Honors were long overdue, but they couldn’t have arrived on a sunnier day.
On Oct. 15, in the Rose Perennial Garden at historic Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins was presented with a plaque recognizing her efforts to help preserve and restore the iconic estate overlooking the Hudson River.
Over the years, government grants secured through Stewart-Cousins’ support have helped fund transformative projects improving the mansion and its grounds. These include installation of air conditioning in the mansion, a carriage house welcome center and multiple collection storage facilities across the property, all enhancements for visitors and future generations.
Proceedings were led by Lyndhurst’s Executive Director Howard Zar, who opened by praising Stewart-Cousins for her support, particularly for “the type of unglamorous projects that many private funders don’t like to do but are projects completely essential to the health and the expansion of the property.”
Zar credited these investments with helping boost tourism and, just as importantly, making Lyndhurst more accessible to a broader cross-section of the community (what he called equality of visitation).
“We have hosted Central American immigrant children from Abbott House (a local home for troubled youth), garden clubs from Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Irvington and Bedford all coming together to meet each other,” the director said. “Millennials and seniors touring the property because the path upgrades serve both of them equally.” Lyndhurst functions best as an inclusive historic site, he stated, welcoming visitors of all backgrounds.
Zar also highlighted one of the estate’s most significant upgrades: air conditioning. Because the mansion was not designed for summer habitation, rising temperatures have posed growing challenges for both visitors and the historic interiors. “The temperatures have sometimes soared to levels where we were forced to close constantly because it was just too hot,” he recalled, adding that the heat also threatened preservation of the mansion’s interior, with “heat literally cooking paint off the walls.” The new eco-friendly climate control systems protect visitors, protect the collections and protect the mansion.
Zar then turned his focus to the roads, which prior to their recent re-paving had last seen new asphalt in the 1950s. “Depending on how you looked at it, we had either very historic asphalt or a huge historic collection of potholes” punishing automobiles, he quipped. The newly paved roads improve safety and accessibility for drivers while giving the property a much-needed facelift.
As for a list of Stewart-Cousins’ contributions, Zar wasn’t finished yet. The property has also been improved with a new roof for the bowling alley building, he said, public bathrooms, restoration of the mansion’s windows, and major improvements to the Rose Perennial Garden where everyone was gathered. The staff envisioned the space as more than a flowery oasis, as a welcoming sanctuary where non-traditional and immigrant families could feel comfortable, valued and safe.
In his closing remarks, the director presented Stewart-Cousins with a plaque to be installed in the garden, honoring her support for projects that preserve the historic property.
Stewart-Cousins expressed her pleasure with the collaborative spirit of legislators in Westchester politics. “We’re all rowing in the same direction” was how she put it. “[Yet] So many of us do things to make things better, and then we can’t understand when people don’t know what we in government do,” she said.
At a 19th century mansion like Lyndhurst, for example, the public expects A/C and smooth, paved roads. They don’t realize, explained the senator, that it takes forward-looking government leaders working for the people to provide such amenities by funding them.
“At a time like this, we’re making sure that we’re looking at human capital as well as supporting economic growth. Looking at what we can do for people has never been more important. They should know that government can be a force for good,” she said, summarizing the essence of public service. “Spread the word that if we have good government, it’s because good people are reflecting your interests.”
