(This is in response to Danielle Herbert Guggenheim’s point of view on the National Society of Colonial Dames of New York’s stewardship of the Van Cortlandt House.)
On behalf of the NSCDNY (National Society of Colonial Dames of New York), I appreciate Mrs. Guggenheim’s candor and welcome the dialogue that we hope will follow. While I do not agree with every point that she makes in her letter, I firmly agree with her sentiment that America is not defined by one type of person or perspective. The Dames’ mission is one of preservation, education, and patriotic Service for ALL Americans, and I hope that comes across in the work that the Dames do.
Community Board 8 members questioned last week whether the stewards at Van Cortlandt House Museum were the right fit for the community. The New York Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames has been critiqued for a “lack of programming” and their membership criteria, which some have argued is exclusionary to people of color.
Now that the Edgehill Church of Spuyten Duyvil on Independence Avenue has begun its transformation into the headquarters for the Kingsbridge Historical Society, the hard part begins.
The Kingsbridge Historical Society was granted a property tax exemption by the New York city finance department with the help of Councilman Eric Dinowitz and his office after previously being issued a hefty tax bill.
In these post-Covid times, many greater Riverdale restaurants are still struggling to meet the bottom line. To help those eateries that have survived, the organizers of Riverdale Restaurant Week are back for an encore.