Toronto battle continues

End game may be approaching

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — They have been pushing for the right to walk down to the reservoir for seven years, and they seem just as committed to the cause today as they were at the beginning. Members of Friends of Toronto gathered near a newly built stone wall that blocks the fading dirt road that members of the public used to travel to get to the Toronto Reservoir.

As he has done periodically throughout the years, Dr. Herman Goldfarb told the crowd of about 40 supporters that he and his companions were not going to let the matter rest. He said, “We cannot, in this country, let people run roughshod over the law because they have money. And money is the issue, we know it’s the issue in politics, and this is a microcosm of what’s going on in the whole country.”

The relevant laws, however, are open to interpretation. Developer Steve Dubrovsky bought the land surrounding the reservoir and turned it into a gated community. His consistent position has been that there is no legal mandate for the public to have access through the development to the reservoir. However, Alliance Energy, the company that runs the hydro-electric plant at the reservoir, is required to maintain the disputed public access site as a condition of its permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

In February 2007, Judge Robert Sackett ruled in Dubrovsky’s favor, saying essentially that the controversial road was private and the public did not have a right to use it. In 2008, however, that ruling was overturned on appeal and the case went back to court.

The matters to be decided will concern not only whether the public will be allowed to cross the private property to get to the reservoir, but also whether Dubrovsky improperly held Smallwood resident Bob Barrett against his will when Barrett sought to use the reservoir for recreational purposes and whether Dubrovsky improperly had Barrett arrested.

Barrett said most of the depositions in the case have been completed, with Dubrovsky’s yet to be taken, which is expected to happen soon. After that, a trial may be scheduled if a settlement can’t be worked out.

Joseph Klimaszewski, a vice president with Alliance, said in an email that the company identifies with all sides of the debate and complimented The Chapin Estate development as a “beautiful example of how development and nature can coexist harmoniously.” He added, however, “as part of a federally licensed power project, under the law, the Toronto Reservoir is a resource that must be available for everyone to enjoy, not just a few. And it is here that the residential development is in conflict with the obligations of the law and the public’s interests.”