Statement from Mayor , regarding the Thomas Paine Museum artifacts:
“Generations of New Rochelleans have grown up knowing and caring about Thomas Paine’s prominent place in our history. The items and artifacts stored and displayed at the Thomas Paine Museum are much beloved and have helped establish a tangible, physical connection to our past. The relocation of this collection is a tremendous loss to our community, and I am deeply concerned that the process employed to select a permanent site has been flawed, incomplete, and indifferent to the concerns of our residents. In this spirit, I will vigorously support efforts to establish a permanent home and a lending policy that keeps these priceless items as accessible as possible to the people of New Rochelle and our region.” – Mayor Noam Bramson
Paine Museum…Paine Cottage
There is only one proper repository for these historical artifacts: Tom Paine’s Cottage.
There are two separate entities conserving Tom Paine’s memory here in New Rochelle:
The “Thomas Paine Historical Association”
and
The “Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Assn.”
Please note that it is the “Thomas Paine Historical Association” which had operated the THOMAS PAINE MUSEUM.
That group, no apparently defunct for misappropriations and major failures of their responsibilities to history; has no relationship with the Thomas Paine Cottage, operated by the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Assn.
That museum may close, but Westchester’s school children and summer campers will still go to the Tom Paine Cottage. The Tom Paine Cottage is not involved or affected by this imbroglio; it remains open and ready to serve.
http://www.thomaspainecottage.org/
Please rally to our history, both Tom Paine, and New Rochelle (and the Huguenots.)
Along with venting here, Join the the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Assn… send a check for $20.00 to the Tom Paine Cottage, at 20 Sicard Ave., 10804. It is across North Ave. from the High School, just below the Girl Scout House and defunct museum.
Please, come to the COLONIAL FAIR this September 26 (Saturday;rain date Sunday) from 10 to 5pm.
where are the city fathers who should be on top of this
this is nothing something that suddently popped up out of the clear blue. It sounds like the armory argument — nobody knew about what the $1.00 deal contract meant until it became time to expose it to the light of day. How could the city fathers not know what was going on with our most prominent landmark? It is inconceivable! Jim Killoran, here is a reification of your point on destroying our history. this really is our history. Thomas Paine is a treasure; his treatiste on “common sense” and so many other current event during the formation of our beloved country is literally priceless. to our shame, I don’t remember much of this mentioned in our academic curricula planning. Our kids know more about Ray Rice than Thomas Paine; Rice is a community asset whereas Paine is a national treasure.
Someone said the horse is out of the barn. It is; maybe we should be happy that these precious artificats will find a safe and secure home. Maybe we can honor our greatest citizen with replicas of his works and yes, maybe the armory is the place for this, maybe not. Maybe our history — we have eddie foy, lou gehrig, ossie davis, so many others — maybe we can get our artistic community folks busy to create a suitable space to honor our treasures. And maybe, it should be down town where the whole fight for community regeneration is taking place.
It is good to read what I am reading. Even something from Percy Dovetonsils (troll) is welcome. The city is literally losing sight of what is important to the citizen — we value community, transparency in our schools, participation, and yes our history.
build it and we will come! I would volunteer to help do that, to guard it, work inside of it, anything to get this damn city out of its smug, self satisfied ways into a place good people can be seen and hear.
again, without friend cox, we would not have this opportunity to vent, so dust off a place for people like bob and jim killoran in our halls of great citizens.
warren gross
Generations don’t have a clue.
I believe you could ask 100 people on the streets of New Rochelle and 90 wouldn’t know who Thomas Paine was. My son was in AP American history 11th grade in New Rochelle High School and it seemed that they took extra care not to teach the kids what values the founding fathers fought for or if they did it was cast in an unfavorable light. It seems the principles that this country was based on and what made it great don’t mesh well with todays progressive thinking in our educational system. So I would like to test the Mayors statement.
Generations comment:
. . .
…’what values the founding fathers fought for or’…’it was cast in an unfavorable light’.
Sadly, I’ve found this to be the case also. But NR is not alone, there seems to be an overall ‘diminished’ appreciation of our founding principles throughout the country.
We were fortunate to have had a man like Thomas Paine, whose pen inspired George Washington and his men to cross the Delaware, living in our own New Rochelle. Unfortunately, this privilege and honor is lost on many of our children and neighbors.
I hope that we, as past neighbors of Mr. Paine, will be able to restore the museum and it’s belongings to it’s rightful place.
clueless
New Rochelle is not alone. I ran for and won a seat (later president) of our school board because my daughter — a senior straight A student, class officer, high achiever — had no clue who Napoleon was or what century he lived in. As a result I learned TONS about the schools and how they work … and the news is abysmal. Nationwide our public schools are in the toilet. We’ve forgotten their purpose. They are not there to make workers for the economy; they are there to make citizens for the polity. Wake up, people.
How about the Capeli museum
Give the property to your fave developer to turn it into luxury townhouses. With the gigantic tax break , I’m sure he could make it work .
How about storing them
At the Armory Museum?
What about those artifacts contained within the Armory?
How about the Murals within the Post Office?
The only vigor we have seen from our fine Mayor is the vigor to give away deals to developers at the expense of the Citizen of New Rochelle.
We have already seen your vigor.
No Need to Close The Barn Door Mayor Bramson
That’s ok mayor, we’ve got it under control . You can go back to whatever you do . Nita’s calling , line 2 .