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This affords both structures greater protection from demolition because anyone who wants to take the structures down would need town permission.
Both the house and the Dutch barn, located on South Little Tor Road in New City, date back to the late 1700s. In 2006, the Cropseys, longtime farmers, sold the barn and 24 acres of land to Rockland County (61 percent) and Town the Clarkstown (39 percent).
The land was sold as open space, but has been leased to the Rockland Farm Alliance, which farms the land and runs a CSA. The RFA uses the barn, but is not responsible for its financial upkeep or maintenance. The Cropseys, now in their eighties, were given a life estate to remain in the historic house.
The fate of the Crospey barn came to light several months ago when preservationists were told by county officials the barn would be torn down and replaced with a new $1 million barn. Preservationists, along with the Cropseys, raised their objections, arguing this barn is one of the few remaining Dutch barns, which deserved to be saved.
The barn is in poor condition. Earlier this year the county hired Brooker Engineering of Suffern to evaluate the barn. The recently issued report says the barn is severely in need of urgent repairs. In the meantime, county officials have told the RFA that the barn is too unsafe for them to use.
"The barn needs to be fixed," said Town Supervisor-elect George Hoehmann. "The barn is an historically-significant structure, and ideally we need to make it accessible to everyone in the town and county. It's a public asset."
The Rockland County Historic Preservation Board, meanwhile, is also seeking to have both the house and the barn listed on state and federal historic registries. They plan to vote on that before the new year. Getting a nomination would make the structures eligible for state and federal funding.
"Our goal is to restore the barn," said County Executive Ed Day. "We are heartened to see that the Town of Clarkstown took action. Now we may have to revisit how the barn is maintained, and find a new course of action going forward."
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