Take aim at Dutchess Manor plans
Before voting on Aug. 8 to accept an application from the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail to remake Dutchess Manor as a visitor’s center with offices and parking, the Fishkill Planning Board heard warnings from Philipstown residents.
Susan Peehl’s voice broke as she predicted that the Fjord Trail, a 7.5-mile linear park that is being proposed to connect Long Dock Park in Beacon and Dockside Park in Cold Spring, would draw more people to Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve and transform Cold Spring “from a village to a concierge service.”
“I’m deeply afraid for the future of our village, the preservation of the Hudson Highlands and our quality of life,” said Peele, who lives in Cold Spring.
Dave Merandy, a former Cold Spring mayor and president of the grassroots group Protect the Highlands, which opposes the Fjord Trail, said that HHFT’s application for changes to Dutchess Manor is a “clear case of illegal segmentation,” or dividing projects into small pieces to avoid a thorough review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
Both Merandy and Andrew Hall, a Cold Spring resident, argued that the Dutchess Manor project should be part of the state park’s environmental review of the Fjord Trail, which is expected to be released in the fall.
“This proposal, if approved, could possibly place your board in significant legal jeopardy,” said Hall.
Despite that warning, the Planning Board voted 6-1 to proceed with a review of HHFT’s restoration plan for Dutchess Manor, which merchant James Wade built in 1868 as a family home and the Coris family operated for decades as an event venue.
Elements of the plan call for demolishing three additions to the original structure built between 1947 and 2007, restoring a slate roof and other removed features, adding a parking area with 181 spaces, upstairs offices, bathrooms and an area where shuttles and buses can drop off and load visitors.
Approval of the project, which also involves creating an area for outdoor events and restoring the natural flow of a seasonal stream, will require an assessment of the project’s environmental impact.
Helen Mauch, HHFT’s attorney, said the restoration is independent of the Fjord Trail and would serve existing trail users and improve safety along Route 9D even if the full trail is never built. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, that is one of the circumstances in which segments of multi-phase projects can be reviewed separately.
HHFT won separate state approval for the Breakneck Connector and Bridge. The Fjord Trail’s first phase combines a trail running south from the Metro-North stop at Breakneck, a 445-foot pedestrian bridge over the tracks just north of the trailhead and new parking and sidewalks.
Like Dutchess Manor, the $85 million connector and bridge, which is expected to open in late 2025 or early 2026, is considered a standalone element that by itself will reduce the vehicle and pedestrian congestion on Route 9D from hikers visiting Breakneck and the park.
“Environmental review is not being avoided here,” said Mauch, adding that the state parks will consider the impacts of the Dutchess Manor project in its overall environmental review of the Fjord Trail. Once the draft is released, the agency will collect public comments.
Dominic Cordisco, the Planning Board’s attorney, said its members lead the review “in almost all circumstances” for projects that require their approval and that the board cannot, under Fishkill code, “throw up its hands and do nothing.”
HHFT purchased the 6.6-acre Dutchess Manor, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and a neighboring house at 14 Coris Lane for $3.4 million in 2020 from the Coris family. It is also seeking approval to rezone the 5.6-acre Coris Lane property, which is being used as offices, and merge it with Dutchess Manor.
Erin Sine Whitson, one of the Fishkill residents who spoke, said she and other neighbors met with HHFT as recently as May after learning that the organization planned to build parking across 9D, which she called “very alarming.”
They then heard about the “expansive lot” proposed for Dutchess Manor, “less than 100 feet from our home,” said Whitson. Her concerns range from increased noise, trespassing and light pollution to safety and the environmental impacts, she said.
“This has evolved into an enormous-size parking lot that has changed dramatically from the original plans,” she said.
Hey HHFT, give Cold Spring what they want and drop that end. Beacon residents welcome your plan and look forward to a trail crossing Fishkill Creek. Arguing you shouldn’t change Dutchess Manor is ridiculous. Once you’re linked to our Madam Brett Park, the Riverfront Trail and Long Dock Park, we’re ready to roll!
Beacon is ready for the trail!
Having grown up in western New York, among streets with empty storefronts and the economic disparity that resulted from that, I welcome as many visitors to Beacon as care to come. Traffic can be annoying, but it beats the alternative. I feel blessed to live in a place where people want to spend their free time.
In the 10 years that I’ve lived in Beacon, I’ve gotten the impression that some people in Cold Spring believe they live in a gated community. If that’s what you want, move to a private golf course, not a major tourist attraction.
I look forward to riding my bike to Cold Spring on the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail. Hopefully, the minority of stakeholders don’t ruin it for the majority who want this trail completed.
It doesn’t seem fair that the developer plans to appropriate and hog up more and more of our infrastructure and roadways, yet pumps all of its resources only into its own dreamscapes and parking lots without a nickel of compensation for the localities. I propose that the developer provide adequate compensation to localities to support the burden and not be able to monopolize our limited resources for free — perhaps 5 percent of overall budget. As of 2022, HHFT held $51 million in assets, accordingly, a minimum $2.5 million should be directed to localities and an equal amount in escrow, as I have posted here on several occasions. And I wonder at how exponentially increasing parking and traffic loads make the developer an environmentally conscious player. As they would couch it – more is less.
The facile and dismissive tone assumed by proponents of the HHFT and taken by our neighbors from the north is unfortunate yet perhaps unsurprising given the fate of the disjointed and ugly stretches of Route 9 that run through the southern portion of the Town of Fishkill south of Interstate 84. Pitting neighbor against neighbor is high up on the list of divisive tactics used by developers to weaken the public interest.
The same tactic was used in the unfair weighting of the previously released poll touting broad public support for the HHFT. Of course, the HHFT should be reviewed in its entirety — whatever you think of the project, you should carefully examine the shenanigans exploited by developers to get their projects approved with as little public oversight as possible and avoid the instinct to dismiss the concerns of your neighbors as unfounded.
Build that border wall already! We’ll need it with the hordes of people who will come. Keep them up there in Beacon, please.
I recently came across a story from August 2018, Saving Blue Hole: How a Catskills Swimming Spot Could Protect Breakneck, by Brian PJ Cronin. He wrote: “Like Breakneck Ridge, Blue Hole was in danger of being loved to death.”
The article notes that in the western U.S., people have become used to checking online to see if day permits are required before they visit a site. Why can’t New York state parks require permits for Breakneck? That might slow down the hordes of hikers from New York City coming to the most exciting and beautiful climb accessible and convenient in the metro area.
I’ve asked State Parks about this numerous times over the years; its stance is that a permitting system wouldn’t work at Breakneck be-cause the ridge has too many access points. At Blue Hole, there is only one way in and out, making it easier to restrict access.