Farrell Proud of 28 Years of Service on Cortlandt Town Board

When Frank Farrell first embarked on what would turn out to be an historical run on the Cortlandt Town Board, he only envisioned serving a handful or two of terms as an elected representative.

“I was shocked I was there that long,” Farrell admitted during a one-on-one interview the day after being honored for more than an hour and receiving three standing ovations at his final meeting on Dec. 12. “I thought I would only be there one or two terms. It’s just endlessly fascinating. I found myself saying I want to run again because there’s so many other things I wanted to do. You’re never done.”

Farrell’s seven-term, 28-year government career hit an initial roadblock when he lost his first election in 1993 by 32 votes. The more than 60-year resident of Montrose threw his hat right back in the ring two years later and earned the trust of voters.

“I wasn’t into unconstructive political fighting. I wanted to do the work,” Farrell said. “I always thought of it as providing services and helping the leaders. How can I help this or that group? I always saw the position as checks on the supervisor.”

As the owner of a printing press business in Verplanck for more than 40 years, a skill he learned during his four years in the U.S. Navy following graduation from Hendrick Hudson High School, Farrell had many customers who were political candidates.

“I said I can probably do the job better than a lot of these people,” he recalled. “A lot of people looked at me as a maverick. I enjoyed the debating of it. I enjoyed mixing it up.”

Farrell, 68, supported the disbanding of the town’s Police Department and was instrumental in Cortlandt acquiring the barracks for the State Police on Route 9A in Montrose. He also was in the forefront of the town building a youth center next to the State Police.

He revealed he had met with the Boys and Girls Club in Mount Kisco about operating the youth center but some board members, including Supervisor Linda Puglisi, didn’t want to spend the money to make it large enough to meet the Boys and Girls Club’s specifications.

“We could have let them operate it, but Linda didn’t want to do that. As much as we talked about shared services, control was more important,” he said. “I think we kind of missed an opportunity for a true shared service. I don’t think people all over town see it as theirs, but what can you do about that? It was totally worth it, but, frankly, it could have been better.”

One of Farrell’s notable accomplishments was founding the Cortlandt Community Rowing Association (CCRA) that has blossomed into a non-profit group with about 100 youth and adult athletes.

“This is the kind of thing you dream about, but don’t think would happen. I just had a hunch,” he said proudly. “Rowing appeals to a different kind of athlete. It appeals to kids who don’t know they like sports.”

Besides taking part in competitions, CCRA has branched out to para-rowing for people with disabilities and helping women recovering from breast cancer.

Melissa Creighton, a CCRA rowing coach, said Farrell’s vision for a rowing club has become so much more.

“This is something you created. What you built, you created a family. You created a whole community of people,” she said.

Kacey Morabito credited Farrell with finding a home for the Let it Shine Food Pantry and Thrift Store on 7^th St. in Verplanck.

“Frank pulled us out of the basement and put us in a beautiful building. You let all of our dreams come true,” Morabito said. “Frank, you have been an angel to us.”

As Cortlandt continues to entertain proposals for the quarry property in Verplanck where Farrell used to swim as a youngster, he said the site should be utilized to house the town’s Highway Department and the indoor recreational Cortlandt Pitch project.

“What I want to see there is not popular with the Town Board or certain members of the committee,” he said.

Cortlandt Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker praised Farrell for his years of dedication to the town, calling him “my soul mate, my friend, my true brother.”

“He’s done so much for this town,” Becker said.

Farrell said he was honored to be part of town government for almost three decades and maintained he had no regrets.

“I think it was worthwhile,” he said. “There comes a time when you realize you have to put down the tools and step away and let others take over. It’s definitely bittersweet. It’s really time for other people to bring their vision. Let the new people do it. They want to leave their mark. While I’m going to miss many aspects, the thing I’m going to miss the most is the people I worked with.”