Visioning

The Upper Delaware River Corridor

A pessimist’s view

By CLEM FULLERTON

Once upon a time, in September of 1959, Barbara Ann and I attained our dream of owning our own home. We escaped from the Bronx, New York to a large Dutch colonial, built in 1929, located on a dead end dirt road. One of its charms, since I would be commuting to Manhattan, was that it was in walking distance of the Bedford Hills railroad station.

It was not unusual early in the morning to flush grouse or deer along the dirt road. The supermarket was located 10 minutes down Route 117 to Mount Kisco. This was a larger village, but except for the supermarket, all the stores were mom-and-pop operations.

Then came the developers. New homes were built along our dirt road. The new folks insisted the town pave the road. The deer and the grouse disappeared. High-rise apartments sprang up in Mount Kisco. Light manufacturing firms were lured to the area. New home developments popped up like mushrooms. Five traffic lights had to be put in place between Bedford Hills and Mount Kisco.

There were a few wise voices that warned of the problems that rapid, barely controlled development would bring. We were all too busy to listen. Besides, development would add to the tax base. Property and school taxes would be lower, so the developers claimed. When we sold our home in 1995, our taxes had increased six-fold. Development brought the need for more police, who then needed more police cars. Bigger and more expensive schools had to be built. Roads had to be improved and upgraded to handle the new traffic load. Only our oldest son was able to afford a home in the area. The price of homes, plus the burden of ever-higher taxes, were more than our other four children could bear.

Sadly, it seems, I am watching an instant replay of what occurred in northern Westchester. Local government officials seem unprepared and in some cases, downright inept. Local residents for the most part, are unaware of the tidal wave of development that will occur in 10 to 15 years. Here again, there are a few voices trying to sound the alarm. The feisty little lady who runs this paper, Bill Douglass of the Upper Delaware Council and a handful of others are doing their best to educate the public to the growth problems that are coming, just over the horizon. We do have two entities that will be allies in the attempt to preserve a part of the beauty the area has today. One is the National Park Service. The other is the Upper Delaware Council. How much support these two organizations will have in the struggle against uncontrolled development is questionable. Why? As for the UDC, this dedicated, hard-working group of local citizens still does not have the support of several towns on both sides of the river. Why?

I do not agree with the national political views expressed by other contributors to this paper. Nevertheless, on the issue of trying to preserve the environment that brought many of us to this area, we are all in complete agreement. However, the long-run success rests squarely on the shoulders of you, gentle reader. Will you educate yourself on the development issues before us? Will you find the time to attend meetings and voice your opinions? If not, then the fate of this area is sealed. Developers will carve up the land into strip malls.

It will be your children and grandchildren who will suffer from your failure to act. They will wonder why you did not preserve at least a part of the land we all cherish. As I write this, a line from a once popular song comes to mind. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” In my opinion that is exactly what you all will allow to happen. Am I wrong? Show me!

[Clem Fullerton, a resident of Stalker, PA and a member of Trout Unlimited, writes a fishing column, “The Complete Tangler,” for The River Reporter.