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General News: The River Bank Restaurant Builds New Patio
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| A new stone wall lines the patio |
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| Looking out on the village square from the patio |
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| Planning board approved this plan |
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| Village board approved this patio plan |
May 09, 2007
A new patio is being built outside The River Bank restaurant in the center of Cornwall-on-Hudson, a patio surrounded with a handcrafted stone wall and featuring a six-foot fountain in the center. Once finished, diners will be able to enjoy their meals on the patio amid the quaint beauty of the village center with Storm King Mountain towering beyond.
It sounds simple, even elegant, but when local residents saw the construction of the wall, they began asking questions. Neighbors said they knew the planning board had approved public dining at two tables adjacent to the restaurant building, but were not aware of the patio that would extend into the roadway. And at least one neighbor wanted to know why a vacant village-owned lot on River Avenue was being transformed into a parking lot.
Tony Missere, who owns The River Bank restaurant building, says that he has met all the requirements asked of him during more than a year of discussion with the village board of trustees and planning board. “We are living up to our conceptual design,” he says.
During at least three village board meetings in 2006, plans for an outdoor dining platform and a reconfigured sidewalk were discussed, along with a proposal to create additional parking on village property. In April 2006, trustees noted the problem created by insufficient parking in the area. The mayor suggested that improvements to the traffic flow on Maple Avenue Extension should be considered at the same time.
Meanwhile, Missere applied to the village planning board for permission to place two dining tables outside his building, which was approved after a public hearing. The plan to reconfigure the sidewalk for the patio and to build new parking spots was negotiated only with the village board, which is not required to hold a public hearing.
On March 30, 2007, with three days remaining on his term in office, Mayor Moulton called a special meeting to discuss the proposed changes at The River Bank, along with other items.
The first item of business was a Letter of Agreement between the village and Tony Missere that approved his plan to build the patio, with landscaping, and a public parking lot with ten spaces on village land further down River Avenue. With two trustees, Mark Edsall and Rudy Hahn, and Mayor Moulton present, the agreement was approved unanimously.
A month later, the work began on the patio and newly-elected Mayor Joeseph Gross says he started to get calls from residents. “People are concerned about maintaining the character of the village,” Gross says. “The board wants to encourage business, but not to the detriment of residents.”
Phyllis Pryne, a former village trustee who owns property abutting the proposed new parking area, is concerned about the impact of the parking lot but she is also upset about the manner in which the agreement was reached.
“Nobody knows anything,” she says, “It was all very clandestine.” Pryne says that a lot of people are asking questions now and requesting documents from the village and the planning boards.
Village attorney Howard Protter has asked Missere to meet to discuss “an ambiguity” in the agreement signed in March. Concerned residents hope to get some answers at the village board work session next Monday.
Tony Missere would prefer to focus on the positive impact of his work. He talks about the cascading ivy, wrought-iron railing, lamp posts and plantings that will create “a beautiful garden” outside The River Bank. He says his artistic stonewall is perfectly compatible with the stone work around the village bandstand and notes that people have been complimentary of the design.
“You have to give credit to the board of trustees,” he says, “they saw the vision and they believed in it.”
Comments:
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Regarding the River Bank's "patio" and stone wall on Village property, I have a few questions. First, since when is the Mayor plus two trustees considered a quorem? I was under the impression that to bypass the planning and zoning committees required a majority vote from a quorem of the Village trustees. This smacks of "crony-ism" and I,for one, resent it. Secondly, why should we have to look at that stone object, whose beauty and appropriateness are debatable,when it is only going to be used for about four months,tops? Couldn't they have done what restaurants in NYC do when they put up temporary barriers for outside dining in warm weathher? Lastly, I'm curious as to the ownership of the space now walled in by the "patio." Does it forever remain in the control of the Village or does it,after a number of years, become part of the River Bank's eminent domain? Also, why does our Village lawyer need to meet to "clear up a few ambiquities"? Shouldn't that have been part of the process beforehand? Hmmmmm, I've always known that forgiveness is easier to ask for than permission.
It would have been nice to have had these concerns addressed by more than 3 people who then, having voted, went to the River Bank to celebrate with champagne.
posted by maryvance on 05/09/07 at 12:00 AM
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I have seen many of Tony Misare's projects over the years. Cromwell Manor, The home on Main St @ Hazen St, and the Taft estate just to name a few. Mr. Misare has done a great job in the past, and I'm sure this project will too be a shining star for the Village.
posted by skk868nc on 05/15/07 at 12:00 AM
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