PARTING GIFT: Larkin’s grant was key to Stony Point town hall renovation

Town leaned on state for renovation of Stony Point’s historic town hall

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C-I, 39^th District) visited with officials from the Town of Stony Point last week to observe infrastructure improvements made to Stony Point Town Hall. A $250,000 grant secured by Senator Larkin in 2016 was used to complete major infrastructure needs that the town had been trying to address for years within its own budget.

Stony Point Councilman Karl Javenes, who helped oversee the project on behalf of the town, told the Rockland County Times the renovation has given the 104-year-old Town Hall building a new lease on life. Passersby will notice that the Town Hall has been repainted. Improvements less visible include a partial roof replacement, siding repairs, gutter replacement, new front doors, exterior lighting, a new HVAC system, windows and insulation.

“These are improvements we have wanted to make for a few years,” Javenes said, noting that the grant allowed the project to get off the ground. Javenes had first compiled a wish list for Town Hall improvements back in 2012, during his first term in office. 

This will be Senator Larkin’s last term in office, after a long and notable career. He is one of the last remaining World War II veterans in the United States to hold elected office.

Town Supervisor Jim Monaghan and Deputy Supervisor Tom Basile, who is running for Larkin’s seat in the state Senate, said the grant was a classy last act by the lawmaker

Monaghan said, “Thanks to Senator Bill Larkin securing significant grant funding we have been able to complete some much-needed improvements to our beautiful and historic Town Hall. Without Senator Larkin’s help local taxpayers would have been looking at a potential tax increase to address these needed improvements that will keep the historic character of the facility while adapting to modern needs.”

Though he is readying for retirement, Larkin said he still has passion for his work. “Helping local municipalities address their infrastructure needs is a top priority now more than ever,” Senator Larkin said, adding “Thanks to the advocacy of Stony Point Deputy Supervisor Tom Basile, Supervisor Jim Monaghan and the rest of the town board we are able to stand here today and see a return on your tax dollars from Albany.”

This funding is part of the State and Municipal Facilities Grant Program (SAM) and is processed by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). Built around 2014, Stony Point’s Town Hall building originally was the home and office of town physician Dr. John Sengstacken. In 1966 the building first became Town Hall, surviving a brush with arson on Sept. 11, 1976 that nearly destroyed the building and all the records inside.

  basile, javenes, larkin, Stony Point, town hall