Scarsdale Talks History: What's Worth Preserving?

We all know Scarsdale has a rich history, but how do we define what that "history" is? That was just one of the questions proposed at the first Historic Preservation Committee taskforce meeting this past Wednesday night, which met to discuss the efficacy of historic preservation law, as well as how committee regulations should proceed in the future.

"What I'd like to do today is hear what we believe the 'issue' is," began former mayor Noreen Fisher, who is chair of the taskforce.  She then went on to describe the taskforce's goal, which is to reach some sort of conclusion about Scarsdale's historic preservation law by September or October.

Historic Preservation Committee member George Hahn then brought up the case of 189 Heathcote Road, a Tudor house that was being vacated by its owner.  Next-door neighbors wanted to buy the house and demolish it to plant a garden, so they appealed to the Committee, who refused to grant demolition.

"It was a remarkable example of Tudor architecture from the 1920s," said Hahn.  But the neighbors took their case to the Board of Architectural Review for appeal, where the Historic Preservation Committee's decision was reversed, much to Hahn's frustration.

"If we couldn't save this one, what house could we save?" he asked.

"It seems to me that this law isn't working so well," said John Bonnano, representative from the Neighborhood Character Committee.  "Lots of people are throwing around money but no houses are getting saved."

According to Bonnano, the last time the Historic Preservation Committee successfully saved a house from demolition was over nineteen years ago, so maybe it's not working all that well. 

But not everybody agreed.  One taskforce member suggested that the failure to save homes does not necessarily mean the law is a failure – it could just mean that those houses were not worth preserving.

A number of questions remained unresolved by the end of the meeting.  How strict should Scarsdale's preservation laws be?  Should they just involve house demolition, or should building maintenance also be enforced?   And how exactly do you define whether a house is or isn't "historic"?  These issues will be tackled by the taskforce over the coming months.

It remains to be seen what the taskforce will decide, but one thing's for sure: there's lots to discuss.