Fratianni named director of quadricentennial commission
First published: Sunday, October 23, 2005
Barbara Fratianni has been named executive director of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission.
Fratianni, a state Department of Environmental Conservation project manager with the Hudson River estuary program, takes over immediately. The organization's former leader, Donald Kasprzak, quit in June.
"It's taken us awhile to get set up, but now that Barbara's on board and all fired up to lead us, we're feeling positive," said Clara Lou Gould, chairman of the 21-member commission and mayor of Beacon, Dutchess County.
"It's a daunting task, but I'm thrilled to be working to create a celebration that all New Yorkers can be proud of," said Fratianni.
She heads the panel planning the state's major anniversary celebration in 2009 for the 400th anniversary of the voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, and the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton's inaugural steamboat run.
The commission has $150,000 in state funding. Fratianni seeks additional state and federal money, as well as major corporate sponsors.
"What we're planning is going to cost millions of dollars to do," she said, unable to provide a more specific estimate.
Gould believes Fratianni's experience is a good fit for her new appointment (Fratianni will keep her DEC office in Tarrytown, Westchester County, and her DEC salary). A former town supervisor of Ossining, she also worked for the state Thruway Authority. For the past six years at DEC, she has organized Hudson River festivals, headed the governor's task force on river access and assisted with land acquisition through the estuary program.
"With each passing week, we're getting more visibility for the quadricentennial," said Fratianni, who will be expected to travel frequently from New York City to Lake Champlain. "We plan to have our Web site launched in the next month and a detailed plan by next summer for how the commemoration will be laid out."
-- Paul Grondahl