FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE03-07
February
5, 2003
Contact:
Charles Sturcken
(718) 595-6600
New
York City Acquires Two Properties in Kent, New York Watershed Land Acquisitions
Now Tops 44,000 Acres
Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) announced today that the DEP Land Acquisition and Stewardship
Program (LASP) has recently acquired two parcels in the Town of Kent,
totaling 155 Acres. This acquisition brings the total number of acres
of sensitive lands now protected from development throughout the nine-county
watershed to over 44,000 acres. Both properties are located west of Route
52 in northern Putnam County and within the Boyds Corner/West Branch Reservoir
watershed. The area is considered a high priority for the City's watershed
protection programs, a comprehensive effort to safeguard the water supply
for over 8 million New York City residents and approximately one million
consumers in Westchester, Putnam, Ulster and Orange counties.
One parcel, a 64-acre tract on Route 52, had been earmarked by prior
owners for construction of a 90,000 square foot assembly hall. The expected
negative water quality impacts associated with the development of this
facility and other impervious surfaces, such as a planned 700-vehicle
parking lot, will now be avoided as a result of the City's acquisition.
The second parcel, a 91-acre tract, abuts Big Buck Mountain State multiple
use area, and surrounds a subdivision known as South Lake. The property
had been considered by the prior owner for development.
Commissioner Ward said “The response from landowners to the Land
Acquisition and Stewardship Program has been tremendous. To date, almost
600 willing sellers have agreed to accept the Acquisition Program’s
fair market value purchase offers and purchase-contract terms. This has
allowed the City to protect sensitive watershed lands from development,
to provide passive recreational opportunities for the public, and to do
so without loss of property taxes to local communities.” Commissioner
Ward said that “the city also plans to open the properties, which
adjoin other protected areas, including 894 acres purchased by the City
in July of 1999 for public access and passive recreational uses at some
point in the future.”
With these purchases, City acquisitions now total over 6,300 acres in
Putnam and Dutchess counties, bringing the total of lands protected throughout
the Catskill/Delaware basins (both sides of the Hudson River) to 41,000
acres. An additional 3,700 acres in agricultural easements in the Catskills
have been secured by the Watershed Agricultural Council, one of the City's
partners in watershed protection.
The Land Acquisition and Stewardship Program acquires land or conservation
easements at fair market value from willing sellers only, and pays property
taxes in proportion to the property rights acquired. All such properties
are purchased under conditions established by the 1997 Watershed Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA), which was signed by local watershed communities, several
environmental organizations, the State of New York, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. To date the Land Acquisition and Stewardship Program
has met or exceeded all requirements established by the MOA.
For more information about the Land Acquisition and Stewardship Program,
landowners can contact (800) 575-LAND. For more information about the
City's watershed protection programs, visit the DEP web site at nyc.gov/dep.