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Entries Tagged as 'museum'

Adirondack Experience Sues to Vacate Village of Lake Placid Effort to Seize Property via Eminent Domain

July 14th, 2017 · No Comments · Adirondack News

BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE, N.Y. – July 14, 2017 – On Thursday, July 13, Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, filed a lawsuit to counter efforts on the part of the Village of Lake Placid to seize its property via eminent domain.

The Church of the Nazarene formerly occupied the Adirondack Experience’s property in Lake Placid

The Church of the Nazarene formerly occupied the Adirondack Experience’s property in Lake Placid

The Village asserts that the two parcels, at 2476 and 2478 Main Street, are need to assemble a site for a proposed parking garage. At a public hearing on the issue held on March 13, 2017 in Lake Placid, members of the public were virtually unanimous in their rejection of the Village board’s proposal to build a garage on the site – and the proposal to use eminent domain to seize the property of a nonprofit institution. Press accounts and social media postings have similarly been harshly critical of the plan. Despite this, the Village Board on June 12 held a special meeting during which it issued a determination and findings that there is a public need for the museum’s property. The board meeting was held following the expiration of the 90-day time within which, by law, the Board was required to issue its determination and findings. The Village also failed to hold a public hearing on the environmental impact of the proposed garage project.

Adirondack Experience is petitioning the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Third Department, to vacate the Village board’s action. The petition is based on both procedural flaws in the legal steps the Village has pursued and on the fact that the Village has failed to demonstrate that there is a need for the public taking of the museum’s property.

Mayor Randall at the June 12 special board meeting that was held to seize the museum’s property.

Mayor Randall at the June 12 special board meeting that was held to seize the museum’s property.

Within days, Adirondack Experience will also file a separate suit against the Town of North Elba to reverse suspicious punitive actions taken by Town Assessor on March 14 in an apparent effort to pressure the museum and support the eminent domain effort. On March 14, the day following the Village’s March 13 eminent domain hearing, the Assessor revoked the museum property’s tax exempt status and slashed the property’s assessed value from $1,188,000 (it had been $1,888,400 in 2010) to a rock bottom $850,000. The $850,000, not coincidentally, reflects the amount the Village would like to pay for the property, which was appraised at $1,500,000 in 2015. The second lawsuit will be filed in Supreme Court against the Town of North Elba and seek to have the Assessor’s punitive action reversed and the tax exemption restored.

David M. Kahn, Adirondack Experience’s Executive Director, said, “The Village of Lake Placid board’s attempt to grab the Adirondack Experience property for pennies on the dollar is unconscionable. They have damaged the value of the museum’s assets by attempting to manipulate its apparent value though the slight-of-hand reduction of its assessed value. We are confident that the courts will give the museum a fair hearing and put an end to this unprecedented assault on a nonprofit organization.”

About Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake

Visitors at the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake

Visitors at the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake

The Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, accredited by the American Association of Museums, shares the history and culture of the Adirondack region in 24 historic and contemporary buildings on a 121-acre campus in the Central Adirondacks, and in free programs at schools throughout Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington Counties. The museum is supported in part with donations from the general public, with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo York State Council on the Arts
with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. For additional information, call 518-352-7311 or visit www.theADKX.org.

Petition to Annul Condemnor’s Determination (PDF)

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Rare French & Indian War Musket Donated to Fort Ticonderoga

April 8th, 2013 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Ticonderoga, NY – Through the keen eye of a museum supporter and generosity of an important donor, a rare British musket that may have seen use at Fort Ticonderoga has recently joined the museum’s collection enabling Fort Ticonderoga to more completely interpret the site’s remarkable history.
Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga’s Curator of Collections, Christopher Fox said “The donation of this Wilson musket fills an important and long-standing gap in the collection. It is a type we know was used by troops who served at the Fort. It is also an important reminder of the struggles armies sometimes faced in arming their troops in wartime and the great diversity of arms that found their way into military service as a result.”
Wilson Musket, Fort Ticonderoga Museum Collection.

The Wilson musket will be placed on exhibit this season in the museum’s highly acclaimed exhibit Bullets & Blades: The Weapons of America’s Colonial Wars and Revolution. The exhibit, featuring over 150 weapons, tells the story of the use of military and civilian weapons in America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Fort Ticonderoga’s collection of 18th-century military objects is celebrated as one of the best of its type in the world.

During the French & Indian War, the London gun maker Richard Wilson produced muskets to arm the militias of several American colonies including New York, New Jersey, probably Massachusetts. Though they bear similarities to muskets produced for the British army, the weapons produced by Richard Wilson are not “army” muskets, they are “commercial” or “contract” muskets.” Their brass parts, stocks, and barrels resemble British army guns, but are simpler and lighter overall. Of the estimated 4,000 contract weapons that may have been produced by Wilson, only a handful has survived through today.

The potential connection with Fort Ticonderoga’s history stretches back to the British army’s planned invasion of Canada and the disastrous attack on the French lines on July 8, 1758. As British General James Abercromby was preparing his 17,000-man army, he had considerable difficulty obtaining enough weapons to arm his troops. Among the weapons he was eventually able to acquire were 1,000 muskets owned by the City of New York. These weapons had originally been purchased by the city from Richard Wilson in 1755. While it is not known with absolute certainty, it is thought that at least some of those weapons were issued to New York Provincial troops. Many of those troops took part in the battle before the French lines on July 8. It is known, however, that many of Wilson’s muskets were used at Ticonderoga as numerous brass pieces of these guns have been recovered on the site during various periods of reconstruction.

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Presidents Week at The Wild Center

February 5th, 2013 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Wild Center LogoTupper Lake, NY – Don’t miss Presidents Week at The Wild Center, February 17th – February 24th as we celebrate the season with a week of wintery Adirondack fun. Everyday there is a new winter theme and activities for the whole family to enjoy. In addition to special daily winter programming there will be guided snowshoe walks, live animal encounters, and warm winter beverages. For more information, visit The WILD Center – Events.

Saturday, February 16th
Join us for opening day of Winter Week as we celebrate winter in the Adirondacks! Get outside and try your hand at snowshoeing with one of our naturalists. Or stay inside to learn about winter adventuring and to meet some of our Adirondack animals, whose adaptations allow them to cope with the harsh Adirondack winters in intriguing ways.

Sunday, February 17th
Noon theater program and 2:00 pm walk
Animal Tracking with Vince Walsh

Join Vince Walsh for a day on animal tracking and signs to learn how you can see, identify and interpret the natural world of the Adirondacks. Vince will share his experience and insight through multiple public programs starting with a 12:00 pm theater presentation on winter and its influences on animal behavior. Then bring your tracking questions, pictures and stories to Vince as he puzzles over your tracking experiences and discoveries. Don’t forget to bring some warm clothes so at 2:00 pm you can head outside to practice your tracking skills and use all your senses to see what evidence of animals you can find in the Adirondack forest. Snowshoes will be provided free with admission.

Monday, February 18th – 1:00 pm
Wild about Winter

Join naturalist and entertainer Rob Carr for a wild theater program about Adirondack animals in the winter. Filled with stories, humor, puppets and LOTS of live animals, it is guaranteed to please visitors of all ages.

Tuesday, February 19th – 1:00 pm
Winter Birds of the Adirondacks

Where have all the birdies gone? While it might seem like all our birds fly south when the weather gets chilly, there are plenty that stick around and tough out the Adirondack winters. Meet LIVE Adirondack birds in our theater at 1:00 pm for a fascinating program about birds and their winter adaptations. Follow up with a 2:00 pm bird walk along our trails, looking for signs of these tenacious feathered fliers and talking about the ways different species adapt for the cold.

Wednesday, February 20th – 1:00 pm
Creatures of the Night

Nighttime animals love the long winter nights. Join us in Planet Adirondack at 1:00 pm to meet live creatures of the night and get a glimpse into their nighttime habits.

Thursday, February 21st – 1:00 pm
Putting the Myth on Ice

Bears sleep all winter, plants stop growing and all birds fly south…or do they? Join naturalist Andrea Schwander for a fun-filled theater program of breaking down misconceptions and myth busting. The program will focus on some animal and winter myths, and will feature audience participation, demonstrations, and of course, some of The Wild Center’s live animals.

Friday, February 22nd – 1:00 pm
Brrrrrrrrreakfast

Not many choose to brave the cold Adirondack winters, not even in the animal kingdom. Lucky for us we have a couple of LIVE animals that tend to stick around instead of hightailing it to warmer areas. Come to our afternoon theater program to learn about their adaptations for obtaining food and energy in the long cold days of winter.

Saturday, February 23rd – 1:00 pm
The Travel Troupe

Join The Wild Center in welcoming the Ronathahonni Cultural Center’s Travel Troupe. Come learn about their cultural history through song, dance and storytelling at 1:00 pm in our Flammer Theater.

Sunday, February 24th – 9:00 am
Pancake Breakfast and Sugaring Workshop

The Wild Center is joining Tupper Lake community members and their sugar maple trees to create a community-driven Maple Sugar house. For local residents: register for the 9:00 am free Pancake Breakfast and Sugaring Workshop to learn more about our community maple project. Register at www.wildcenter.org/events and see how you can get involved.

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