Debating the Future of Guinan's

Vocal Garrison turnout influences planning board

Guinan's as it appears today, boarded up and vacant.

The fate of No. 7 Garrison's Landing, which for almost 50 years had been home to Guinan's Country Store and Pub, remains up in the air after the Philipstown Planning Board balked at approving plans that would have seen the threestory building converted to offices and one apartment. The March 19, 2009, meeting at the VFW Hall in Cold Spr ing featured numerous emotional requests that the board reject the plans in favor of the establishment of a café or pub. Those opposed to the plan offered poignant anecdotes and impassioned pleas , but did not di scus s details about the financial viability of running a pub at the Landing.

Speakers included Wall Street Journal columnist Wendy Bounds and Garrison resident Mary Ellen Yannitelli. Yannitelli's plan to run a café at the site was rejected by the landlord, Garrison Station Plaza, Inc., on the grounds that it was not financially viable. In her brief remarks, Yannitelli questioned whether No. 7 was on the National Register of Historic Places. Notably, this was the first time this question had arisen. It turns out that Garrison's Landing is on the register; it is not known if buildings within that area receive the same protections as individuallylisted buildings. PCN&R's call to the National Registry had not been returned as of press time.

It was the proposed change of use of the building that triggered the Planning Board's review of the plans. The question about the building's historic status also seemed to play a role in the board' s decision to keep the public hearing open.

Badey and Watson Engineering presented site plan drawings describing the proposed changes. Architect Jeff Wilkinson indicated that the building would be renovated both structurally and cos- metically but that the "footprint" would remain the same. Interior renovations would include a makeover of the existing upper level apartment, creation of office space on the lower levels, and the addi t ion of a smal l porch at the back of the building. The exterior stucco would be replaced by fiber-cement siding that would give the appearance of wooden siding.

Wi lkinson descr ibed the renovations as a "green project" that would include down-pointed exterior lighting, a geothermal heating and cooling system and a stateof the art septic system. The building would also be raised slightly in order to bring it above the one in one hundred year flood line.

When Planning Board chairman Anthony Merante asked for comments from the public there was a parade of presentat ions by Phi l ips town residents. More than a dozen residents spoke against the project. Merante also read aloud two letters from area residents who opposed the conversion to offices. No one other than the proponents offered comments in support of the proposal.

Garrison resident Dan Donnelly was the first to speak and his comments summed up what most of the presenters would have to say as the meeting went on. He said that the effects of the proposed project on the community "are going to be very dramatic" and it was clear that he did not see the effects as positive. Donnelly named "a number of constituencies in the community that this building has served," that he said will not be served by the proposed use. His voice shook with emotion as he listed groups who in the past had frequented Guinan's— morning commuters who he said sought shelter, coffee, and newspapers as they waited for the train; a small lunch crowd that in summer often included children from the Garrison Art Center; the after work crowd when "all professions would mix."

He also listed Garrison Yacht Club members, West Point cadets, and visitors from out of town as frequent patrons. Donnelly also commented that there were numerous times when someone would get off the t rain at Garrison with no money and in need of a ride to Graymoor or the Walter Hoving home—rides that he said were often provided by patrons at Guinan's. "That is community impact," Donnelly said. "Please consider it. It is much more important than parking spaces," he concluded, referring to an earlier discussion regarding how the parking would be handled at the site.

The other speakers echoed Donne l ly' s vi ew tha t the bui lding should serve and benefit the community. A copy of a petition bearing more than one thousand signatures, most of which were gathered in just a few days, was presented to the planning board, urging that a café or similar community-centered store be established in the building.

Hank Osborn, who serves on the boards of both the Garrison's Landing Association and Garrison Station Plaza said that he had been "unable to convince the board that the proposed use was wrong." Speaking as a resident and not as a member of either board, he urged the planning board to deny the change of use.

At times, comments became sharp-edged. When one resident implied that the Garrison Station Plaza board had lied regarding the historic significance of the building the planning board chairman cut him off and admonished him that such characterizations would not be allowed. Garrison resident Andrew Ford commented that s ince the building had closed the property had not been maintained and "looks like a dump." He complained bitterly that with the recent closing of The Garrison Market local residents now "have to drive to Cold Spring just to get a coffee. There has to be a place to buy a paper and a coffee," he said.

When Yannitelli indicated that the building is 160 years old and, thus, a possible historic site, planning board member Mike Gibbons asked Yannitelli, "Is the building on the National Register of Historic Places?" When she replied with an emphatic "Yes" planning board chairman Merante said, "This should have been pointed out ." Phi l ipstown's planner Ron Ganer indicated that the SEQRA review of the proposal could be called into question if the building is in fact on the national register. Plans also call for relocating the front door of the bui lding—a change that would not be permi t - ted in a building designated under the register. A search of the National Register of Historic Places website by the PCN&R determined that Garrison's Landing as a whole is listed, but with no mention of specific buildings.

Wendy Bounds, author of Little Chapel on the River, the book that relates the story of Guinan family and their country store, suggested that there may be room for compromise, expressing the view that there is enough room in the three story building for office space, an apartment and a café. "Everyone could get what they want…if there is compromise," she said.

Town of Philipstown deputy supervisor Richard Shea was in the audience and was asked to comment on the proposal. He explained that the drafting of the Town's Comprehensive Plan had been a "five-year listening tour" in which the community helped determine its content. The plan's goals and strategies "preserving the town's historic character and st ructures; creat ing smal l - scale mixed-use village-type centers where local businesses can locate and thr ive and strengthening a town-wide sense of community." In the end Shea summed up his comments by saying, "We (the Town) support the comprehensive plan."

Planning Board member Mike Gibbons had heard enough. "As a res ident of Garrison and member of the planning board, I implor e you to bring back something that meets the comprehensive plan. One thousand plus signatures (on the petition) indicate that it was a viable little community. The place is deserted now. You are missing a golden opportunity to make it into something unique. We lost Dockside and we still lament that," Gibbons said.

Fellow planning board member Ker ry Meehan agreed. "With this outpouring from the community, I urge you to consider what is going on here tonight. There should be something down there that the community wants. Somewhere to congregate for a sandwich and a beer. I couldn't support this change of use," he said.

In the end the planning board did not accept the proposal as presented.