Mianus River Gorge will acquire a 73-acre parcel in North Castle for $2.8 million, according to Rod Christie, the preserve’s executive director. The purchase is expected to close in the coming months.

The property, which is located at 99 E. Middle Patent Road, is co-owned by Hope Levene and her relatives, according to Christie.

Levene, a 93-year-old Bedford resident who formerly lived in North Castle, has a long local history. In a July interview that focused on her decades of six decades of volunteerism at Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH), she discussed the various roles she had over her lifetime. They included serving as the only trustee of a small school district that included a 1-room schoolhouse, and later as a Bedford Central school board member. Levene has also been involved with Twigs, a thrift store that supports NWH.

Christie noted that Levene used to serve on his organization’s board. He appeared before the North Castle Town Board on Monday evening at a special meeting. The Town Board voted to authorize Supervisor Michael Schiliro to sign a conservation easement, which will cost $500,000

The easement, which will cover 68 of the site’s acres, will be paid for by using open-space funding. It was disclosed at the meeting that the funding stems from a 2004 voter referendum that authorized the town to bond up to $3 million for acquiring open space and for conservation easements.

The Town Board voted on Monday because town’s ability to utilize the bond expired after 10 years, according to Schiliro. Monday was the expiration date because it was the next business day,

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