Bloomberg advances preservation legacy on SI

From SI Live:

As expected, the Manor House on Butler Boulevard was demolished, ultimately closing the book on an attempt to save the historic Staten Island building that served as a school for the last 40 years.

The three-story stucco and tile building at 500 Butler Blvd., which operated as the Staten Island Montessori School, was torn down last Thursday, about two months after its sale to a private corporation in Brooklyn owned by Joseph Vitacco.

Vitacco declined comment for a third time last Thursday, the same day the building finally came down in a large cloud of dust that traveled out toward Hylan Boulevard.

Mrs. Kammar-Kerner and others endlessly tried to preserve the structure, and in the last two months, contacted Borough President James P. Molinaro, who was unable to provide help.

The only way to save the building was to landmark it, but that never happened.

The recently demolished building was designed by architects Lamb & Richards, who also designed the Sagamore Hill estate for Theodore Roosevelt.

"What I find unfathomable is that someone can possess something of such great value, in every sense of that word, and destroy it, in complete and utter disregard of the community they are a part of, without even exploring the alternatives," Mrs. Kammar-Kerner said.

"I personally cannot imagine owning a home with such historic value and not acting in a way that would both preserve my interests and those of the community at large," she added.