Councilman’s Ex-Lover Quits Board

Maria DiSalvo, recent ex-girlfriend of town board Councilman Joseph Capasso and a former campaign treasurer for Assemblyman Greg Ball, resigned from her seven year tenure as planning board member at the end of June. Last week the Patterson Town Board voted to appoint Ron Taylor, president of the Historical Society—which is a tenant of Senator Vincent Leibell’s Hudson Valley Trust—to her unexpired term.

Last week the Courier reported that during the July 14 Patterson Town Board meeting, the board accepted DiSalvo’s concise resignation letter that simply read that she wished to leave the planning board, “effective immediately.” There was some dispute about whether or not the board should appoint Taylor to DiSalvo’s unexpired term.

DiSalvo is a horse owner and worked at North Ridge Farm, site of Ball’s Tea Party last Saturday and also the residence of Capasso, who was elected as councilman in 2008.

Disalvo had been a member of the planning board since 2003; she was originally appointed to fill the unexpired term of another planning board member who had resigned at the time. Planning board members are appointed for five-year terms by the town board.

Councilman Kevin Burns said that Taylor was a candidate the last time there was an opening but at the time, Tom McNulty was chosen for the position. Taylor remained interested in the position and Burns considered him to be an “active member of the community.”

Councilwoman Ginny Nacerino, who abstained in the vote to appoint Taylor, felt they were rushing the process and said the position should be duly posted for anyone interested in applying. However, Councilmen Burns, Edmund O’Connor, and Michael Griffin voted in favor of appointing Taylor, while Capasso voted against.

Taylor has been assisting the Patterson planning board for the past three years. “I’m interested in preserving the character of the town,” Taylor said. “We had felt there wasn’t sufficient information provided to the planning board.”

Due to his dealings both with the historical society and planning board, Taylor said he is very familiar with some of the projects currently under consideration. “I particularly like old barns; I live in one,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for the board members and right now they’re getting me up to speed.”

He said he is already informed on many of the ongoing projects in Patterson such as the Watchtower, which has planned renovations, and Ice Pond. In a written analysis of the restoration of the barn located on the Lawlor Building property, owned by the Hudson Valley Trust, Taylor sung the praises of the trust and “especially Senator [Vincent] Leibell for the organization’s efforts to preserve the old barn. “At a time when so many of the few remaining historic structures are being dismantled and moved out of town, being demolished, or are moldering in ruin this effort at preservation is heartening and to be lauded,” Taylor wrote. “However if this project is truly to be a ‘Barn Restoration’ and not ‘renovation’ and to receive the unqualified support of the Historical Society, more historical integrity should be shown in the design.”

The Hudson Valley Trust allows the Historical Society to use its office space within the Lawlor Building as a workplace. Still, in his evaluation of the barn site plan, he went on to further scrutinize the project’s plans. “The design should not be an architectural exercise in style, but foremost should be an exercise in restraint, an effort to adhere to the simple, utilitarian integrity of the basic iconic structure of this particular American barn. After restoration the building should still look like a barn, a barn of the historic period in which it was built…”

In order to jump into the term left behind by DiSalvo, who was unreachable for comment, Taylor said Chairman Shawn Rogan gave him a stack of planning books to dissect and that he is looking into taking some online courses. Taylor added that he has a background in construction and took planning courses in college.

Richard Williams, Patterson town planner, said that although he has no say in the appointment of planning board members (only the town board votes can appoint people to the planning board), he thinks Taylor is “more than qualified” and is “very well versed in planning.”

When asked about why DiSalvo resigned he said, “Oh I won’t comment on that. You’re a reporter, do some research.”