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Port Jervis residents and volunteers clash with council over railroad artifacts
Summary
Residents and volunteer preservationists told the Port Jervis Common Council they fear the city will lose historic railroad artifacts; the mayor said the site will not be demolished or sold and pledged the city wants artifacts to remain local while officials review documentation of ownership and loans.
A heated public-comment period at a Port Jervis Common Council meeting focused on the future of a local railroad exhibit, with residents and volunteer preservationists demanding that artifacts remain in the city and pressing the council for clarity about who owns the items.
"You guys are selling our history off," said Gerald Martin, a longtime resident who addressed the council during the public comment period. Martin and other residents said they worry that donated or loaned items, including a historic turntable and a museum rail car, could be removed from Port Jervis.
Neil Finch, who identified himself as chairman and vice president of Toyax, described Toyax and allied volunteer groups as preservationists who have spent "countless thousands of hours" caring for the equipment…
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