Project Homerun
This entry was posted on April 6, 2010 3:13 PM and is filed under Issues.
As our readers know, POLITICSARELOCAL.COM has long been an opponent of the Project Homerun proposal. This project for the Beaver Swamp Brook area on Oakland Avenue was the brainchild of former Mayor Steve Malfitano in a misguided attempt to add recreational facilities in a swamp. Previous to his proposing this project, a citizens committee had studied and determined that the site would always be prone to flooding. Our blog Editor has spoken out against it at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) public hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, spoken out against it at Town Board meetings, and has written Letters to the Editor in opposition to it. A number of times our opposition has appeared on this blog. We remain opposed to it today.
We realize that adding another voice to those who want the site excavated and returned to its original state, may give people a wrong impression. This is not a political issue. This is not about who currently sits in the Mayor's office, who sits on the Town Board, or our support for the current administration. That support remains firm. This is about a single issue with which we take exception. The remediation of the site was imperative. We have been an advocate for doing what is right for the residents in the brook area. Adding significant amounts of fill to raise the grade of the site was the first mistake that Harrison made. The area has always flooded. We believe that Harrison acted in error when it moved ahead with the project. It appears that this was done before an honest, comprehensive evaluation of what course of action would not negatively impact the already vulnerable flood plain and surrounding properties was done. Now, despite resulting extensive flooding, adding additional fill and landscaping is being proposed. Not only is this just not the correct course of action, the appropriateness of it may be based on bad flood plain data. Regardless of the claims to the contrary by the Town's consultant, the addition of fill has negatively impacted the brook area. You would need to be blind not to see that.
We visited the area on both sides of the brook on March 30, 2010. Once again, the brook had significantly flooded the area and caused severe damage to personal property just as it had done in the recent past. Homes along both sides of the brook were inundated with water causing a great deal of property damage. Businesses, which have the potential for leaching toxic chemicals into the brook, were once again subjected to the flooding washing toxins into the brook. In 2007, the consultant claimed that the flooding was caused by a "100-year storm." It would appear that such a 100-year event is no longer needed to cause severe flooding. This latest flooding seems to conflict with the findings of the consultants studies. This is clearly unfair to residents who live adjacent to the brook.
A petition website, www.STOPPROJECTHOMERUN.com, has been setup up by Harrison resident Mike La Dore. As residents may know, Mike has been fighting this very public battle for many years. It has cost him and his neighbors on both sides of the brook financially to protect and restore their property each and every time there is a heavy rainstorm. In Mike's case, he is also currently involved in a lawsuit by one of the Town's consultants because Mike had the temerity to challenge the validity of the consultant's data and subsequent studies. Now it appears that this consultant is charging Harrison an additional $50,000 to revisit his study documentation to answer DEC questions. The opponents claim has always been that the site is sinking because it is a swamp. Harrison does not need a consultant to see that this is true. Just visit the site. In our view, the $50,000 is throwing good money after bad. We understand that there are DEC funds that are owed to Harrison. If the application is withdrawn, these funds may be released by the DEC.
With that in mind, we recommend that all residents sign the STOPPROJECTHOMERUN petition. Perhaps if enough pressure is brought to bear on the Town Board, the site application will be withdrawn by Harrison. This action will bring to an end a long, embarrassing and costly political escapade. That is the correct thing to do.
