On Saturday July 19, at about 12:30 pm, the Kingston Police Department responded to a report of unauthorized construction activity at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Wiltwyck Chapter House, also known as the Sleight-Tappen House, located at 106-122 Green Street in the heart of the Stockade Historic District.
Local resident and historic preservation professional Marissa Marvelli observed window removal underway without the required permit from the City. Marvelli, familiar with the DAR’s ongoing efforts to replace historic windows at the property, reported the incident to police.
On Saturday, workers with H&J Farms Contracting were observed on-site and left the premises shortly after being confronted. A stop-work notice was issued by the City’s Building Safety Division the following Monday, delayed because the department was closed over the weekend when the un-permitted work took place.
The Sleight-Tappen House, an 18th-century local landmark and contributing resource in the National Register-listed Stockade Historic District, has been the subject of a multi-year controversy involving the DAR’s attempt to replace its historic wood windows.
In 2023, Kingston’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission (HLPC) denied the DAR’s application to replace the windows, citing insufficient evidence that restoration was not viable. An independent contractor hired by the commission later confirmed the windows could be fully restored. Historic preservation practice dictates restoration over replacement of historic features whenever possible.
DAR chapter leaders have continued to pursue replacement, however. Their most recent application and hardship claim were both denied. The group is currently appealing the HLPC’s decision before the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which held a controversial hearing in June that preservation advocates say lacked transparency, expertise, and disclosure of key facts.
On July 10, the ZBA agreed that its June hearing had been improper and accepted the HLPC’s request for a rehearing, which is scheduled for September 11.
This latest episode underscores broader concerns about historic preservation enforcement in Kingston, particularly when landmark laws are circumvented or dismissed. Its rich history and architectural heritage are no small part of the city’s self-image, and a significant generator of economic activity.
Historic preservation is a core part of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s mission. Its other two pillars are education and patriotism. This mission is prominently featured across the organization’s official websites and materials.
Kingston’s Wiltwyck Chapter of the DAR was formed in 1892. Its first regent was Mary Isabella Forsyth, whose family donated Forsyth Park. In 1907, the group purchased the Sleight-Tappen House, located at in the heart of the Stockade District, to serve as its new chapter house.
Local architect Myron Teller planned the rejuvenation of the rundown building as one of his first restoration commissions. (Teller helped inspire Kingston’s preservation culture.)
“Over the subsequent 118 years, the chapter has used the house for meetings and events,” Marvelli wrote in an editorial July 3rd. “They open the house to the public on rare occasions, such as during the biennial reenactments of the 1777 Burning of Kingston. This historic house museum is otherwise inaccessible to the public.”
Photos: The Sleight-Tappen House in early July (courtesy Marissa Marvelli) and the Stop-Work Order posted on front door on Monday, July 21 (photo by Dean Engle of Friends of Historic Kingston).
Source link
