Also, Village Board continues STR discussion
The state parks department on Wednesday (Dec. 4) released its draft environmental impact statement on the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail for public comment, Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley noted at the Village Board meeting that evening.
The 709-page report is available at hhft.org and printed copies will be available at Village Hall next week, Foley said. State parks has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 14, and comments can be submitted through Feb. 2.
Fjord Trail representatives plan to attend the Village Board workshop on Dec. 18. Foley said the board hopes to learn more about HHFT’s commitment to mitigating the trail’s impact on the village, as well as construction planning details.
Also on Wednesday, the board continued its discussion of potential revisions to Chapter 100 of the Village Code, which regulates short-term rentals. The local law has been deemed too complicated and difficult to enforce.
Several aspects are yet to be resolved before a revised draft law can go to a public hearing, including use accessory structures as STRs, the permit process, fees and fines, frequency of inspections and potential use of software to monitor operations.
During public comment on Wednesday, Phil Heffernan said that, before he began operating an Airbnb in the village, he often lost money renting out an apartment in his building long-term. He expressed concern that proposed changes to STR operations will cut his retirement income by 75 percent, which he described as a “real-world hardship.”
Vlad Musk, another STR operator, said he is “trying to play by the rules” but that proposed changes will impact his operation directly, adding that operators who have violations should be penalized.
Peter Farrell said his STR is “helping me pay my bills” and “allows me to keep my home and remain in Cold Spring.” He suggested the STR law not require two-night stays, pointing out that about 70 percent of his guests book for only one night.
In other business…
- The board approved a proposal from Public Sector HR Consultants LLC to assist in updating the employee handbook for $6,500. Village Clerk Greg Henson said the handbook needs to be brought into compliance with state and federal laws.
- The board approved renewal of the agreement with Penflex LLC, which provides administrative services for the Length of Service Award Program and the pension it provides for Cold Spring Fire Company firefighters.
- An intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Nelsonville for stormwater system improvements in the Pine Street right of way was approved.
- Main Street cleaning will take place the week of Dec. 8.
- The board approved a request for a letter of support by Scenic Hudson for its application for a state grant to restore the banks of Foundry Brook and remove a small dam at the West Point Foundry Preserve.
- Foley noted that yard waste pickup by Royal Carting is finished for the year. There was confusion, she said, because an additional pickup was being done in Nelsonville. Residents can take yard waste to Royal’s transfer station at 409 Route 82 in Hopewell Junction.
The Dec. 4 release of the huge DGEIS comes during perhaps the busiest time of the year for many people.
That was not, in my opinion, a random act. I believe it was a conscious decision by the governor and administrators at state parks and Scenic Hudson to deflate and inhibit organizations and individuals from having the time to read through the 709 pages adequately, research specific areas and organize formal comments before the very quick comment period.
How is this not a premeditated strategy to deflect democracy and fairness, conceived by ultra-wealthy donors behind this ill-conceived and destructive development?
1. Changing the planned “trail” from a trail on the ground to an elevated concrete highway in and next to the Hudson in 2020, while the world was preoccupied with a pandemic.
2. Dropping the huge DGEIS document just now, during the holiday season, when — guess what? — everyone is again preoccupied. HHFT’s timing is no coincidence. Taking major steps at times when the surrounding community is least able to pay attention demonstrates the opposite of a “community-driven” process. The goal — turning Cold Spring and environs into a donors’ fantasy playground — hasn’t changed one iota. “Chats” and visitation meetings are PR band-aids designed to distract those of us who actually live in the playground. Follow the actions, not the words.
You make such a good point. Friday-night releases are an old game played by those scared of pushback. The irony of HHFT playing such games is that they claim their project is community-driven. Really? But take heart the DGEIS is replete with inconsistencies, inaccuracies and lots of “What?” How many pilings how deep into the river did you say? Who, pray tell, will repair them as water erodes them? Hudson River Park Trust budgets $10 million annually to repair their pilings, and yet HHFT says there’ll be no endowment for repairs and maintenance, and they have only raised a paltry $65,000 in two years. You know who is going to pay: We are. Taxpayers will pay for this vanity project few want. Is this democratic? Nope, it’s plutocrats, once again, pulling strings.
Shame on the Governor and State Parks for dumping this report on the public in the middle of the holidays without enough time to carefully review and respond. This project will transform our community. Whether you oppose or support it, we can all agree, the public needs enough time to fully review the details and throughly debate the impact on our community. That’s how democracy works. Why wouldn’t the Governor want that to happen? She needs to explain
What is with all of the conspiracy stuff? This is so disheartening to read this kind of hoo-haw. The facts are that the state allows 30 days, and it’s been extended to 60 days because of the holiday season.
Cynically, the DGEIS has been meticulously situated so that the holidays fall midway through the comment period. This isn’t the first time such a trick by the HHFT has occurred. Most of you may not know that the Breakneck bridge and connector’s comment period (which was just 30 days) was also placed smack-dab over the holidays.
Think about what that means for a busy official or a curious member of the public. We hear about its release on a Wednesday at the beginning of December. Not only is everyone doing their normal routine as well as trying to get ready for the holidays, now there’s pressure to look over (who has time to read?) a 1,500+ page (including appendices) document and then prepare to comment just two weeks (Jan. 14) after the New Year.
It’s appalling that the author (AKRF) needed 7.5 years (since March 22, 2017) to research and complete this document while we, the public (who will be living with the results), are granted just over 7.5 weeks during our most frantic time of the year.
I also want to thank Brian PJ Cronin for bringing a reduced version of the document to the public eye. The press becomes even more important in times like these when we are regularly awash with glorious PR from the likes of HHFT.
I am writing to express enthusiastic support for the Fjord Trail. As a member of the Nelsonville Village Board and director for several of Philipstown’s athletic programs, I have had the opportunity to interact with numerous community members who support this project. The consensus among the residents I speak with is that the Fjord Trail will offer a safe and picturesque opportunity to enjoy an accessible park, promising economic and social benefits to our village and the surrounding area.
Local business owners I have spoken with acknowledge the positive impact that tourism from the Fjord Trail will undoubtedly have on our community. The Fjord Trail will be a fantastic example of a park that can attract people to our village while also helping to mitigate many of the challenges that come from the influx of visitors we already receive every weekend. While I appreciate the contributions of our visitors to our Main Street economy, I am excited that the trail will offer a conduit to the hikes and respite along the way to Beacon and keep people from traversing unsafely down Route 9D toward their destinations.
The Fjord Trail will provide a safe and scenic place for residents and visitors to enjoy outdoor activities, such as biking and walking. This is why I believe it is critical to maintain the original scope of the project, starting at Dockside Park and traveling along the fjord. This design reasonably accounts for local residents’ access to the trail. As residents of Nelsonville, the trail that best serves our needs for safe and convenient access is one that starts at Dockside Park, providing a secure environment for families, cyclists and pedestrians to explore the natural landscape without the hazards associated with busy roads.
I would be remiss not to highlight the members of our community who do not share my full-hearted support for this project. While they do not represent the majority of the conversations I’ve had about the Fjord Trail, they are people whom I respect greatly and know have our community’s best interests at heart. I hope that HHFT will continue to work to earn the community’s trust and goodwill but I also believe that our local representatives have a part to play in dampening hostility toward this project. I have witnessed firsthand the curt and dismissive nature that Fjord Trail representatives receive, and I believe this sets a dismissive and hostile tone that carries over into many of the Village Board meetings where I hear the most objection to this project. There is a place for civil discourse without ostracizing members of our community who represent the HHFT to our local community.
The newly published DGEIS report is encouraging, and I believe that many of the concerns and complaints I have heard for this project are addressed and mitigated throughout this report. While I do not mean to represent myself as an expert in everything that this DGEIS reports on, many of the economic and environmental concerns that I have heard for the trail appear to be researched and addressed and I believe the report represents a great step forward for the trail. I look forward to reading more expert interpretations of the report in the coming weeks and encourage everyone to make their voice heard in the ongoing call for public comment.
In conclusion, the Fjord Trail represents a significant opportunity for the Village of Nelsonville. It will enhance our local economy, provide a safe and enjoyable space for outdoor activities and promote environmental sustainability. I wholeheartedly support this project and look forward to the many benefits it will bring to our community.
There are those of us who were around 20 years ago to witness the increasing pedestrian traffic along Route 9D. We worried about pedestrian safety. We also worried about habitats. We brought our concerns to officials, compiled video evidence of what was happening and held meetings to see what could be done. To now be placated by an organization that once held the torch for environmental responsibility while they manipulate our concerns into support for a Disney-like attraction is beyond what many of us can believe or tolerate. That said, we also are active hikers.
I moved here for the outdoors in 1998. I found a community of people who shared that love and responsibility toward nature. Many of us still do. When we see a plea for mitigation to protect what is, turned into a $200 million investment opportunity, we understand that there’s something afoot. We go deeper. We applaud those who look beyond the edge of the woods and venture in with the trees.
We moved here in 2014, before that we were the day trippers. Many people reading this do not and will not consider me and my family as “real” as in a real Cold Springer. In fact, many may believe, those like my family and I have actually somehow tarnished the place…you know, it’s changed.
C’mon, am I wrong? My house, mortgage, the taxes I pay, the community work, the hiking, the helping my neighbors — none of it will ever be “legit” enough for those who insist they are the gatekeepers of Cold Spring who have never ever left and have never been a tourist of some kind. Cold Spring is not a gated community and I am uninterested in being labeled “a real Cold Springer” and the Village Board is not a HOA. State parks are to be accessible to everyone. Earnestly working with the HHFT is an actual option. Or don’t.
Since 2014, I have watched the heated and passionate opposition to revitalizing the Butterfield Hospital site to include updated medical offices, a senior center, a new post office and a swanky over-55 apartment complex, to the Dunkin’, the fights over the choice of lighting down by the gazebo, the rage at getting new garbage cans and the constant crabbing about parking on Main Street, then the outcry of the weekend meters to address the complaints.
Never have I heard/seen any campaign/effort get the sidewalks along Route 9D extended. The single traffic light — perhaps all the walk/don’t walk signs can be synchronized with light. Perhaps a left-turn arrow to mitigate the danger. That Dunkin is thriving from locals. The post office is nice. So is the senior center. The parking meter income was an actual tourist tax to pay for improvements infrastructure until y’all kneecapped it.
Has anyone knocked on all the doors of the residences at Butterfield to yell at those people how they ruined the character of the town? The HHFT did not create those issues and if the HHFT people disappeared tomorrow, those problems still exist. How do we address them?
Show me your solutions, plans, your research, your environmental experts, your capital and your willingness to see and be in the here and now and not in a diorama of a past existence. This “not real Cold Springer” will still be out there hiking, shopping on Main, participating in community activities, volunteering, etc.
Well said, Travis.
It speaks volumes that Cold Spring trustees Eliza Starbuck and Aaron Freimark voted no on such a rudimentary ask as an extension for the comment period of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
Whose interests are they most concerned about: the community they represent or the developer? Even the Putnam County Legislature, which can’t agree 100 percent on anything, sent a letter to state parks asking for an extension to at least March 4. The optics of these trustees and their blind support for the Fjord Trail is astonishing.
Travis Biro’s thoughtful and aspirational letter describes the attributes of a safe, secure and accessible trail, such as the trail pictured in the idyllic artist renderings in the HHFT master plan. He has great faith in the sponsors and their well-intentioned project.
The problem with this dream, as many have discovered by digging deeper into the physical and economic aspects of the project, is that the trail as planned may turn out to be an unintended financial and economic disaster. These concerns will be exposed during the DGEIS review process, which clearly needs to be extended.
You can romanticize the Fjord Trail all you want, but what you can’t romanticize is that it will cost HHFT upward of $200 million to $500 million over the lifetime of its contract with state parks and that so far it has raised, absent money from Chris Davis, $60,000, or 0.0003 percent of the cost, on the low-end. How are they going to pay for it? There are no budgets or construction bids to back up any of the ideas. Show me the money.
Meanwhile, the village infrastructure will be further degraded and we have just voted for an extra 2.32 percent tax increase over three years for the Haldane School capital project. So what will happen to your taxes given the extra costs the village will face if the trail is built? Is HHFT going to pay for those, too? It doesn’t seem like they have the money and in the past they have said they are responsible for no mitigation beyond the limits of the trail they are proposing to build. The skilled marketing of the Fjord Trail is designed to distract you from thinking and asking questions about these things but it’s what everyone should be focusing on.