Citizens' Group Starts Fund to Preserve Kemper Park

by Judy Silberstein

(March 24, 2005) The Citizens Group for the Preservation of the Kemper Memorial Park, which came together last year to support maintaining the park in its present location and configuration, has taken the next step: forming a not-for-profit corporation to help raise funds to help preserve and restore the park. The group is forging ahead, even though the Mamaroneck School Board appears to have dropped plans, at least in this year's budget cycle, to relocate and redesign the park to make room for adding a ball field at the high school campus. (See: Kemper Funds Out/New Teachers In: School Tax to Rise 7.53%) Final papers have yet to be filed, but NY Supreme Court Justice Orazio Bellantoni ruled on January 6, 2005 that the district could not proceed with its plans. (See Judge Rules: Kemper Park Changes Prohibited.)

According to Jan Northrup, president of the newly incorporated Kemper Memorial Park Preservation Fund, Inc., the fund is not affiliated with the Kemper family that donated the park.and filed the suit to block the district’s plan. Instead, she said, the fund “is committed to representing the entire community that is comprised by the Town of Mamaroneck and the Villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck.” Board members reside in each of the three municipalities and in all four of the elementary school districts.

“We envision this being a community project where the school district does its part of maintenance and local clubs get involved and the three municipal governments participate,” said Ms. Northrup. She mentioned the possibility of adding more granite benches, planting annual and perennial flowers and shrubs, and perhaps adding more plantings behind the memorial to provide better separation from the parking lot.

“The group will be hopefully working hand and glove with the school district to decide how to keep up the park,” said Mark Schumer, one of the directors and the treasurer of the fund. At this point, though they have not sat down with the district to discuss future relationships. He said the group had already raised some funds, but “we could use a heckuva lot more donations.”

In addition to preserving the park, the group listed its purposes as:

• educating the community about the historical significance of the park;
  
  
• helping with “planning and administration of the annual Memorial Day ceremonies,”
  
  
• encouraging the school district to “fulfill its contractual obligation to maintain the Park,”
  
  
• preventing the park “from being used as an athletic field, parking lot, or for any other purpose that would detract from the quiet, contemplative space originally envisioned by the donors,”
  
  
• and raising funds to support these activities.

The other directors include: Village of Larchmont resident Susan Amlicke, Town of Mamaroneck resident Peter Lepre, Village of Mamaroneck resident and World War II veteran Tony Marsella, and Mamaroneck High School Social Studies teacher Mary Cronin. The group has put together a timeline entitled "The Richard Kemper Park: How it Came To Be." (See: Timeline)

Backing for the fledgling organization comes from the commanders of the local veterans organizations, including Edward Murray of American Legion Post 90 in the Village of Mamaroneck, John Thompson of the American Legion Post 347 in Larchmont and Eugene Barto of the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1156 in the Town of Mamaroneck. The group also has support from the local historical society presidents - Barbara R. Newman in Larchmont and Leo A. Spinelli in Mamaroneck.

The corporation is welcoming both volunteer help and contributions: contact Jan Northrup at 834-5757 or Susan Amlicke at 834-6299. To make monetary contributions: make checks payable to the Kemper Memorial Park Preservation Fund, Inc. or KMPPF and mail to Mark Schumer at 3 Highland Rd. Larchmont, N.Y. 10538. (Application for charitable recognition is pending and is expected to be granted retroactive to October 8, 2004. )

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