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| Melbourne Farmhouse Yorktown Central School District Administration Building |
The hotly debated and controversial demolition of the Melbourne Farmhouse is now a reality as workers have already begun tearing down the building.
"We understand that there is emotional attachment to this building, but it has sentimental not historical significance," Yorktown school board President Jackie Carbone said in a letter addressed to Supervisor Susan Siegel and released to the media. "We respect that and have tried to honor the sentimental significance and ensure that the building will be remembered."
The school board has asked Thomas Leigh, an architect for Hudson River Architecture, to go through the building and identify decorative period pieces in the building that could be salvaged, she said. Those items include a handrail, two fireplace fronts, two front entry doors with frames and the frame and door to the attic.
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| The metal-roofed rear porch folded in on itself. |
"The reality is that the building is in very poor condition, with sagging floors, severely cracked plaster walls indicative of building settling, as well as dry-rot," Carbone said. "The entire building is racked to one side, off its foundation."
