Developer hits back with stack of arguments

Opponents of a proposed mall-and-hotel complex with a Revolutionary War theme for Route 9 in Fishkill won an interim battle in state court last week, but the developer hit back on Monday (July 20).

On July 13, Justice Maria Rosa, a state judge based in Dutchess County, rejected a request from the developer and the Fishkill Planning Board to declare that the nonprofit Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot (FOFSD) and neighbors lacked legal standing to challenge the project, known as Continental Commons.

In a related matter last week, another state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2017 by the developer, Domenico Broccoli, against two Friends of Fishkill Supply Depot supporters, Martin Byster and Bill Sandy. Broccoli had accused the two men of planting human bones on the parcel to interfere with his “ability to use the property for development.”

Located at Route 9 just south of Interstate 84, the Continental Commons property contains 10.5 acres of what was once the vast Fishkill Supply Depot, which sheltered and equipped the Continental Army and stretched to the edge of Philipstown.

Broccoli wants to construct an inn, shops, restaurants and visitor center “to create an interactive and immersive historical experience,” according to a court filing on Monday by Stephen Riccardulli, one of his attorneys.

A rendering shows the north end of the proposed Continental Commons development, with the hotel at left, a visitors’ center at center and the existing gas station at right.

Broccoli has promised to protect a cemetery on the parcel that the Friends believe contains the graves of patriots.

FOFSD and neighbors contend that the Fishkill Planning Board erred in 2019 when it approved Broccoli’s site plan after twice determining it would have no significant impact on the environment or historical resources.

In her five-page ruling issued on July 13, Rosa said the plaintiffs had standing to sue in part because of their fears that Continental Commons could contaminate the Fishkill aquifer, a primary groundwater source; harm their wells; damage a stream; and threaten wildlife and a valuable historical site.

Likewise, she ruled, the FOFSD has standing because it advocates historical preservation and has conducted research on the Supply Depot, held public events, and encouraged awareness of the site’s Revolutionary War role. Its members also have participated in archaeological work there, she noted.

The developer said he would preserve a memorial site on the property created by the FOFSD.

She disagreed with Broccoli’s assertion that the court should dismiss the allegation that the Planning Board was biased in favor of Continental Commons, citing claims by the plaintiffs to the contrary, such as remarks by the Planning Board chair, who reportedly said in 2015 that she was not going to let “some hysterical society” that opposed the project “roll over the Planning Board.”

The response filed for the developer by Riccardulli last week argued that the “hysterical society” remark had been taken out of context and that “the plain language of the statement goes to the chair’s desire to ensure the Planning Board’s process was run fairly and not unduly influenced by anyone, including members of the FOFSD.

“In the end,” Riccardulli added, “it’s clear that [FOFSD and neighbors] are just unhappy with the Planning Board’s reasoned determination” to approve the plans.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Armstrong was the founding news editor of The Current (then known as Philipstown.info) in 2010 and later a senior correspondent and contributing editor for the paper. She worked earlier in Washington as a White House correspondent and national affairs reporter and assistant news editor for daily international news services. Location: Cold Spring. Languages: English. Areas of expertise: Politics and government

One reply on “Continental Commons Opponents Win Interim Court Battle”

  1. ““In the end,” Riccardulli added, ‘it’s clear that [FOFSD and neighbors] are just unhappy with the Planning Board’s reasoned determination'”

    A “reasoned” determination is not necessarily a reasonable determination based on the available evidence.

    Reported archeological resources in the record were not excavated to be examined physically to determine in fact whether they are the manmade structures described in the historical record and postulated in the archeological reports for the Fishkill Supply Depot Site listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its historical and archeological significance.

    We can all be unhappy that the Planning Board’s reasoned determination was based on the proposed possibility that the reported manmade structures are not the remains of structures described in the historical record.

    We all then can ask that the science of archeology be applied to determine the facts?

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