Supervisor Meets Palisadians
At the February 4th annual Palisades Community Center meeting, the guests were Orangetown Supervisor Teresa Kenny and representatives from the Sparkill-Palisades Fire Department, Chief Michael Yannazonne Junior and Senior and Palisades resident Captain Joshua Panter. Supervisor Kenny is beginning her third term and we are grateful that she comes to our annual meeting each year to discuss local issues.
During the meeting, Chief Yannazonne Jr. announced a special partnership with St. Thomas Aquinas College to offer tuition scholarships to volunteers who become firefighters at the Sparkill-Palisades Fire Department (see page 5 for details).
The following items were presented and discussed during the Supervisor's portion of the meeting:
HNA—Due to the $185M judgment against HNA because of an issue at a NYC Park Avenue property owned by the SL Green Realty Corp, SL Green was granted ownership of the HNA property last August. Since then, SL Green has been negotiating with Reveil LLC (the hotel project selected by the Town a few years ago). It's been slow going, but word is that SL Green and Reveil have reached a sale agreement. However, the agreement hinges on both sides doing due diligence regarding property evaluation, funding, etc. The clock is running; Supervisor Kenny indicated that approximately 45 days remain to reach a settlement.
As far as HNA being in arrears of taxes for years, it is not a burden to the Town. Back taxes are paid by Rockland County, which will be reimbursed by the final sale of the property. The Supervisor has been in close contact with SL Green representatives since the transfer, and they have made it clear that they are not interested in keeping the property to develop it themselves. If the deal falls through with Reveil, the Town may enter into another "competition" to find a preferred project. The Town has received numerous calls from developers who are interested in the property. Last year's efforts to pursue eminent domain came off the table as soon as SL Green took ownership of the property. We are actively watching any developments and we will notify the community immediately if we need to "show up." Right now, it is all in the hands of lawyers, engineers and the like.
Community Preservation Fund—Supervisor Kenny along with other elected officials worked hard for three years to pass a bill that would enable the Town to build up a fund from new real estate sales that would be used to identify and purchase special parcels of land and to secure them for environmental protection. Governor Hochel vetoed the Special Legislation needed to move this forward, but the Supervisor will continue her efforts to pass this.
Moratorium on Warehouses—Residents throughout Orangetown have been fighting back at the number of developers who are proposing to build mega warehouses along Rte. 303. The Town Board would like to place a moratorium on new applications, however it is very complicated. Currently, two proposals (near Rte. 303 and Mountain View Avenue) have been going through the boards for years and have faced great adversity from residents. Once a project has spent money on engineers, designers, lawyers, etc, a moratorium cannot legally be placed on them. So the Town is investigating setting moratoriums for future applications.
Rte. 9W Intersection—Where are the safety implementations we've been asking for since 2008? NYS DOT is currently in the "design phase"... now for over two years. Supposedly they will unveil their design in the fall of 2024 at a public hearing. Then if all is approved, construction will occur sometime in 2025-26. Community representatives have been in touch with DOT representatives to try to move things along, so we can have informed public dialogues. The Town is having similar frustrations with the DOT and safety improvements to Rte. 303.
Dismal Cell Service—Verizon has agreed with Lamont to install a cell tower on Lamont's property. The final step is appearing before the Town Board for approval. Although we desperately need improved, reliable cell service, the Supervisor was asked to require Verizon to do an audit/investigation on the three current towers on Rte. 340 and Rte. 9W to determine what can be done to get them operational. It could be a matter of raising the height or redirecting the pads.
Congestion Pricing—The NYS MTA is listening to public comment until March 11. To register your comment visit: https://contact.mta.info/s/forms/CBDTP. There is also information on the four upcoming public hearings to be held before a final vote.
Misdirected 911 Calls—Be advised that sometimes, depending on where you are in Palisades, due to the placement of various cell towers and the Hudson River, your 911 call may be picked up in Westchester or even NYC. If so, be very clear and firm that you are in Rockland County, the Town of Orangetown, the hamlet of Palisades. Your call will be transferred to Rockland County emergency services.
Be in the know! You can get informative weekly emails from the Supervisor and the Highway Department by signing up on the Town's website at www.orangetown.com. Don't forget, Town Board meetings are open to all. You can find the meeting schedules on the website.