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A SPECIAL WORD THE TILLY FOSTER THOROUGHBRED FARM The Last of a Breed in Putnam County? By Ann Fanizzi, co-chairman, Putnam County Coalition to Preserve Open Space It was a real-estate advertisement, not a part of the throng of notices that usually crowd Sunday’s New York Times, but held apart, like a possible gem, as befits “Hudson Valley Luxury Country Properties.” That glittering, sleek announcement has since become for me, and for so many other residents of our rural county, emblematic of what Putnam County was fast becoming, no longer where the country begins but where the country used to begin. The county’s historic agrarian property, the thoroughbred horse farm known as Tilly Foster was for sale. Monetary value: $4.35 million, representing 240 acres, five buildings, including main house and caretaker homes, a lodge, an office, a barn, and stalls. Zoning codes: R-60, OP-1, OP-2, and HC-1. Translation: detached one-family dwellings, office parks, hotel, conference centers, storage and light manufacturing, retail centers, and research facilities. Easy to describe these concrete representations of man's prideful handiwork, but where are the dollar values and the zoning codes to describe adequately God's, the supreme designer of a landscape, gently rolling and sloping upward, with a necklace of woods to the rear and meadows for deer, hares, and pheasants and a fast moving stream at its edges as it courses its way to the shimmering Middle Branch reservoir to the south? Or the small pond, the home of playful Canada Geese and goslings, straddling the opposing side of Route 312? And, lastly, the peaceful mares and their lively foals, five this year, nourished on the fields, who by year's end may see other inhabitants: the giant earth movers, now churning the hillsides of Brewster Highlands, not half a mile away, so the new idol of the 21st century, Home Depot, may be enthroned.On that fateful Sunday, a small group of people who, for more than a year, had lobbied the county and their towns to support a bond issue for the preservation of open space, now coalesced into an active coalition, to preserve this symbol of values that proclaim that humankind’s deepest needs are not those calculated on a balance sheet but in stewardship of the earth and its resources. And so, Martin Brech, co-chair of this new group, committed members of the Concerned Residents of Carmel/Mahopac, and Vincent Tamagna, Philipstown legislator, met to fashion a response. Suggestions were elicited to counter the present zoning. Some of the responses included rendering the property as a working farm and educational facility, similar to Westchester’s Muscoot Farm; making the property like the town of Brewster’s Green Chimneys, which serves as a home for challenged young people; having it be the county’s nature education center; or leave it as a thoroughbred farm or horse rescue facility have been among the suggestions. The group then determined that its first priority was to raise citizen awareness. Unknown to the general public, the property had been foreclosed, purchased more than a year previous by Merrill Lynch Asset Recovery Corporation for $3.1 million and now actively publicized in the real estate market, as evidenced by the Robert McCaffrey ad in the Times. A cadre of residents spread throughout the county, distributing flyers, urging that telephone calls be made and letters written to the county and town officials. Newspapers, principally The Journal News, picked up the story, and articles appeared during the months of April and May. The Open Space Institute was contacted for their support, and liaison was established with the Trust for Public Lands (TPL). Limited tours of the property were initiated and members of influential Putnam County environmental organizations, such as Friends of the Great Swamp (FrOGS), the Putnam County Land Trust, as well as CWCWC, were invited. One of the group’s final steps has been taken with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). As stated previously, the stream leading to the Middle Branch reservoir coursed at the rear of the property, and its protection became a particular concern for the coalition. Although the wastewater capacities of the site were limited, as described in the real-estate brochure, the coalition felt that in light of the present zoning and proximity of the stream to the reservoir, even with this mitigating restriction, that efforts should be made to influence a reassessment of its status and to gain some protection for the stream corridor. A meeting was held on April 26 between Gerald Sciabbarrasi, DEP Land Acquisition representative; Don Smith, Deputy County Executive; Martin Brech and myself. As a result, it is hoped that a letter of intent or understanding between the DEP and the county will be drafted based on a thorough inspection of the property and of the stream.
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