Sunday, April 7, 2013

Jackson House safe for 6 months under Fishkill moratorium


Written by Nina Schutzman Poughkeepsie Journal. For more local news, check out the papers website or subscribe to it as I do.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013304040019&gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

FISHKILL — After protests over the possible demolition of the Jackson House, there is now a six-month demolition moratorium on structures that are or may be historic in the village.
“The big question for us is, what happens after six months,” said Alan Strauber, co-chairman of Friends of Jackson House, a community organization that supports reusing the home instead of demolishing it. “We have to be prepared.”
The law, enacted Monday, puts a six-month moratorium on “demolition of and the issuance of demolition permits for structures located within the Village of Fishkill Historic Preservation Overlay Zone or listed on or eligible for listing on the State or National Register of Historic Places.”
Jackson House, built in 1741 by Fishkill resident Evert Swart, was most famously the home of Dutchess County Judge Joseph Jackson, Dutchess County Historian William Tatum said.
It’s on Jackson Street in the Fishkill Village District. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Jackson House is owned by developers Jackson Crossing LLC.
Jackson Crossing representatives could not be reached for comment.
“We’re consulting with members of the community to see what our options are, in the interest of preserving and restoring,” Strauber said. “I think it can be integrated into the modern community. We need the private and public levels working together for financial resources.”
Mayor Jim Miccio said the six months will be used to look into planning and zoning laws in the village code, but he’s not sure what will come after that.
“The language was not specific enough in our original law,” he said. “We have to make sure we don’t violate any owner’s rights, but we also want to maintain some control.”
Miccio said he doesn’t know what the developer’s plans are while the moratorium is in place.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to work with the developer to rehabilitate the house,” he said. “I can’t speak for the board but I don’t think they’d approve demolition without strong evidence that there’s no way to rehabilitate.”
Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518 Twitter:@pojonschutzman
The windows of the historic Jackson House in the Village of Fishkill were boarded up recently.

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