June 24, 2003

Contact: Ian Michaels (718) 595-6600

Agreement on Crossroads Review Will Provide $100,000 to Local Towns to Study Environmental Impact

Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that as part of an agreement with State Senators John J. Bonacic and James L. Seward the DEP will provide up to $100,000 for local review of the proposed Crossroads development. The money will be shared by the towns of Shandaken and Middletown.

Commissioner Ward also announced that DEP will be withdrawing a proposed $600,000 consulting contract for review of the project, and will instead be proceeding with a smaller contract focusing primarily on water quality issues. The contract will support the work of DEP’s own professional staff in reviewing and commenting on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

“Our first priority is ensuring that water quality is preserved and protected and, as an involved agency, we will continue to play an active role in the review of the Crossroads project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act,” said Commissioner Ward. “At the same time, we recognize that local governments also play an important role in articulating and addressing issues of local concern. The agreement we have reached will advance both purposes; it will allow the towns to conduct a more comprehensive review of issues that are most important to their residents, while the City continues to meet its obligation to protect the water supply that half the State depends on.”

The agreement to provide funding for Shandaken and Middletown was reached after representatives of those communities expressed concerns about participation in the environmental review of the project, and a desire to ensure that potential local impacts were fully analyzed and addressed.

Crossroads is the largest development proposed in the New York City watershed in decades. It includes two 18-hole golf courses, 263 housing units in 76 separate buildings, two hotels, over 13,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a conference center, a health spa, maintenance buildings and an extensive network of roads and other supporting infrastructure, all on 1,900 acres of watershed land that drains into two of the City’s largest reservoirs.