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Preservation Award Winners, 1991-2023

Preservation

Rockland County Executive's Historic Preservation Merit Award Winners, 1997-2023*

Margaret B. and John R. Zehner Award for contributions to the county's history and for underscoring the value of historic preservation to the community:


  • 1997   Claire K. Tholl (1926-1995), Historic Architect (posthumous award)
  • 1998   Marianne Leese, Historical Society of Rockland County
  • 1999   Nash Castro, Executive Director, Palisades Interstate Park Commission (Ret.)
  • 2000   Betty Hedges, President, Rockland County Conservation Association
  • 2001   Alice M. Haagensen (1900-2006), Local Historian, Palisades
  • 2002   Paul Melone (1912-2008), Tappan
  • 2003   Carole Morrill (1932-2002), Preservationist, Historian, and Teacher (posthumous award)
  • 2004   Richard J. Koke (1917-2008), Historian
  • 2005   Nancy Cacioppo, Staff Writer, Journal News
  • 2007   Robert P. Knight, Town Historian, Clarkstown
  • 2008   Thomas F.X. Casey (1935-2009), Rockland County Historian and HSRC
  • 2010   Craig H. Long, Municipal Historian
  • 2011   Travis E. Jackson, Ed.D., Educator and Historian
  • 2013   Firth Haring Fabend, Author and Historian
  • 2014    J. Herbert Dahm, Historian and Preservationist, West Nyack
  • 2015   Maria Nakazawa, Preservationist, Valley Cottage
  • 2016   Corinne McGeorge, Hudson Valley Exhibits Inc.
  • 2017   Alice Gerard, Author and Historian
  • 2018  Edward J. Lenik, Archaeologist and Author
  • 2019   Virginia Norfleet, Preservationist

Preservation Leadership for individuals, groups, and government agencies that display outstanding leadership or continuing contribution to the preservation of historic resources in Rockland County:


  • 1991   Dorothy Mellet (1920-2009), Blauvelt, and Town of Stony Point
  • 1992   George B. Turrell (1952-2011); Historical Review Board, Town of Clarkstown; and Tappantown Historical Society 
  • 1993   Roger Pellegrini, Supervisor, Town of Orangetown, for taking a lead in preserving historic buildings in Orangetown; Spring Valley Water Company and River Vale Realty for preserving the sandstone Michael Salyer and Teaberry Port houses [Note: Sadly, Teaberry Port was demolished in 2012]
  • 1994   Arthur H. Gunther III for helping to preserve Rocklanders’ heritage through his “Column Rule” column in the Journal News; Danforth W. Toan (1918-2013), Architect, for working tirelessly for almost thirty years on the Orangetown Historic Review Board
  • 1995   S. Hazard Gillespie (1910-2011) for his work toward creating the Tappan Zee Scenic District
  • 1996   Don Loprieno, Facility Manger, Stony Point Battlefield Historic Site, for his work in renovating the Stony Point Lighthouse and its Fresnel lens; Rosemary Aiello (1935-2013), Potter and Ceramic Artist, for her innovative and creative programs for schoolchildren inspired by her interest in the Haverstraw brickyards
  • 1997   Friends of the Nyacks for their community garden, playground, and park projects and generally for raising awareness of the historic attributes of Nyack; John Scott (1916-2005) for his work as Senior Historian of the Historical Society of Rockland County and his inauguration of the Historical Marker Program; the Village of Montebello for its adaptive use of the Stanley Mores-Greene home as its Village Hall, as well as its retention of stone walls in the village and preservation of Indian Rock
  • 1998   Citizens of the Town of Stony Point for their support of public acquisition of Letchworth Village property in Stony Point; the Mount Moor Cemetery Association for its preservaton of the oldest African American burial ground in Rockland County, in West Nyack
  • 1999   Scenic Hudson Inc. and the West Branch Conservation Association for their acquisition of the High Tor Vineyards to protect the High Tor ridge line from development
  • 2000   Bear Mountain State Park, Palisades Interstate Park Commission (Carol Ash, Executive Director), for long-term efforts to preserve parkland and open space in Rockland County; Eugebe Kuykendall (1929-2001), President, Sloatsburg Historical Society, and Ron Anagnostis, Principal, Sloatsburg Elementary School, for outstanding local history programs for fourth-grade classes; Steven M. Hurley, Supervisor, Town of Stony Point, for collaborating with the Open Space Institute to save Washington’s Lookout; Thom Kleiner, Supervisor, Town of Orangetown, for appointing a municipal Historic District Sign Committee
  • 2001   C. Scott Vanderhoef, Rockland County Executive, for his long-term support of local history and creation of the Rockland County Board for Historic Preservation
  • 2002   Eugene L. Kuykendall (1929-2001), Sloatsburg, and Robert Burghardt (1926-2002), Thiells (posthumous awards)
  • 2003   Charles Holbrook, Supervisor, Town of Clarkstown for acquiring land on West Hook Mountain to protect the ridge line and for its adoptoin in January 2002 of a historic road preservation law; Geoffrey Welch, Hillburn, for his historic and environmental preservation work in the Ramapo River Valley; Jack Focht for his work in creating and managing the Trailside Museums and Zoo at Bear Mountain State Park
  • 2004   Margaret English (1912-2003) for her restoration of houses throughout Rockland County; Winston C. Perry Jr. for his efforts to create and promote the Long Path and other regional hiking trails as historic resources
  • 2005   Robert Goldberg, Friends of the Nyacks and Historical Society of the Nyacks, for his work in coordinating the Armchair Walking Tour series of historical talks
  • 2006  The Genealogical Society of Rockland County for its twenty years of effort in preserving genealogical resources and making them available to the public
  • 2007   Christopher St. Lawrence, Supervisor, Town of Ramapo, for his Visionary Open Space Program that mandates protection or preservation of historically and culturally significant properties that are endangeed
  • 2008   Peter J. Scheibner, Rockland County Archivist
  • 2011   Jeffrey S. Oppenheim, MD, Mayor of Montebello
  • 2012   Jeffrie Lane, Architect
  • 2013   Chuck Stead, Environmental Educator and Storyteller
  • 2014   Kathy and Harold Jones for their stewardship of the DeWint House in Tappan
  • 2015   Brian Jennings for pioneering the application of digital technology to the local history collections at the Nyack and New City public libraries, allowing Rocklanders and others to more readily acccess important and growing sources of local history.
  • 2016   Friends of Harmony Hall, Sloatsburg, and John Green Preservation Coalition, Nyack
  • 2017   The Hon. George Hoehmann, Supervisor, Town of Clarkstown
  • 2018   Marie Monteagudo, Historian, Village of Chestnut Ridge
  • 2019   Virginia and John Wall, West Nyack
  • 2023   Haverstraw Brick Museum, Haverstraw

Preservation/Restoration for the maintenance of the historic form, appearance and materials of a property or the accurate recovery of the form or details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period of time by removing non-historic modifications or replacing or reproducing missing earlier work:



  • 1991   Grace Episcopal Church for restoring its Gothic Revival church complex in Nyack; Jerry and Barbara Conques, owners, for preserving the Edward Salyer House, Pearl River; Debra and Steven Preston, owners, for restoring the Egyptian House/Temple of Luxor, Wesley Hills; Peter Strasser, Strasser and Associates, for restoring the Osborn Barn, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
  • 1993   Julia and Charles Grudzinskas, owners, for restoring Glenholme, Nyack; the Piermont Commercial Corporation, Piermont Residential Corporation, and Thomas Arkin and Irene S. Blanchard for preserving the Piermont Flywheel
  • 1994   Reverend James L. Johnson, Pastor, for preserving the Tappan Reformed Church; Sylvia Roth, owner, for preserving the Joseph Cornell House, South Nyack; William and Sue Walther, owners, for preserving the Trenchard House, Palisades
  • 1995   First Reformed Church of Nyack for restoring the Clock Tower, Nyack; Jeffrey and Lynne Sandhaus, owners, for restoring the Big House, Snedens Landing; John and Allison McVeigh for restoring the Sickels/Tallman House, Orangeburg; Deborah and Richard Sears for restoring Cliffside, Snedens Landing; Robert E. Meadows, Historic Architect; Stuart Tray, Archaeologist; and Restorations of New York City for restoring the DeWint House/George Washington's Headquarters, Tappan
  • 1996   Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt for preserving the Sacred Heart Building, St. Dominic Convent, Blauvelt; Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York for restoring the DeWint House kitchen, Tappan;  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bollato Jr. for preserving the Sloat House, Sloatsburg; Nyack Library Board of Trustees for preserving the Nyack Library, built in 1903 as a Carnegie library
  • 1997   Dr. Mary Mercer for preserving the Carson McCullers House, South Nyack; Edward Richardson for restoring the Edward Richardson House, Nyack; Melanie and Irwin Kuperberg for restoring the Bogert-Clark-Kuperberg House, Blauvelt; Nancy W. Russell for restoring the Paul-Jones-Schueler House, Congers
  • 1998   David Antony Easton and James Steinmeyer for restoring Balderbrae (Wilderness), the stone garden retreat of Walter Robb and Louise Beebe Wilder, Suffern; Hans and Kathy Landolt for restoring the Valley Cottage; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Geiger for restoring the Blauvelt Amos Homestead, Blauvelt; St. Charles African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Sparkill, for preserving its sanctuary and constructing a splendid wing
  • 1999   Betty and Paul Melone for restoring the D. D. Campell House, Tappan; Charlene Ikelheimer Stern for preserving Eleazar Lord’s Castle, Piermont; Donna and Donald Syko for preserving the Syko Horse and Carriage Barn, Blauvelt; Stanley Czarnicki for restoring the Vervalen House, Tappan; Charles Holbrook, Supervisor, and Charles Connington, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, Town of Clarkstown, for restoring the John J. Post-Sterbenz Barn, Congers; William H. Pindar, Executive Director, for preserving the Gilmor Sloane House, Stony Point
  • 2000   Thomas Mazziotti, owner, for restoring the Hader House, Grand View-on-Hudson; William Elson, owner, for restoring the Guglielmello House, Piermont
  • 2001   Gerard Corbett Family for restoring the Dr. Laird House, Haverstraw; John E. Long, Director, S. W. Johnson Steam Fire Engine Company No. 1, for restoring the LaFrance Button Steam Pumper, Garnerville; Laurie Berube and Henry Grossbard, owners, for restoring the Knapp-Grossbard-Berube House, Piermont; Lester A. Clark, owner, for preserving Boulderberg Manor, Tomkins Cove; Sue Kagan, owner, for restoring the Kagan House, Tappan
  • 2002   First Street Homeowners for restoring and preserving facades on historic First Street, Haverstraw
  • 2003   Leslie Smolen and Rodney Smith, owners, for restoring the Woolsey-Smith House, Snedens Landing;  PJ and Charles Mouquin, owners, for restoring the John Ferdon-Mouqin House, Sparkill
  • 2004   Jeff Croyle, owner, for restoring the Mabie-Croyle House, Tappan; Joseph Maraia and Edward Mistretta, owners, for restoring the Hotel St. George, Nyack; Susan and Gordon Plotkin, owners, for restoring the Plotkin House, South Nyack
  • 2005   Christine and Ken Potter, owners, and Jeffrie Lane, Architect, for restoring the Kill von Beast Miller's Cottage, Valley Cottage; Clare and William Sheridan, owners, Jane Slavin, Architect, and Tom Di Benedetto, Contractor, for restoring the Stebbins House, Tappan
  • 2006   Walter Cain and Paulo Ribiero, owners, and George B. Turrell (1952-2011), Preservation Contractor, for restoring Ferdon Hall, Sparkill
    2007   Ceci Thomas and Michael Davidson, owners, and Claudia and Alan Ruck, previous owners, for preserving the Miller House, Piermont; Grisha Davida, owner, for restoring the 1749 Dutch Colonial house at 352 South Piermont Avenue, Piermont
  • 2008   Heidi and Alan Boucher, owners, for preserving the D. D. Campbell House, Tappan; Jan Degenshein, owner, for restoring 207 South Broadway, Nyack; Pamela and Joseph Printz, owners, for restoring 16 Andre Hill, Tappan2011   Donald Hoover, Pastor, for preserving the Tappan Reformed Church; Mary Cardenas, Director, Orangetown Historical Museum and Archives, for preserving the Salyer House, Pearl River; Charles H. Vezzetti, Superintendent of Highways, for restoring the Bridge Street Bridge, Piermont
  • 2013   Thomas M. Mingone, Capital Management Group, for restoring the Colonial Revival House at 167 East Central Avenue, Pearl River
  • 2014   Heritage of West Nyack for preserving Pye's Corner/Richard's Corner, West Nyack; Suzanne Barclay and Walter Aurell, owners, for restoring the Mabie House, Orangeburg
  • 2015  Eileen and David Feikens, owners, for their restoration of the Demarest House in West Nyack
  • 2017   Village of Upper Nyack, Nyack Joint Fire Commission, Jan Degenshein
  • 2023   Town of Clarkstown, Supervisor George Hoehmann, Stephen Tilly, Architect, for their restoration of the Onderdonck-Talman-Budke House, West Nyack


Rehabilitation (new category in 2017) acknowledges the need to alter or add to a historic property to meet continuing or changing uses while retaining the property's historic character


  • 2017  Joe Brancato and Andrew Horn, Penguin Repertory Theatre, Stony Point
  • 2019  Village of Piermont and Piermont Historical Society, for the Piermont Train Station, Piermont
  • 2019  Paul Walker and Jay Snyder, Bernard Weintraub, and Kier Levesque, for 32 Tallman Avenue, Nyack
  • 2023  Andrew Asgar, CPA, for 125 East Central Avenue, Pearl River (formerly St. Stephen's Episcopal Church)

Continuing Use for well-preserved commercial, industrial, and civic structures still used for original or similar functions that have retained their architectural integrity due to continued and sensitive maintenance:


Adaptive Use for successfully rehabilitating a property to a state of utility through repair or sympathetic alterations that makes an efficient new use possible while preserving those portions or features of the property that are significant to its historical, architectural, and cultural values:


  • 1991  Bertram Cross and Barbara Ito for the English Barn, New City; Maureen and Roger Pellegrini for Haddock's Hall, Piermont
  • 1994  Betty and Paul Melone for The Stable, Tappan
  • 1995  Helen and Andrew Norman for the Dovecote at Niederhurst, Snedens Landing
  • 1997  Orangetown Historical Museum and Archives for the Michael Salyer House, Pearl River
  • 1998  Ann and Frank Vitale for Builson's Meat and Grocery, Tomkins Cove; New York Veterans Administration for Camp Shanks Museum, Orangeburg; 
               Nyack Center, Inc., for the 1839 Presbyterian Church, Nyack
  • 1999  Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York (Harold Jones, Superintendent) for the DeWint Carriage House, Tappan; Richard Riccardino for Malloy's Pharmacy Stony Point
  • 2000  Village of Suffern, Andrew C. Haggerty, Mayor, and Howard Glinsky, Trustee, for the Wells Fargo Depot/Suffern Railroad Museum
  • 2001  Alisa and William M. Stein, owners, for the West Haverstraw Railroad Station; Clarkstown Central School District, Dr. William Heebink, Superintendent, for the Carnochan Mansion, Congers; Karen Acker, owner, and Laurel Robertson, Project Supervisor, for Couch Court, Nyack
  • 2002  Historical Society of the Palisades Interstate Park Region for the Dormitory Wing of St. John's-in-the-Wilderness
  • 2004  Robin Rosenberg, President and Co-Owner, for Rockland Print Works/Garnerville Arts & Industrial Center; Sherry and John K. Greene, owners, for the Allison-Earnest-Greene Barn, Stony Point
  • 2005  Daniel Regan, Developer, for Tappan Grammar School codominiums
  • 2006  Town of Clarkstown, Alex Gromack, Supervisor, and Rebecca Fellerman Lauer, Architect, for the Congers Train Station
  • 2011  North Rockland Central School District, Ileana Eckert, Superintendent, and Benito Herrero, Principal), for Fieldstone Secondary School, Thiells; Town of Orangetown Mighty Midgets Soccer Association for Stone Dairy Barn, Orangeburg
  • 2012  Amy Lehman and Matt Hudson, owners, and Serge Raoul, previous owner, for Village Hall/Hudson House Restaurant, Nyack
  • 2013  Jan Degenshein, Architect, and Open Arms Inc., for Supportive Living Facility for Women, Nyack
  • 2015  Andrea Caccuro and Nelson Diaz for the S. C. Blauvelt House (a.k.a. Casa Hudson), Haverstraw
  • 2016  Richard Sena for 151 Broadway, Haverstraw, and Tappan Library, for Borcher Stable
  • 2017    Lake Tappan Development for the Perry Blauvelt Seth House, now the Club at Pearl River Community Center, Pearl River
  • 2017   Michelle and Joe Natale for the William Felter House, now the Bricktown Inn, Haverstraw
  • 2017   Palisades Community Center for the Palisades School House, now the Palisades Community Center
  • 2019   Michael Bruno, for Valley Rock Inn and Mountain Club, Sloatsburg

Rescue for historic sites or structures rescued from possible demolition and being reclaimed for further use:


  • 1999  Tracy and Ron DeMatteis for Aldente Restaurant/Glenwood Hotel, Sloatsburg
  • 2000  Maria and Hiro Nakazawa for the Knickerbocker Ice Company's Continental Hotel, Rockland Lake
  • 2004  Louse and Stuart Newsome, owners, for Berachach Hall, South Nyack
  • 2006  Eli Josephs, owner, and Jo Machinist, Architect, for the Josephs House, Snedens Landing
  • 2007  Village of Piermont, owner, for the Piermont Train Station, Piermont
  • 2014  Walter Cain and Paulo Ribeiro for the Heitman House, Piermont
  • 2015  Christopher DeGennaro, for the Old Rose Cemetery, Stony Point, with honorable mentions to:
  • Stony Point Boy Scout Troop 61; Town of Stony Point Supervisor and Board (Geoff Finn, Karl Javenes, Tom Basile, James Monahan, Jim White); Sons of the American Revolution-Stony Point Chapter: Barry Brooks, President; Stony Point Historical Society: Susan Filgueras, President; Genealogical Society of Rockland County: Les Baisley and Marie Koestler
  • 2014   Joy and John Macy, for the Bluefield Farm Barn (formerly Blauvelt Amos Barn), Blauvelt

Artisan for craftsmen, such as tinsmiths, masons, carpenters, and finishers, who use traditional materials and methods in the preservation process:


  • 2002   George B. Turrell (1952-2011), AchterCol, for historic barn preservation
  • 2003   Thomas Finsterwald, Orangeburg, stained glass artist and artisan 
  • 2004   Bear Mountain State Park (PIPC) for Bear Mountain Merry-Go-Round and Pavilion

    * Historic Preservation Merit Awards were not given in 2020-2022 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 


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