ROSCOE, NY — Robert Plumstead and his wife have been traveling to their seasonal cabin on 50 acres on Polner Hollow Road, on the private part of the road, since 1977. But in the last two years, they have not been able to visit it very much, because it can’t be accessed by vehicle. The cabin is more than a mile away from a small bridge that was damaged in Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The delay in repairing the road has been caused by a dispute between neighbors.

The small bridge had been damaged before Superstorm Sandy in other storms, and after those earlier events, Plumstead would get together with his neighbor George Kirby and Doug and Elaine Fettig, and they would all work together to get the bridge fixed, according to Plumstead and Kirby’s sister, Donna Rose Grimm, who also often visited the cabin in the past.

But after Superstorm Sandy, the Fettigs were not eager to have the bridge repaired. The Fettigs have a large house on the public part of Pelnor Hollow Road, which is maintained by the town of Colchester. According to Grimm, the Fettigs installed an alarm system at the site, so they could be alerted whenever anyone travels on the private road, even though the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says that the private part of the road is a public right-of-way. The road leads to state lands, hiking trails and a DEC-maintained lean-to that may be used by overnight hikers.

A spokesperson for the DEC said in an email to The River Reporter, “Pelner Hollow Road is a private road. DEC owns a right-of-way on the road that allows the public to access state-owned property. A private landowner placed a locked gate on the road due to a bridge on private property that is in disrepair and unsafe for motor vehicle travel. DEC is going to install signs near the gate to inform the public of the road closure. The public can still legally access the state-owned property via the right-of-way on foot or by other non-motorized modes of transportation.”

Because the bridge runs over a small brook, the DEC must issue a permit before the bridge can be repaired. Kirby and Plumstead have agreed to pay the $12,000 to fix the bridge and even signed checks to have the repairs made. According to Plumstead, the permit has been applied for, but the Fettigs won’t allow the contractor to fix the bridge. Plumstead said he was informed by DEC that only the Fettigs may apply for the permit to fix the bridge.

The DEC was asked to confirm this aspect of the story, but so far the DEC has not responded to that question.

The Fettigs were asked to comment on the matter and, after first agreeing to do so, responded this way: “We have given more thought to this request, and have discussed it with the attorney who is representing us on this matter. As this is a private matter, we do not feel it is appropriate to discuss in the press.” While the Fettigs consider it a private matter, the DEC says the public has a right to traverse this private road, by foot or bike for now.

According to Plumstead and Grimm, at one point the Fettigs said they would allow the bridge to be repaired but only if Kriby and Plumstead signed a document, prepared by the Fettig’s attorney. Plumstead and Grimm said the document had some onerous conditions: that the heirs of the owners of the two cabins would have no right to inheritance rights; that the number of visitors would be limited; that permission to travel the private road and DEC right-of-way could be revoked at any time.

Plumstead wrote in an email: “Our attorney told us not to sign that document, or we would be giving up our legal rights, that now exist.”

The road has been used to access the two cabins since they were built in the late ‘50s or early ‘60s. But now, Plumstead and his wife, and Kirby and his sister, can only access the cabins after a rather long walk.