Clarkstown Gets 500K to Restore Homes

The Town of Clarkstown was the pleased recipient of two New York State grants of $250,000 apiece last week, with the money earmarked for the restoration of the historic Vanderbilt/Budke and Traphagen Houses on Germonds Road in West Nyack.

Presenting the grants at a ceremony at the site of the two structures were Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, Jr. and State Senator David Carlucci, both of who represent Clarkstown in the state legislature. Town Supervisor George Hoehmann, several council members and a bevy of other town officials were the happy recipient.

According to Hoehmann, the money will be used primarily to restore the 1728 Dutch sandstone home known as the Vanderbilt/Budke House for two of its early occupants. It is thought to be the oldest standing structure in Clarkstown, and the second oldest house in all of Rockland County, following the 1700 DeWint House in Tappan.

Some of the money may also be used to assist in restoring the 1820 Traphagen House next door on the same site. Following the brief ceremonies announcing the grants, some 30 spectators were given interior and exterior tours of both homes by Town Historian Robert Knight along with officials of Heritage of West Nyack and the Rockland County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which is currently carrying out the restoration as a community service project.

“We’re excited about the historic elements of Clarkstown history that these houses will be able to tell us,” Hoehmann noted in his opening remarks at the ceremony.