No Demolition Permit Yet: All Parties
Continue Pursuing Solutions for Manor Inn
by Judy Silberstein
(
November 23, 2002) As of this week, the future of the
Manor Inn continues to be up in the air.
The owners of the inn, the three nyberg sisters, are
continuing to pursue a multi-prong approach. They have
obtained variances needed to subdivide the property.
They are amassing documents needed to obtain a demolition
permit from the Planning Commission. And they are continuing
to appear before the Commission, most recently on November
19.
At the same time, they are entertaining offers from
prospective buyers, though they have twice rejected
proposals from the Manor Inn Steering Committee, the
community group seeking to preserve the Inn and operate
it as independent senior housing.
Mary Lee Berridge:
"We have an inch of hope. Hope never
dies."
November 19, 2002
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Meanwhile, the Steering Committee
is pursuing its own multi-part strategy. Active
member Fred Baron explained, “We are still
soliciting pledges, and they continue to come
in.” They have returned the actual checks
collected from approximately one hundred individuals,
but have retained pledges from the donors in case
the owners accept a future offer. “We are
still looking to put together a proposal that
both sides can agree on,” said Baron. |
The group made an initial offer in March, and another
about six weeks ago. Though the owners did not accept
either offer, “They were very genuine in their
receptivity to listening to us,” said Mary Lee
Berridge, one of the original members of the Steering
Committee.
And the group continues to reach out for assistance.
At the last Village Board meeting on November 19, a
group of senior citizens and Steering Committee members
praised the Board for its past support and pleaded for
additional aid. Mary McDonald who has lived in the Town
for forty years asked, “Please help us all you
can.”
Earlier this year, the Board passed a resolution in
favor of preserving the Inn, but decided against any
financial contribution after receiving a flood of communication
from proponents and opponents of the concept.
This Monday, Mayor Ken Bialo offered his appreciation
for the hard work of the Steering Committee, but was
stumped for how the Board could help. He asked the group
for ideas and said, “I kind of came up blank.”
No concrete proposals emerged, but later Mary Lee Berridge
summed up the situation. “The owners have said
to us, ‘Certainly, keep the door open.' And that
is the way we will be until the building actually starts
going down.”
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