Father Sanchez asks Peekskill preservation board to renew Assumption Church site plan after Archdiocese delay

Father Sanchez, pastor of Church of the Assumption, asked the Historic Landmarks Preservation Board on Dec. 4 to renew plans previously approved about 1.5 years ago for a site improvement at 9 21st Street, saying the project was delayed by Archdiocese review. "My name is Father Sanchez, the pastor from Church of the Assumption," he told the board while explaining that the permit from the prior approval expired before work could start.

Chris Borchardt of CBDB Architecture described the project goal as repairing aging paving, improving circulation and adding a second entrance on Union Street to reduce the mass-time congestion onto 1st Street. He said the design also includes reworked bollards, planters and two small contemplative garden spaces. "At the end of the day, there's a lot of paving up there...we're pulling out 400 square feet of existing paving and turning it back over to permeable surfaces," Borchardt said.

Board members raised multiple detail-level requests before they would act: material and color samples for masonry and stucco, mechanical/shop drawings and precise font sizing for signage, lamping specifications and a lighting overlay showing fixture types and locations, and clarification on statuary scale and selection. The board discussed splitting approvals or granting a conditional approval for discrete elements such as the grotto but ultimately directed the applicant to return with the missing details at the next calendar. No final approval was recorded during the meeting.