The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House is tens of thousands of dollars closer to patching its dilapidated roof after its "Let's Raise the Roof" fundraiser.

On Oct. 23, approximately 250 guests, including Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Borough President Helen Marshall, a number of elected officials, community members and local businesses, gathered in a large, white tent behind the idyllic Dutch Colonial stone house for a cocktail reception and award presentation.

The event was planned to raise money to fund repairs to the 300-year-old Ridgewood house's badly-decaying roof.

After tallying all the proceeds, event co-chair Steve Monte said the event reined in approximately $40,000 for the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House. The most prominent donators were corporations with local ties such as Waste Management and Kinder Morgan contractors, which both donated $5,000, and Exxon Mobile and T.D. Bank, which gave $3,000 each. Besides those four corporations, more than 60 other companies or individuals contributed in denominations reaching up to $1,000.

Monte said he was extremely pleased with the outcome as he had expected to rake in around $30,000 in total.

"It was a pleasure for me to see as many people supporting our house and the needs that our house has - and not just individuals but corporate entities," he said.

Monte said the current plan is to use a portion of the $40,000 towards emergency repairs, which he estimates will cost $25,000, and continue to raise around $150,000 more to finance permanent structural repairs sometime in the next few years. He hopes this process will be aided by public funding through assistance from some of the politicians who attended the event and through increased awareness by attendees who have a new appreciation for the importance of preserving the house.

"I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and that everyone came we hoped would come and that it was a great party and people see it's a great place to go," Monte said.

The house's Librarian and Archivist George Miller said attendees were able to experience what a rare treasure a place like Onderdonk is in the borough and he anticipates they will become personally invested in the city landmark.

"They see we have interesting exhibits. They see we have a couple of period rooms and they see the grounds are in pretty good shape," Miller said. "If they say they want to come back for an event or a company picnic, this is all to our benefit."

In fact, Monte mentioned that after the event many inquired about having company gatherings at the house and three couples expressed interest about using the space as a wedding venue. Monte said he only knows of three weddings ever held in the home during its 300 years of existence.

Monte and Miller both agreed they were pleased with the turn out, especially in terms of prominent politicians.

"It was nice and somewhat unexpected when we started because we're not used to looking that big," said Miller, who attributed the exposure to assistance from the house's partnership with Waste Management. "To have the Borough President come and to have the Mayor come, it was a fantastic help to us."

Before heading off to another event, Bloomberg gave a speech at the start of the award presentations highlighting the importance of celebrating the rich ethnic and cultural tapestry that is New York City.

"We have to preserve the character of our neighborhoods and we are doing it," he said.

Bloomberg also noted the necessity to protect the city's past through sites like the Onderdonk House.

"Thirty years ago, a group of citizens took this place over to the form the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society to save this house from demolition, which was what was going to happen to it, and we should all be thankful that they did because it is a part of our history," Bloomberg said.

For more information about the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House or to contribute to the roof repair effort, visit the house at 18-20 Flushing Avenue or call (718) 4565-1776.

Reach Reporter Kaitlyn Kilmetis at kkilmetis@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128.