JOHN GREEN HOUSE CELEBRATES 200 YEARS ON NOVEMBER 16 AT NYACK BOAT CLUB

An old Dutch sandstone house crucial to Rockland County’s early days will be celebrated on November 16 at the Nyack Boat Club. The public is invited to participate in this benefit party, which will also be honoring architect/historian/preservationist Win Perry.

The John Green House was built by its namesake in Nyack near the foot of Main Street in 1819 to help carry out his wide-ranging businesses. Captain Green operated sloops that carried a wide variety of goods to and from Nyack, helped build what we know as Route 59, and was chief financier of the area’s first steamship company.

The house was saved from the wrecking ball in 2015 by a group of citizens who were con-cerned about the loss of historic buildings and named themselves the John Green Preservation Coalition. Since then they have taken the first steps in restoring and rehabilitating the building. This includes stabilizing the building, installing a wood shingle roof, and getting both the outer stonework and the interior ready for the next major construction phases.

Win Perry was one of the founders of the Coalition and serves as its president. He is also pres-ident of the Historical Society of the Nyacks, is Village Historian of Upper Nyack, and has been active in various preservation activities, including the restoration of the Edward Hopper House.

Working closely with the Coalition are several members of the Nyack Art Collective. Plans call for the John Green House to have artist studios on the second and third floors and a gallery on the first floor, which would also offer space for a variety of community functions and have dis-plays such as artifacts from the days of John Green.

Grants and donations and volunteer labor have enabled things to move along, and the Novem-ber 16 party is being held to make sure the momentum continues. The one hundred and ten year old Nyack Boat Club, at 59 Gedney Street, is the chosen venue to highlight Captain Green’s ties to the Hudson. The event will run from 4:30 PM to 7 PM. Music will be performed by the popular urban country singer Compton Maddux. Food, wine, and other drinks will be served. A silent auction will be held.

And of course people from the Coalition will be on hand to talk about hopes and plans for the John Green House. Win Perry puts it this way: “John Green was a man of great vision for the future of Nyack and the ability to bring his dreams to reality. We are celebrating the fact that his spirit is alive in the community.”

For more information, go to http://bit.ly/2MH6C4R, and www.johngreenhouse.org.

  history, john green house, Nyack