Fjord Trail comments now due by March 4
The state parks department announced Monday (Dec. 30) that it will extend the deadline for submitting written public comments on the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail environmental impact statement by 30 days, until March 4.
The deadline for comments had been Feb. 4, a 60-day window following the release of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS). However, some elected officials pushed for more time to digest the contents of the 709-page report, which is online at dub.sh/state-parks-HHFT. Physical copies are also available at local libraries, the Cold Spring and Nelsonville village halls, Philipstown Town Hall, Beacon City Hall and the HHFT office at 14 Coris Lane in Beacon.
Public comments will be addressed in the final DGEIS, scheduled for release over the summer.
How to Comment
Comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] or in writing to Nancy Stoner, Environmental Analyst, NYS OPRHP, DESP, 625 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12238.
Virtual online hearings will be held at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Jan. 14. Those who attend can make comments at the hearing, although the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation requests that lengthy responses instead be submitted in writing. To register for the meetings, visit dub.sh/HHFT-jan-14.
Years in the making, the DGEIS considers the effects the proposed trail could have on the Highlands in 14 areas, including land use, emergency services, traffic and transportation, biological resources and community character.
It also lists suggested mitigation efforts for HHFT to receive permits for the project, such as limiting construction in certain areas to specific times of year to avoid disturbing threatened and endangered wildlife, and replacing invasive species with native plants.
The 7.5-mile trail for pedestrians and cyclists would function as a linear park connecting Beacon to Cold Spring. It would also include 5 miles of narrower, pedestrian-only meanders, spurs and loops branching off the main trail.
When the trail was conceived in 2006, it was imagined as a simple walking path. But after Breakneck Ridge became one of the most popular hiking trails in the country, the project underwent a significant expansion and redesign that was unveiled in 2020. The goal was to address the throngs of hikers and cars along Route 9D; the lack of safe access to the Hudson River; Main Street in Cold Spring becoming overrun with visitors on weekends; the need for public restrooms; a dearth of accessible recreational activities; and the threat to riverside attractions from projected sea-level rise because of climate change.
There is far too much fearmongering from the purveyors of this park; what “dearth” is there of “accessible recreational activities” in our area? None that I can see, or have experienced. There are trails aplenty, kayaking, tours of all kinds, both on land and water. I have lived here 25 years and there is no dearth of activities. There is only a dearth of imagination when it comes to resolving a small local issue of keeping hikers safely off Route 9D. We don’t need to spend hundreds of millions, or destroy our quality of life, to achieve it.
The basic premise of connecting Cold Spring and Beacon by trails is admirable, although it elides the fact that the two municipalities are already connected by trails, and many hikers already opt to walk from one to the other without problem, every day, even into the winter. But the implementation proposed, and the work already begun, is so profoundly wrongheaded it is all but guaranteed to become a burden for Beacon and Cold Spring for generations to come – something that the vast majority of citizens in both places have already, repeatedly, told the deaf ears of Scenic Hudson. The basic premise of the main trail begins in obfuscation. First of all, call it what it is. It’s not a trail, it’s a boardwalk. And if this were Piermont or Brooklyn, a boardwalk might be a nice idea – but these are two communities on the edge of rural New York, placed in charge of one of our most cherished national landscapes. The Hudson River was polluted and defiled for generations, and it was only brought back to life by grassroots work that began here, in the Beacon area, by dedicated people who simply agreed to go out and clean up other people’s messes every day. Because of that work, and what came after it, we have our eagles back, we have our otters back, and we have, for the first time in any of our lifetimes, a real sense of an ecosystem gradually re-emerging for a century of darkness.… Read more »
On Jan. 14, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation hosted its public hearing for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS). More than 200 people attended the hearing over two sessions, and about 90 people gave verbal comments. It was a powerful testament to this community’s level of engagement with the project and in the public process. We know how busy you all are, so we are extremely grateful to everyone who devoted their time to participate. We heard a lot of positive comments — over two-thirds of speakers expressed strong support for the project. Just as importantly, we heard concerns about specific aspects of the project, and we received some constructive feedback that will enhance the project as we move forward. This is how the public process should work: present information, get feedback, make the project better. As someone who is new to this community, I was quite moved by it all. The level of understanding of the project, the thoughtful articulation of the project’s attributes, including expanding accessibility to our state parks and protecting our landscape’s ecological resilience, and the commitment to the needs and aspirations of the community were truly inspiring. I’ve been involved in several public space projects, in a variety of contexts. While projects of this type share consistent elements, taking full account of their unique characteristics (including the physical and cultural) is what makes them successful. The Hudson Highlands is a unique part of the… Read more »
I was disappointed by the hearing. As Stephanie Hawkins so aptly noted in her comment, many speakers expressing strong support were employed by, consultants to or family members of HHFT. To tout their number here is a bit disingenuous. I would have thought that HHFT would want to know the true feelings and opinions of community members at this point, not just those of their devotees.
Many expressions of support did not qualify as substantive, as laid out by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and the lead agency is bound to assess the relevance of those comments on that basis. The Hudson Highlands is unique and intimate. How do you preserve that uniqueness and create intimacy? By pouring concrete in the river, compromising wetlands, expanding parking, increasing traffic and impervious surfaces and generally placing an unsustainable load on an already-fragile ecosystem?
I’m still waiting to hear how, without budgets and construction bids, HHFT will raise upward of $200 million to $500 million over the lifetime of its contract with state parks to pay for the trail when so far it has raised only $60,000 from individual donors. Is [HHFT Board Chair] Chris Davis going to bankroll the entire cost, using 20 percent to 25 percent of his foundation’s assets?
The Hudson River Park Trust, which manages a 4-mile-long park along the river, spends $30 million a year in operating costs. The Little Island in the Hudson River cost $260 million to build. Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg paid for it and will also maintain it to the tune of $120 million over 20 years. Mr. Mullan, if you are sincere, how about showing us the money?
If one thing makes Cold Spring truly special, it is the Highlands. These hills protected Washington’s troops and stopped the British. They awed Hudson River painters, enchanted Washington Irving and Pete Seeger, and gave birth to the modern environmental movement. They attract thousands of visitors (some settling here, like me and my wife). No wonder everyone calls this landscape iconic.
That is what is so astonishing about the Fjord Trail plan. The “visionaries” of this massive construction are seeking to alter and improve what generations have known better to leave well enough alone. They plan to clear-cut many acres of trees, pour thousands of tons of concrete in the river, disfigure Breakneck Ridge and disturb the habitat of a dozen threatened species, from bats to sturgeon. All to install a fabulous Disney-style boardwalk, with lighting.
The irony is that Scenic Hudson — which was founded here 60 years ago to defend green spaces and protect rattlesnakes — has switched sides, with an oligarch donor seeming to dictate the grandiose design.
Their project will forever change our community, and not for the better. We should be grateful to our elected officials who have questioned the undertaking. I urge all residents who care about the river, the landscape and the village to comment on the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement before the March 4 deadline. You can send your comment to [email protected].
I grew up in Philipstown, as did my father. The Hudson River was always a magnet for us kids. This was in the 1950s, long before the Clean Water Act. The raw sewage floating about added to the importance of keeping your mouth closed if you happened to fall. As teenagers, we spent — or, some would say, misspent — summer evenings messing about down at Mine Point below the town dump south of the Garrison train station. We often went night “fishing” along the banks of the river north of Little Stony Point. Seldom were carp or “suckers” the prey. I hope that today’s youth are no less adventurous. I expect that they too will have their “fishing” endeavors along the shores north of Stony Point. Perhaps they will be out in their homemade rafts or more likely in their canoe or kayak, tying up their vessel on the concrete piling of the Highlands Highline. Perhaps they will simply be drinking a few beers or smoking a fat one with their friends, dangling their legs over the edge of the concrete erection. Perhaps others, less naive, may be patrolling the “trail” with less-benign intentions. Perhaps their prey will be other humans rather than the piscine suckers. Of course, my point is security. It is vitally important to have the sheriff’s departments of Putnam and Dutchess counties spell out clearly what they consider the minimum requirements to protect the public’s safety. Certainly, the state police will have their concerns, as… Read more »