Richard R. Ferrara of Southampton Dies November 21

Richard Robert Ferrara, known to his family and friends as Dick, passed away on Monday, November 21, 2022, at eighty-one years old. He is survived by his wife, Katherine Ferrara; his two daughters, Claudia Ferrara and Francesca Ferrara; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Dick was a fierce cat lover, with ten cats departing before him. He is survived by Thelma, Louise, and his beloved Romeo. 

Dick was born to Katherine and Charles Ferrara on May 31, 1941, in Brooklyn and grew up in Bensonhurst. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and Pratt Institute, where he honed his design skills earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1964. Later in 1974, he also earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (Sociology & Psychology) from The New School for Social Research. 

On Good Friday of 1961, he and Kathy went on their first date. They went to see a screening of The Misfits and have been together ever since. They married in 1964 and bought a brownstone in Park Slope in 1969, which, at the time, was over one hundred years old. They sold their much-loved Austin Healey for $2,000 to cover the down payment on their forever home. During these early years of marriage, Dick served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a First Lieutenant from 1964 to 1973 (active duty and reserves)  in Fort Knox, Kentucky and Korat, Thailand.  

Dick became a registered architect in 1969 and worked for his first mentor, Giorgio Cavaglieri, a leading figure in the historic preservationist movement in New York City. It was while working for his next important mentor, Bill Hall, that Dick met his future lifelong partner, Willis “Wids” S. DeLaCour, Jr. Wids and Dick began DeLaCour & Ferrara Architects, P.C. in 1987, housed in the historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. Now known as DeLaCour, Ferrara & Church Architects, P.C., the firm is led by their talented protégé, Kenneth Church, and continues with the mission of enriching New York City communities by designing creative housing for not-for-profit organizations that provide services to the needy. 

Dick’s expertise was in historically based projects, which led him to be retained by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development to provide guidance and design services for buildings located within historic districts. He was also involved with the Y.M.C.A. for approximately thirty-five years, having completed major projects for locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

He was extremely active in his community, serving as a board member for the American Institute of Architects, Brooklyn Chapter; a member of the New York Society of Architects; chairman of the Historic Building Committee for the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter; president and trustee of the Park Slope Civic Council; and a member of the Board of Trustees at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. Awarded with many citations throughout his life, Dick’s two most notable recognitions were his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brooklyn Chapter of the AIA in 2012 and his Bard Award for the restoration of the Sylvan Terrace façade in Harlem in 1981. 

While the Ferrara family’s primary residence has always been the Brooklyn brownstone they spent twenty years restoring, they have enjoyed  being “summer people” on Towd Point Road for the last fifty-two years. A weekly bungalow rental on Towd Point morphed into summer long stays, and then in 1992, they found a cottage of their own just a few houses down the road. No other place could match the Zen of the sunsets on North Sea Harbor.

When Southampton residents were clamoring for affordable workforce housing on the East End in 2017, Dick knew he could help. He and his firm DeLaCour, Ferrara & Church Architects, P.C., were granted the architectural bid for the Sandy Hollow Cove Apartments which now provide affordable homes for twenty-eight working families. This was the first ever affordable housing project in the town of Southampton.

This was the last architecture project Dick completed, and it was near and dear to his heart. He was able to utilize his passion for designing affordable housing to enrich a community that had become his home away from home. Southampton was where he enjoyed his favorite pastimes: gardening, snapper fishing, canoeing, clamming, windsurfing, befriending swans, rescuing turtles and making lifelong friendships. His most treasured time of day was happy hour, when he would sit on the deck with Kathy and their neighbors, enjoying cocktails and watching the sunset over North Sea Harbor.

In honor of Richard, contributions can be made to The American Kidney Foundation (https://www.kidneyfund. org/), Long Island Pine Barrens 
Society (https://www.pinebarrens.org/), Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center (https://wildliferescuecenter.org/).