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Greene Co. demolishes historic jail building

Nov 19, 2020 6:00 am
Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the historic Greene County Jail building, located on Bridge Street in Catskill, is no more. Built in 1908, the structure was listed on state and national historic registries. It was closed as a jail facility in April 2018, after county officials acquired a report stating the building was structurally compromised. It has now been demolished. Razing the facility is bittersweet, Legislature Chairman Patrick Linger said. “It’s bitter for some, it’s sweet for others,” he said. “When we did the cost comparison to rehab the building, it was $3 million more than to demo and do a rebuild. So...this was by far the more fiscally responsible plan to take. But there’s a lot of history there and we’re making room now to move forward.” Meg Nowack, of Historic Catskill, said the demolition is a loss for the community. “I feel as if it was a really integral part of the grouping that sits on the corner — the courthouse, the jail, the sheriff’s office, the library and the banks were all built in the early 1900s,” she said. “It formed this great grouping that’s really important for the historic district and now this large section is going to be gone and replaced by this parking lot. That’s nothing Catskill can benefit from.” Nowack described the demolition as a historic moment. “It’s just a sad moment for Catskill,” she said. Cairo Legislator William Lawrence said, “It’s one of those things that needed to be done. I know there are people who object to the sheriff’s office coming down. The only thing that might have been salvageable is the appearance on the outside. The buildings were no value to the county or to county residents.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.
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