The Wyckoff Historic Preservation Commission said at its May 12 meeting that it has no reliable way to learn when the 1745 Van Horn–Ackerman House at 101 Wyckoff Ave, near the corner of Lafayette Avenue, changes hands, as the property remains headed toward a bank auction. [1]

The stone "telescope house" — a small original structure enlarged with later additions — was built by Barent Van Horn and documented in 1937 by the federal Historic American Buildings Survey under the name "John Branford House, Lafayette and Wyckoff" — the surveyors' own shorthand for the corner where it sits. It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1980 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, as part of a multi-property listing covering Bergen County's early stone houses. [4]

Commission member Curtis Bajak raised the question of whether the township could advise the commission once the house is sold. According to the minutes, the commission considers itself "legally restricted" from contacting a prospective buyer beforehand, and realtors are unlikely to volunteer information about historic-preservation restrictions to buyers on their own. [1] Bajak said the commission's plan instead is to reach out to the new owner after the title has passed, to cite whatever restrictions apply to the property. [2]

Chairman Douglas Swenson said he plans to raise with Township Administrator Matt Cavallo an earlier township decision not to issue permits for the demolition or major renovation of historic houses. [3]