Westchester County, Boy Scouts at odds over who owns historic cabin in Yonkers
YONKERS, N.Y. -- Westchester County is battling the Boy Scouts over control of a historic cabin.
The county says it owns the facility, while the Scouts say they own it.
Scout Field is a 22-acre county park popular with dog owners and site of a cabin that is now a bone of contention.
"None of this had to be in court, and none of this had to be contentious. We did not intend for it to be that way," County Executive George Latimer said.
It is so contentious, the county has issued a notice telling the Bronxville Scouting Committee to vacate the premises. It has been used as a meeting hall by hundreds of Scouts over many decades, and has been rented out by the Scouts for many private events.
"It's our building. The county has never contributed anything toward it," the committee's Joseph Stineman said.
Stineman has helped run the Bronxville Scout Cabin, which is technically in Yonkers, since the 1980s.
"The problem is the ownership question comes from 1919," Stineman said.
He says way back then a man donated land for use by the Scouts, who built a cabin there and rebuilt it twice after fires. To emphasize ownership, the Bronxville Scout Committee even put up "Private Property" signs.
"The county owns this land, that is parkland, and was given to the county by the Bronx Parkway Commission to be held in perpetuity as parkland," Westchester County Attorney John Nonna said.
Nonna says records prove the cabin is on county parkland and belongs to the people of Westchester, not the Bronxville Scout Committee.
"You're dealing with people who've operated there for a long period of time, probably under the radar, and nobody really cared much about it," Latimer said.
"Now they want to take the cabin and what they want to do with it, I don't know," Stineman said.
The county says it wants to operate the cabin like any other parks facility it owns, while continuing to allow Scout groups access.
The Bronxville Scout Committee has sued to keep control and will be prepared for a legal battle.
A judge in Westchester has already ruled in favor of the county. The Bronxville Scout Committee, however, has filed an appeal.
The scout body that governs operations in the Hudson valley is urging both sides to work through the issues.
"The Scouts of Bronxville have used the Scout Cabin for years. It has allowed Scouting a place to call home. The Cabin serves as a meeting location for many Scout Groups and thousands of Scouts have use the cabin over the years," Boy Scouts of America's Greater Hudson Valley Council told CBS2 in a statement. "The Greater Hudson Valley Council is aware of the current situation between Westchester County and the Bronxville Scout Committee. Our desire is for the Units and Scouts that have had access to the Cabin to be able to continue to offer the Scouting Program as they have for decades. We hope Westchester County and the Bronxville Scout Committee will find a way forward that maintains the strong Scouting program in Bronxville and the surrounding area."
