In my opinion, the condition of the former Pratt Read Co. property is an insult to the people of Ivoryton; it also disrespects the 100-year history of working people providing for their families within its walls, and it desecrates the land on which it rests.

In 1986, Pratt Read sold its property to Sohmer Holding Company, a Delaware corporation.

In 2002, Sohmer put the property up for auction and sold it for $880,000 to Piano Factory Business Park, LLC, with an office in Vermont.

In 2007, Piano Factory Business Park, LLC, sold it for $1,400,000 to Skara Brae, LLC, TWB Properties, a commercial real estate developer in Wallingford.

In 2010, Piano Factory Business Park, LLC, foreclosed against Skara Brae, LLC, and in 2011, sold the property for $350,000 to Ivory Key, LLC, Demolition Depot and Irreplaceable Artifacts of New York City.

In my opinion, Ivoryton should not be a receptacle for architectural salvage from New York City.

I think that the 18 acres of the former Pratt Read property should be a haven for wildlife, trees, and flowering plants. It should be an area where children run free and enjoy picnics with their families and dogs. It should be planned to maximize ecological recovery and to bring people together for fun and games. It should be a welcoming environment in which people feel happy and healthy and through which Falls River runs with its refreshing and vital waters.

This place was once the economic base for the Town of Essex. I think that it could now become nature's base for outdoor pleasure and neighborly friendship.

Gary Comstock

Essex