Greenway 101

Bonacic holds concept meeting

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY — “It’s totally up to you what the greenway would be—or not be if you don’t want it. It’s your home you’d be building,” Senator John Bonacic repeatedly told a group of town officials, Upper Delaware Council (UDC) representatives and interested residents gathered at an informational meeting on a possible New York State designation of the Upper Delaware River Valley as a state greenway.

“You can build in sunset clauses and you can opt out at any time,” he said. “And it doesn’t have to be called a greenway.”

Over 40 people—on both sides of the greenway fence—crowded into the meeting room of the UDC headquarters in Narrowsburg to listen to Carmella Mantello, executive director of the Hudson River Valley Greenway, explain how the state-funded initiative works in the Hudson River Valley.

“Of the possible 259 municipalities along the Hudson River that are eligible to belong to the Hudson Greenway, 210 have joined,” Mantello said. “And of those who joined, none have decided to opt out.”

Over the past 12 years, the program has distributed some $8 million to various programs in member communitites. The greenway program in the Hudson is a grass roots, voluntary process where valley communities partner with the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council to enhance local land use planning and develop regional strategies for the issues they face. “The greenway has made the Hudson Valley a region with an identity that attracts tourists and people who often decide to settle in the valley, Mantello said. “It also has attracted businesses.”

“The greenway is a way river towns could receive funding from the state to carry out projects they choose to accomplish,” Bonacic said.

Bonacic and Mantello said that there are no “takings” along the greenway. “We own no property and never intend to,” Mantello said. “This is a state agency that has no regulatory authority.”

“This is a level of government that can infringe on private property rights,” said Fremont resident Noel van Swol, who is encouraging town boards to reject the measure.

Highland resident Don Rupp also encouraged the gathering to “sweep the issue under the rug.”

“We do not need any help in preserving the valley,” he said.

Tusten Supervisor Ben Johnson disagreed. “We need to explore whether this greenway would be helpful,” he said.

Bonacic addressed the issue of private property rights by saying, “I consider myself a property rights advocate. Property rights will not be diminished by a greenway. This vehicle is anything you want it to be. Call it what you want,” he said.

“This is a grass-roots movement that gets its strength from local governments and residents,” Mantello said. “And home rule is guaranteed under the New York State Constitution.”

Bonacic and Mantello encouraged the gathering to speak to officials of the Hudson Valley. “Call up the ones who have joined—call up the ones who haven’t joined,” Mantello said.

Representatives from the Town of Deerpark, Lumberland, Highland, Tusten, Cochecton, and Delaware thanked the senator and Mantello for the information and said that they would bring the concept back to their boards in hopes of a favorable opinion.

Town of Fremont councilman Don Downs said he would encourage Fremont, who initially is opposed to the project, to be a part of the formation and conceptualizing of the project, and then opt out. “What do we have to lose, and why wouldn’t we want to put in input into the formation of this project?” Downs said.

“What more has to be said?” said Town of Delaware Supervisor William Moran. “We need funding to preserve the river.”