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Open Space Message from Supervisor Linda D. Puglisi

Release Date: September 23, 2020

“I am very proud of having been able to protect and preserve the following over the past 30 years during this administration:"

-Supervisor Linda Puglisi

September 23, 2020

 

1. Rezoned the outdated Emery Mine property (in the 1990’s) to residential on Colabough Pond Road – only seven (7) homes can be built in the future on these 110 acres. To date no construction has taken place. Still privately owned but no mining allowed.

 

2. Rezoned the Emery Mine off Croton Ave to residential; 61 homes were built instead of mining on these 100 acres. (in the late 1990’s)

 

3. Voted to not allow a proposal for 300 town houses off Oregon Road (too dense). Now currently 14 single family homes instead- called “Blue Jay Estates” (in the 1990’s).

 

4. There was a proposal for a cluster of 360 single family homes on the property then called “Hillpoint”. The property is a steep incline and never could have sustained that density of building. After two years of negotiating with the property owner the Town with several partners including N.Y.S, Scenic Hudson, Westchester County, and some residents purchased these 360 acres, which is now dedicated parkland for hiking to a beautiful summit. It’s now called the “Gateway to the Hudson Highlands” in Cortlandt, (the collective cost was $6 million. The Town contributed $1 million)

 

5. The “Jessye Norman Property” off Mt. Airy Road previously owned by the late opera star Jessye Norman is a very sensitive and important ecological property in our community. The town in 2015 purchased the majority of these thirty (30) acres to preserve the land. Only three homes can still be built on the remaining property. The rest is preserved.

 

6. Saved Furnace Dock Lake off Furnace Dock Road by purchasing the lake and watershed area from Con Edison. One third of the purchase price of the $300,000 came from the adjoining property owner/developer of a proposed townhouse plan. Saving this lake was critical to preserve the wildlife and biodiversity of the area.

 

7. “Abey Rose” property off Maple Ave / Furnace Dock Road the town recently acquired approximately 129 acres from the property owner to protect the integrity of this land and area. The property cannot be built upon and is preserved.

 

8.Reduced the “Habitat Lafayette” development from 300 to 117 homes in the early 1990’s. It is now called “Cortlandt Estates” and this took several years to reduce the proposed over-development.

 

9. Fifty (50) Acres off Sniffen Mountain Road/Furnace Dock Road were preserved when we asked the Valeria developer to donate this very sensitive land to the Town of Cortlandt instead of building ten (10) single family homes. They agreed and now the town has added this very special parcel to its areas of hiking trails/open space.

 

10. Hamlet of Verplanck/Town of Cortlandt:

  1. Purchased the former Newman property on the Hudson River for $600,000, in the 1990’s, reclaimed the land for several years using Brownsfield grant funding and now it’s our Cortlandt Waterfront Park after there was discovered an underground oil leak.
  2. The former Martin trailer parkland was deeded to the town in a negotiated life estate agreement in the early 1990’s. After Mr. Jim Martin passed away and after allowing the mobile homes to remain for an additional ten years, the entire property is now a town park, contiguous with the Cortlandt Waterfront Park.
  3. Steamboat Dock and the Overlook also an extension of this town’s lovely park area was preserved with a lovely gazebo and for an area for fishing and reflection of the river.
  4. We purchased 99 acres from Con Edison off Broadway, which abuts the Hudson River for recreational and/or municipal purposes.
  5. We turned town property near our Lake Meahagh into a lovely park, recreational site and added a community garden.

 

 11. Oscawana Island a beautiful property near the Hudson River is leased to the Town of Cortlandt by Westchester County into the future.

 

12. We protected wetlands, aquifers, watershed, lakes and trees with legislation and ordinances for the present and for our future.

 

13.  A total of 3,000 additional acres has been added to our Open Space inventory and has been used for recreational purposes and/or for protection of the environment. This has been balanced with Economic Growth in the appropriate areas of Town.

 

“I’m looking forward to continuing the efforts to balance economic growth in the right locations with protecting our residential neighborhoods and preserving sensitive environmental areas and parkland”

 

 

Linda D. Puglisi

Town Supervisor