ALBANY, NY — The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has informed the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway (UDSB) that funding for the proposed visitors center in Narrowsburg has been denied.

Ron Epstein, an assistant commissioner with DOT, wrote in a October 11 email, “While this project is meritorious and will contribute to revitalizing and transforming your community, unfortunately this project was not advanced under this particular funding opportunity.”

The funding to build the center was in place for several years, but was withdrawn after the project bogged down for various reasons.

A DOT spokesman did not immediately respond to a request to learn which projects had been funded with the “idle earmark funding.”