Front Wall Restored At Historic John Green House in Nyack

NYACK, NY — The John Green Preservation Coalition is celebrating the completed restoration of the front wall of the John Green House at 23 Main Street in Nyack.

Work on the restoration of the front wall was ongoing from May until early September, funded by a New York State grant of $75,000 plus several thousand dollars of supporter contributions.

An event Wednesday was attended by former New York State Senator-and-now-candidate Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, who had sponsored the coalition's successful application for state funding for this portion of the work.

Robert Chris Sorensen, vice president of the John Green Preservation Coalition, talked to Patch about the project.

Patch: What is the Preservation Coalition preserving and why?

Sorensen: The John Green Preservation Coalition was founded in 2015 to restore the John Green house in Nyack, New York, the only remaining Dutch sandstone house in the village built around 1800.

Patch: How did the coalition get together?

Sorensen: The house had fallen into disrepair and was threatened with demolition, and the Coalition was able to gain ownership of the property. In the ensuing years, volunteers worked to remove deteriorated components of the interior. Heavy wooden support beams and a new, period-correct cedar shingle roof were installed in 2017 with a Community Benefit Grant from the Thruway Authority in connection with construction of the new Mario M. Cuomo/Tappan Zee bridge.

Since then, the coalition has continued to look for new sources of support.

At the end of 2022, we learned we would receive a $75,000 CREST grant from New York State, and these funds have paid most of the costs for the restored front wall of the John Green House.that we are celebrating. We have also received a grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution of just over $8,000, which we must match, to pay for new windows and a door on the restored front of the house.

Patch: What are you all working toward?

Sorensen: While the primary goal of the Coalition was to save the John Green house, and its future use remains undetermined, the hope has been that the house would be used as some kind of public space in the village of Nyack such as a gallery or a small lecture hall.

Patch: What's the next step?

Sorensen: Our next step is the restoration of the west wall of the building. We are thrilled to have received a grant of $175,000, from a donor who chooses to remain anonymous, towards this undertaking and the other two walls of the house. We still need to raise funds, but our hope is to finish the restoration of the exterior walls by the end of 2024.