In Briarcliff Manor…A Complete Community Center

What started out as a one-floor meeting room has morphed into a testament to dialogue, creativity and thinking “big thoughts.” Briarcliff Manor’s Community Center, when fully completed around Labor Day, will serve more functions than one can count on their fingers. It will accommodate 80 people on its first floor and 110 people on its second.

 

It will use stackable chairs and tables on rollers for easy positioning and repositioning. These chairs and tables can be configured in endless ways for endless uses by mothers and their children, teens, adults and Village officials. There will be two large-screen TV’s, one on each floor, for teaching and broadcasting purposes.

The $1.8M project received grants totaling $200,000. Both State Senator David Carlucci and Assemblywoman Sandy Galef’s efforts were extremely helpful. Friends of the Library raised $500,000 and the Village of Briarcliff bonded $1.1M.  It will continue to house the Historical Society in its basement along with the Recreation Center. Above ground it will connect with Briarcliff’s Public Library, and sliding gates on both floors have been installed to separate the Center from the Library for after-hour events.

The Center will be used as a “heating and cooling” locale depending on the season and depending on power outages within the Village. It will also be used as a relocation center for Village government in cases of emergency. It has full WiFi capabilities and a full kitchen. All the LED lighting can be mixed and matched for intensity and effects. Its generator is more than capable of keeping the lights on, and the building is in ADA compliance.

Dedicated to William J. Vescio, Briarcliff’s former Mayor of many years, the Community Center has been positioned to be a hub of activity for its residents and officials.

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About the Author: Robert Bonvento