsetting as Teatown gave its word at a recent Yorktown Town Board meeting that no deals have been made and all proposals will be considered.

Needless to say, the type of work done by this company is not endorsed by the preservation community as they remove buildings from their original context and by their own admission the re-erected buildings are too compromised to qualify for historic designation. According to their website they laser scan the exterior before removing the outer skin and demolishing the rest. Although many images are provided of buildings being taken down, images of any reconstructed structures are conspicuously absent.

It is very sad to think that an important part of our area’s history might be treated in this manner.

J-F de Lapérouse

Chair, Yorktown Landmark Preservation Commission