DCPR Blog

Two years ago, almost today, Clark Topping, my web development partner and I were called out of the blue by a NYC real estate developer who wanted us to create his website. He summoned us to a remarkable equestrian property he built on hundreds of acres north of Manhattan...saying only "you'll have to see it to believe it."   Not far from the hustle and bustle of concrete and skyscrapers he he had developed the equivalent of an equestrian Ritz-Carlton for enthusiasts to board and train their horses.  It was to be the beginning of a strange tale that got stranger.

When he invited us up to the property, he had graciously put us up in what was the crown jewel of the property, a 25,000 square foot converted barn that was part hunting lodge, part centerfold ad for a lifestyle magazine that functioned as his on-site residence. 

Fast forward to this week, when Clark noticed some absurdly high spikes in traffic for the Cogi Farm website, where interestingly, half of the site visitors  searched specifically on "Cogi Farm" as if they had a suddenly urgent need to find out more about the property. When Clark did the same, we saw the horribly garish picture on today's news about that masterpiece dwelling living no more; having gone up in flames over the weekend. 

Although the Cogi Farm website promotes the equestrian facilities and not the residence, that his home was physically and symbolically perched overlooking those magnificent fields, paddocks, and barns, and is now gone is truly heartwrenching.  We shot most of the photos for the website, and enjoyed photographing the house as well, which deserved its own monument, or website to preserve what now only lives on in our memories and pictures.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/March09/09/Pawl_fire-09Mar09.html

http://cogifarm.com/main-interactive.cfm