BREWSTER – Brewster’s late Mayor John Cesar often talked about the “rebirth and renaissance of the Hub of the Harlem Valley.”
In January 2017, officials believed that day had arrived, thanks to a partnership created by Putnam County, Brewster Village officials, Covington Development Corporation and New York State.
Brewster, Putnam’s second smallest municipality, was awarded a $2 million grant for downtown revitalization in connection with New York State’s annual economic development competition.
Later, Mayor James Schoenig announced that village officials would be working with Putnam lawmakers to start Phase I of a multi-faceted plan to revitalize the Main Street corridor.
The plan not only called for the reconstruction of Brewster’s Main Street, but the sale and re-development of the Garden Street School in addition to construction of “transit-oriented development” near the Metro-North Railroad Station, and a museum.
Since that time plans have stalled.
Now the school is again a topic of discussion with a proposal to make zoning changes allowing the property to be developed into affordable housing.
Brewster’s current Mayor James Schoenig said the plan was proposed by Covington Development LLC and WBP Development LLC, which owns the property.
Original plans called for the school to provide educational opportunities in conjunction with Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES. Others were for Garden Street to be turned into a recreational center or converted into town homes.
Now the new developers have called on the Village Board to change the municipality’s zoning code to allow for affordable housing on the site.
At a public hearing, residents opposed the proposal, arguing that Brewster does not need more rental properties since according to the 2025 census, the Village of Brewster has the highest population density out of all the communities in Putnam County.
One resident described the village as a “very transient place right now – It’s been that way for years. We don’t need to have more rentals. We need more homeowners to invest.”
Concerns were also expressed over adding two stories to the former school resulting in increased bedroom capacity which another Brewster resident charged was “out of character for the village, and unnecessary, considering the already dense area.”
The board made no decision, and the public hearing will resume next month.
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