Edgehill’s Roof

[ndembowski]

Community Board 8 recently issued a “Statement of Community District Needs and Community Board Budget Requests” for Fiscal Year 2026.  In the document, there is a request to assist the Kingsbridge Historical Society with funding to replace the roof at Edgehill, which is showing signs of failure.  I can’t say I know how that request ended up in the document but I very much appreciate the Community Board’s advocacy.

This week’s issue of the Riverdale Press features an article about the Community Board’s request with more information about the roof situation.  Once the digital version of the article is made available, we will post it here.  I sent in this follow-up to the article as a letter to the Editor:

Letter to the Editor of the Riverdale Press.

Thank you for covering Community Board 8’s request to assist the Kingsbridge Historical Society with restoring its landmark headquarters (“Historic Edgehill Church in Dire Need of Repairs.” in last week’s issue).

I am writing to add some extra context to the article. First, it is worth clarifying that the building is no longer a church (as of December of 2022 when it was acquired by the Kingsbridge Historical Society). We refer to it as “Edgehill” as the Kingsbridge Historical Society has no religious affiliation and all are welcome to our events.

The article also mentioned a grant program for capital projects administered by NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The reporter included that this agency did not receive grant applications from the Kingsbridge Historical Society for 2025 or 2026.  While we were not eligible to apply for the grant in 2025, we intend to apply for 2026 once the agency makes the application available. The Kingsbridge Historical Society has vigorously pursued grants since acquiring the building and we are grateful to have received grants and support from the New York City Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs of NYC, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Victorian Society New York. We have been fortunate to have the support of State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Councilmember Eric Dinowitz.

We will continue to pursue every avenue to preserve our beautiful historic building–even as we continue to run events, exhibits, and walking tours. We deeply appreciate the Community Board’s advocacy and the encouragement we have received from the community.

Regards,

Nick Dembowski

Kingsbridge Historical Society

Executive Director

 

[Thomas Casey]

Nick,   Many Thanks for that perfect response to the article.

Keep up the good work

Tom Casey

[Author]

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