April 10, 2005

 

HUGE PARCEL OF PRISTINE WATERSHED PROPERTY IN SOMERS PROTECTED AS OPEN SPACE RATHER THAN ENDING AS SUB-DIVISION

Kaplowitz and LaMotte Lead Successful Effort for County Purchase of 654-Acre Eagle River Property

Led by County Legislators Michael Kaplowitz (D,I-Somers) and Ursula LaMotte (R,I,C- Bedford), the Board of Legislators finalized its acquisition of one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels in Westchester----the 654-acre Eagle River property in the Town of Somers. In a unanimous vote at its meeting today, the Board voted to approve $4 million toward the purchase and preservation of 370 acres of the parcel. The Town of Somers will also ante up $4 million and the State of New York, $3 million, toward this parcel purchase.

The operation and maintenance of the 370-acre county-town portion will become the responsibility of the Town of Somers, as will a separate 15-acre parcel that will be owned by Somers.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection will purchase the other 269 acres for $9.4 million. Most of this property drains into the nearby Muscoot Reservoir, which is part of the New York City water supply system.

Kaplowitz, Chair of the Board’s Budget Committee that recommended approval of the purchase, and LaMotte, were particularly pleased to see this invaluable, undeveloped tract of land that spans their legislative districts preserved.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve a gem of a parcel,” Kaplowitz said. “It’s a win against the war on sprawl and overdevelopment and a clear victory for residents’ quality of life. The purchase takes the development of a planned 108-home subdivision, and the higher taxes that would have resulted, off the table. Instead, we will have an unbroken ribbon of open space that follows the beautiful, bio-diverse banks of the Angle Fly Preserve.”

LaMotte said that she was gratified that so many entities were able to come together to make this purchase possible.

“Partnering with other governmental entities was the key to pulling this effort together,” said LaMotte. “We managed to keep several government entities focused on the clearly critical environmental goals of preserving valuable open space while also protecting the New York City drinking water supply. This initiative serves as a template for how government can successfully push back the growing pressures of private development to preserve the character of our communities.”