RICHMOND TOWN — A more than 200-year-old Staten Island home damaged during Hurricane Sandy will be repaired with more than $88,500 in federal cash.
Historic Richmond Town will repair the first floor, basement and porch of the Basket Maker's House after being awarded the money Tuesday.
The funds are part of $6.2 million awarded to historic properties damaged in the storm by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"Whatever it needs, we'll be able to take care of," said Ed Wiseman, CEO and executive director of Historic Richmond Town.
"The bottom half — which school children love — the place where we demonstrate basket making, we’ll be able to open that area back up."
Waters from Mill Pond, which wraps around the site, flooded into the basement and first floor of the landmarked Basket Maker's House during the 2012 storm. The front porch was damaged and the house has been closed since then, Wiseman said.
Cuomo also announced $783,809 in federal funds to the Louis A. and Laura Stirn House, where the Casa Belvedere Italian Cultural Foundation is based. The funds will be used to repair the roof, windows, ceilings, floor foundation and mechanical systems of the home, which was built in 1909, Cuomo said.
The Basket Maker's House was built roughly in 1810 and is a small farmhouse that originally sat near Fresh Kills Pond in New Springville, Wiseman said. Despite its name, the home was primarily used by watermen who fished the ponds and rented boats.
It was relocated to Historic Richmond Town in 1965 and was refurbished in the 1980s to reflect rural life in the area and focus on basket making of the time.
Wiseman said the museum runs basket-making workshops in the home for school children and shows them traditional large baskets used by oyster farmers on Staten Island.
He said the site expects to re-open the home for tours in six months to a year.
"All of our capital projects serve two purposes: to keep American history alive and to share it with the public," he said.
"We're not here to preserve these things to have a private sandbox."
