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Bonacic delivers $150,000 in state grants for three projects

| 12 Feb 2014 | 03:34
    File photo by Roger Gavan A $50,000 state grant secured by state Sen. John Bonacic will be used to improved the parking lot at the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Front Park in Greenwood Lake.
    File photo by Roger Gavan A $50,000 state grant secured by state Sen. John Bonacic will be used to improved the parking lot at the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Front Park in Greenwood Lake.
    File photo by Roger Gavan A second $50,000 state grant secured by state Sen. John Bonacic will be used to replace the bandshell in Stanley Deming Park with a new performance gazebo, restroom building, walkways and lighting.
    File photo by Roger Gavan A second $50,000 state grant secured by state Sen. John Bonacic will be used to replace the bandshell in Stanley Deming Park with a new performance gazebo, restroom building, walkways and lighting.
    This file photo from October 2012 shows Bob Scott, John Kimiecik and Joyce Willis outside the Mapes house on Main Street in the Village of Florida. William H. Seward, secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln, was born on the site. State Sen. John Bonacic announced this week the Village of Florida will receive a $50,000 grant to help in the buildingþÄôs restoration.
    This file photo from October 2012 shows Bob Scott, John Kimiecik and Joyce Willis outside the Mapes house on Main Street in the Village of Florida. William H. Seward, secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln, was born on the site. State Sen. John Bonacic announced this week the Village of Florida will receive a $50,000 grant to help in the buildingþÄôs restoration.

WARWICK — Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Front Park in Greenwood Lake, Stanley Deming Park in the Village of Warwick and the Seward/Mapes Homestead in the Village of Florida will each receive $50,000 in state funding, State Sen. John Bonacic has announced.

The money will come from the Municipal Facilities Capital program. Here's how the money will be used:

Waterfront park
The Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Park, at the beach in the Village of Greenwood Lake, will have an improved parking lot with a permeable substance.

“We are grateful that our efforts to create an environmentally friendly parking service at the park would not have been made possible without the assistance of Senator Bonacic,” Warwick Town Supervisor Michael P. Sweeton said in the senator's press releases announcing the awards.

Stanley Deming Park
The Village of Warwick will use the funds to replace the 1930’s era bandshell in Stanley Deming Park with a new performance gazebo, restroom building, walkways and lighting.

“This project means a great deal to the people of the Village of Warwick," Village Mayor Michael Newhard said. "Stanley Deming Park is one of the most well used and family friendly parks in the Village.

"These funds will be an important catalyst to this major park improvement," the mayor added. We are grateful to Senator Bonacic for his help and for sharing our vision.”

Birthplace of 'Lincoln's Indispensable Man'

The Seward/Mapes Homestead, the location of William Henry Seward’s birth, and a historic piece of the Village of Florida’s heritage, is in need of restoration. According to the project details, the village has requested funding to help meet a shortfall in matching funds for the work.

Seward was secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln and was responsible for, among other things, the purchase of Alaska. He survived an attack on his life the night Lincoln was assassinated.

Village of Florida Mayor James Pawliczek said the grant "will go a long way to restoring the William Henry Seward Homestead.”

The Seward Homestead Restoration Committee formed in 2010 when the property was first purchased by the Town of Warwick and deeded to the Village of Florida.

Now the group meets regularly and coordinates volunteer workers to maintain the Seward property. The committee’s aim this year is to raise an additional $150,000 to further efforts to preserve the site.

“I am pleased to help the Village of Florida restore one of their historic gems, the birthplace of a leading figure in American history," Bonacic said, "and to allow it to continue to be enjoyed by the residents and visitors, alike.”