Says environmental concerns not addressed

The Cold Spring Village Board on Wednesday (April 8) unanimously voted to sue Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc. and state parks, saying the environmental review of the 7.5-mile trail to Beacon was inadequate.

The Philipstown Town Board followed suit on Thursday (April 9), with Judy Farrell the only person on the five-member board rejecting a resolution authorizing the town to partner with the village on a lawsuit.

Cold Spring alleges that the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement, released in January, failed to comply with the requirements of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. It states that the FGEIS didn't address significant concerns identified by the Village Board, including "analysis of environmental impacts, infrastructure demands, traffic, parking, public safety and consistency with local land use controls."

HHFT is the sponsor of the project and state parks is the lead agency. The resolution, which passed 5-0, authorizes village attorney John Furst to begin legal action.

Mayor Kathleen Foley said the board has until May 7 to contest the FGEIS. "If we don't do this, we are remiss in our fiduciary responsibilities to the village, given the long-term costs," she said. "We are up against a very well-funded organization and a state agency, but we need to have sovereignty and to have say over our own waterfront."

Dockside Park in Cold Spring, which is owned by the state but managed by the village, is HHFT's preferred southern gateway for the trail.

The village's resolution said that if Philipstown initiates a similar legal challenge, the municipalities will file a joint lawsuit, with Philipstown taking the lead. Although the Town Board's agenda for the Thursday (April 9) only mentioned a "discussion regarding a response from the town to the Fjord Trail FEIS," and did not include a draft resolution regarding the Article 78, the board voted to authorize a lawsuit.

When Farrell questioned spending taxpayer money on a lawsuit the town and village could lose, Supervisor John Van Tassel said, "I don't think we can afford it either, but I don't think we can afford not to do it" because the municipalities will be unable to challenge the FGEIS if they wait.

"If we lose the court case, we lose the court case," said Van Tassel. "I'm going to be able to sleep at night knowing that we've exhausted every legal option we can and every negotiation that we can."

The lawsuit will be filed in state court in Carmel under Article 78 of New York Civil Practice Law and Rules, which enables municipalities and others to challenge the actions or inactions of the state, local government agencies and public bodies.

In a statement on Thursday, HHFT said, "Article 78 proceedings challenging environmental reviews carry a high burden of proof for the plaintiffs, which is very rarely met when an EIS has been prepared. Taxpayers of Cold Spring — and Philipstown, if the Town Board moves to make a similar resolution — are being asked to fund a frivolous and expensive lawsuit."

"I'm deeply disappointed with this approach," said Peter Mullan, the Fjord Trail's president and CEO. "HHFT has made every effort to nurture a collaborative partnership with Philipstown and Cold Spring. … We are collaborating with Putnam County, Philipstown and Cold Spring on the pending [state transportation] grant to complete sidewalks on Fair Street by committing $450,000 in matching funds required for the project to be eligible. Why is this type of divisive, incendiary action necessary at tremendous local taxpayer expense, especially as local governments deal with stretched budgets and cut services? The supervisor [John Van Tassel] and mayor seem intent on continuing to foster a climate of conflict."

In its statement, HHFT also cited "troubling public accountability issues" because, it said, two village trustees "are active members of the local opposition group, Protect the Highlands, but were not recused from voti...