Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-March 30, 2011 Issue

March 30, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Contract awarded for Darlington Schoolhouse by Frank J. McMahon The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference has awarded Zinno Construction of Vernon a $260,000 contract for the repair and restoration of the exterior and some of the interior of the Darlington Schoolhouse, a historical building jointly owned by the trail conference and the Township of Mahwah. The schoolhouse, which is located on Ramapo Valley Road at Darlington Avenue, will eventually serve as the trail conference’s headquarters. Edward Goodell, executive director of the NYNJTC, advised that the contract with Zinno Construction will cover only a part of the overall restoration project, which is expected to total about $3.1 million. According to Goodell, Zinno Construction’s contract will include the restoration of some outside and inside walls and the installation of a truss to stabilize the building and keep the roof from “pancaking” because the second floor is beginning to deflect outward. The total restoration and adaption of the building and the construction of a two-story addition at the rear of the schoolhouse are contingent upon New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection site plan approval, which Goodell described as “a long, complicated process.” The overall project will include the restoration of the structure and the architectural elements of the building to create a 21st century workplace for the trail conference. The balance of the restoration depends on the success of the fundraising effort by the NYNJTC, which Goodell said will include the local community. The NYNJTC recently held a groundbreaking ceremony at the schoolhouse to mark the beginning of Phase One of the restoration, which will pave the way for the new trail conference headquarters. In attendance were Wolfgang Albrecht, the acting director of the Bergen County Parks Department; John Driscoll, the chairman of the Bergen County Board of Freeholders; Maura DeNicola, the vice chairman of the freeholder board; Mahwah Council President John Roth and Council Members Lisa DiGiulio, John Spiech, and Harry Williams; Barbara Shanley, chair the Mahwah Historic Preservation Commission; Freeholder Robert Hermansen, who is a former Mahwah councilman; members of the New Jersey Historic Trust; and employees of the trail conference. Those in attendance were treated to coffee, bagels, and a tour of the schoolhouse. Roth, who spoke at the ceremony, pointed out that when the schoolhouse was built in 1891 it was known as one of the finest schoolhouses in the state. “I find it very gratifying that, thanks to our friends at the trail conference, the building in its newest phase of development will continue to be used for its original purposes, which were public service and public education, and it will continue to be used by the trail conference for those purposes,” Roth said. “I think it’s a terrific thing.” In November 2007, after a four-year effort, and with support from the Morris Land Conservancy, Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program, the Trail Conference and the township became joint owners of the schoolhouse. Part of the building preservation costs are being covered by matching grants from the Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust Fund and the state’s Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund. In November 2009, the township council approved a plan to build a path from the rear of the schoolhouse through the woods and over a brook to the Continental Soldiers Park parking lot, which will be used for overflow parking on special occasions. Goodell said that path must still be approved by the NJDEP due to the wetlands in that area. The Darlington Schoolhouse was built in the 1880s as a gift to the Mahwah community by Alfred B. Darling and Theodore Havemeyer. Darling, owner of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, established the Valley Farm in the Ramapo Valley in Mahwah in 1872 and he employed scores of workers there. The area around Darling’s farm estate became known as the hamlet of Darlington. Soon thereafter, Darling’s neighbor, Theodore A. Havemeyer, one of the proprietors of the American Sugar Refining Company, forerunner of today’s company that makes (continued on page 19) For That Special Event �� See our website for coupons-�� SPECIALIZING IN: �� 3-16-11 Joan/Janine