An Inner-Village Garden Transformed

The biggest question remaining to be seen when the opened on Cortlandt Street was: will the people come? I returned today to 160 Cortlandt and asked if residents targeted for soil remediation on properties surrounding the former battery plant in Sleepy Hollow have been responding to the letters mailed out.

The answer I got from both the guys at the office (who directed me to PR for an official statement) and Sleepy Hollow Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio was yes, very much. The process is going along as planned, Giaccio said, however slowly.

Before signing off on work, much preliminary negotiation is required with each and every property owner, company officials, the DEC, the village, arborists. Some landlords who live elsewhere are harder to track down, Giaccio said, but overall, it's going. People aren't required to get this work done, he said, but they are for the most part cooperating.

Meanwhile, the garden alongside the office has been transformed – as if almost overnight – it took about 4-5 days to create a little garden oasis with flowering plants, shrubs and small trees showing what's possible for people on their property. A big improvement to the sad lot that was surrounded by barbed wired there before.

Regular office hours have now been established: Mondays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for walk-ins or by appointment. Call toll free 877-410-8412 or check out the project website for updates: formermallorybatteryfactory.com. There's also an updated PDF on the latest remediation measures as of June 2012 attached here.

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