To Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano
(This letter, dated Dec. 11, 2014, was originally sent to the County Executive back in December without a response. At the writer’s request. the letter is now being printed as an open letter to the editor.)
The Saddle Rock Grist Mill, a historic 18th-century building, owned by the County of Nassau under the authority of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, is in disrepair.
According to Wikipedia, the building “is a historic grist mill building located in Saddle Rock, a village in the town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. It is a two-and-a-half story gambrel-roofed structure. Adjacent is a stream-fed millpond that is supplemented by tidal water impounded by the dam. It dates to the 18th century and is the only extant, operating tidal grist mill on Long Island. The building underwent restoration in the 1950s and is operated as a local history museum.”
In reality, it is closed, has not worked in years, does not operate as a local museum, the signage outside the locked gate suggests that it is closed because of employee illness, suffered Superstorm Sandy damage ([for]which I believe no claim was ever filed), is currently unsafe for public use and is in total disrepair and neglect.
While the Grist Mill is on the United States National Register of Historic Places, the county has demonstrated no plans to maintain this historic 1702 building, once used as a kid-friendly educational place. Now relegated to a neglected historical structure, [it has] little value to Nassau’s historical past.
While I know your administration has financial limitations, I call upon you, as county executive, to put the full force of your office behind saving this national treasure. I understand that there might be grant funds to help restore the Grist Mill.
Charles Schneider, vice president, external relations, Great Neck Historical Society
