Van Cortlandt House Museum forms advisory committee amid community concerns

Margaret Holmes and Meredith Horsford attended the CB8 parks and recreation committee meeting to share an updated list of advisory committee members that will be consulted on Van Cortlandt House Museum programming.

File photo

We really are 100 percent behind your work at the house and making it a better place, where everybody can really come together. We support you.”

Debra Travis, CB8 parks and recreation committee chair

The saga between the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of New York and Community Board 8’s parks and recreation committee continued Sept. 25, when the board reconvened for the first time since May and both Meredith Horsford, executive director of the Historic House Trust, and Margaret Holmes, new director of the Van Cortlandt House Museum, were in attendance. 

Previously, the CB8 committee met with Horsford as a representative to discuss the ongoing concerns and plans for the museum moving forward.

In the last meeting, Horsford announced a community advisory group would be assembled to provide a perspective from the public on the operations and planning within the museum. As of September the list includes: New York City Parks Bronx borough commissioner Jessenia Aponte, Bronx borough historian Angel Hernandez, Historic House Trust board member Michael Goldblum, executive director of the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corp. Laura Levine-Pinedo, Former Van Cortlandt House Museum manager Gabrielle Perez-Hernandez, director of Loving the Bronx Nilka Martell, Kingsbridge Historical Society president Nick Dembowski, director of Bronx County Historical Society Steven Payne, Holmes and Horsford.

The museum is waiting for the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance to add someone to the advisory committee, but Horsford said the committee will never be full, rather something that “ebbs and flows.” 

The advisory committee is scheduled to meet for the first time in October and in attendance will be a hired facilitator to keep the conversation on track while an official goal for the committee is established. 

CB8’s discussion with the Dames and the Van Cortlandt House Museum dates back to November 2023, when the committee first raised concerns over the Dames’ management of the museum, and continued into February, when a letter was sent from the parks and rec committee to the Dames repeating concerns and asking a representative to attend a meeting, and left off in the May meeting, when Horsford attended to advise CB8 on the updates from within the museum.

At the September meeting, Debra Travis, parks and recreation committee chair, inquired about funding for the museum and how much the Dames contribute to the programming. 

“We think the house has enormous potential and it’s not being tapped,” Travis said. 

Holmes assured the committee the Dames have contributed significantly to the financial needs of the institution, and the programming she and her team have mapped out for the next year is “fully supported” by the Dames.

How much money the Dames will and have supplied the museum was not shared, but Horsford and Holmes said, when the 990 forms for the year are released, they will be forwarded to the committee. 

When Travis asked about the museum’s programming, Holmes said, in the last four months since she was hired as director, she has added more than 15 events to the calendar for the public, including making an effort to publicize events in Spanish.

In the last few months, the museum has partnered with Linc NYC, an organization that combats childhood illiteracy, to host several reading events for young children and will continue their partnership by hosting workshops for parents to provide them with resources. 

The next question from Travis was about the museum’s involvement with schools and how many schools they’ve managed to have tour the facility.

Holmes said there are already a number of schools booked from the spring for tours of the museum, as well as a handful for the month of October but, because school has only just begun, the fall is often a period of settling down rather than field trips. Bronx public schools are offered free tours at the museum for the time being. 

Holmes said she also intends to spend the next few months reaching out to school administrations, not only to advertise the museum’s offerings but also to seek feedback on programs the school would want to see. 

Currently, the fence around the museum is being repaired, which has raised other concerns regarding the visibility of the museum. Horsford and Holmes anticipate the fence repair lasting another 18 months before it’s complete but, after its completion, they plan to use the fence for banners, helping to increase visibility. 

Travis said she knows most of the people selected for the museum’s new advisory committee and trusts their perspectives and outlook on the needs of the museum and the desires of the public. She said she also was excited to hear about the future events planned for the remainder of the year, like the candlelight tours the museum plans to host for the holidays on Saturday, Dec. 14, and Saturday, Dec. 21. 

“We really are 100 percent behind your work at the house and making it a better place, where everybody can really come together. We support you,” Travis said.