Visitors’ center belongs along the river

Posted 8/21/12

It’s the project that wouldn’t die. Almost everyone thought it was dead, or nearly so, in 2013, which was the last time this newspaper reported on the new visitors’ center. At that time, it was …

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Visitors’ center belongs along the river

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It’s the project that wouldn’t die. Almost everyone thought it was dead, or nearly so, in 2013, which was the last time this newspaper reported on the new visitors’ center. At that time, it was proposed to be built at Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg, NY. But recently the idea of a visitors center has returned to life with about $510,000 secured by former Congressman Maurice Hinchey more than a decade ago. (Another $250,000 secured later by Sen. John Bonacic is apparently no longer available).

In 2013, the project could not move forward because tough financial times dissuaded the county from kicking in the $150,000 it had promised to invest. Now, it turns out the state and federal funds are still available via the New York State Department of Transportation.

This information has sparked a debate about whether the proposed visitors’ center should be constructed near the river along the Scenic Byway, as Congress intended when it first approved the spending, or whether it should be built near the Montreign Casino, which is under construction in Monticello and coming amid great fanfare and expectation.

There is little doubt that the casino, when it opens, will cause quite a sensation and attract many visitors. But there is no guarantee that it will last forever. Indeed, as casinos open throughout the region, others are going bust. In 2014, four of the 12 casinos in Atlantic City closed their doors.

We hope Montreign has a long and prosperous life, but history indicates this is not all that likely. The hotel and Borscht Belt era faded with the changing times, and the same fate sooner or later probably awaits the casino.

The Upper Delaware River, by contrast, has been and will be here for a very long time. According to information on the website of the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, continuous habitation along the banks of the Upper Delaware River probably dates back more than 8,000 years. In more modern times, the river has attracted visitors for at least a couple of hundred years, and today’s estimates say that between 283,000 and 341,000 visit the river or the river corridor each year, and that figure could be increased by the presence of a visitors’ center.

Another question is this: would a visitors’ center placed near the casino have any real impact? The Adelaar Resort, which will house the Montriegn Casino, advertises that it is building a “$1 billion integrated entertainment and lifestyle complex” with the casino, 390 luxury hotel rooms, restaurants, a spa, conference rooms and “year-round entertainment options.” There will also be an indoor water park. Would a new visitors’ center costing less than $1 million—a tiny fraction of the cost of the resort—even be noticed in the neighborhood of such an enormous complex?

Casino advocates have long maintained that the casinos would boost the tourism industry in the entire county, but that has not proved to be the case in many instances. In Atlantic City, casinos opened, but the rest of the city remained poor and depressed, despite the glitz and glamour of the gaming industry. It would be nice to think that a young family would visit the casino and then drive the 45 minutes to Narrowsburg for a float down the river, but that seems unlikely to happen.

Now that officials are once again aware that money for a visitors’ center is available, the debate about where it should be located should include a great deal of public input. It is, after all, public dollars that will be spent to build it.

Many large tax incentives have already been granted to the casino, seeking to help ensure its success. Building the visitors’ center near the casino is an unmistakable case of the county putting all its eggs in one basket. Many elected officials have said that we must seek economic improvement in all areas, and not count on the casino as a silver bullet. This is a chance for them to prove they mean what they say.

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