- August
- 26
Preserve Ramapo’s Robert Rhodes and county Legislator Joe Meyers will hold a press conference on the steps of the courthouse at 9 a.m. tomorrow during which they will announce a lawsuit against the town of Ramapo and its board to stop the sale of the former Tilcon quarry located in Suffern.
Members of the village board have been upset that Town Supervisor St. Lawrence and the Town Board decided to sell the quarry in Suffern without consulting the village.
The property is to be sold to a developer proposing at least 440 condominiums. Rhodes, Meyers, and James Hyer, their attorney, will explain the reason for the lawsuit during the conference.
St. Lawrence has said that alleviating floods along the Mahwah River – particularly in the Squire’s Gate neighborhood – was the impetus for the quarry sale.
Posted by Suzan Clarke on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 1:39 pm |
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- July
- 1
It’s may not be news to folks in Suffern who’ve kept tabs on such things, but it could be years before the Army Corps of Engineers, along with the states of New York and New Jersey, approve a multi-prong effort to keep the Mahwah River at bay.
The year 2013 was a date that Gerald Levitus, president of the Squire’s Gate homeowners association, recalled of a potential construction start-up, and that may not take into consideration the long list of projects that could come out of this year’s massive flooding in the Midwest.
The Army Corps of Engineers Web site shows that a Mahwah-Ramapo river project, based on a 1990 design, would cost $23 million in today’s money.
State Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, has pledged New York’s cooperation and contribution to funding — both New York and New Jersey must sign off on any project, as well as Suffern and Ramapo — and he organized a meeting last week of interested local, federal and state officials to discuss the situation.
Posted by James Walsh on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pm |
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- June
- 19
The second-most populous village in Ramapo appears to be at the cusp of a condominium construction craze.
Not only is the village looking to develop condominiums in an urban renewal site along Orange Avenue, but a builder has proposed as many as 440 in a spent quarry between Lafayette Avenue and the Thruway.
The latter plan is to be coupled with a flood-control project that would draw water from the Mahwah River, relief long sought, especially by residents of the Squire’s Gate neighborhood that was last swamped by Hurricane Floyd.
Some downtown merchants support the Orange Avenue project as bringing residents closer to their shops.
Do you have any concerns? Is increased traffic a worry? What about the water supply? How do Suffern folks feel about the potential of having a couple of thousand new neighbors?
Posted by James Walsh on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 6:04 pm |
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- November
- 8
Over the past few years, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence directed his clout Suffern’s way on numerous occasions, for what would seem to be the benefit of residents.
He worked to get Avon Products to keep its research and development operation going in the village. He arranged to acquire the Tilcon quarry as a way to reduce the threat of flooding in the Squire’s Gate neighborhood. He offered to pony up some town cash to help buy the Schwarz property and keep it from development. He also worked to keep power plants out of the nearby Torne Valley.
So why didn’t more villagers vote for St. Lawrence? Six polling places had him lagging Anthony Mele, his unsuccessful challenger, by 386 votes, 940 to 554, according to unoffical results still being verified this week.
Why?
Posted by James Walsh on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 3:12 pm |
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- April
- 19
U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx) met today with the new state DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) commissioner, Alexander ‘Pete’ Grannis. On the agenda: flooding in Rockland and flood-control projects in Clarkstown and Ramapo.
Engel had a similar meeting last month with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the flood-control progjects, asking them to move foward on them, particularly Squires Gate.
Engel served in the state Assembly way back when with Grannis. Engel said his friend “promised to quickly review several flood control projects in Clarkstown and Ramapo that are pending.”
The Army Corps had told Engel that the Squires Gate project needed state approval before they could do their thing; Grannis promised to review it asap.
Other projects Engel spoke to Grannis about:
• Cranford Drive flood amelioration
• Elks Drive channel realignment projects
If you live in any of these areas, let us know what you think about the congressman’s efforts and how you fared in the recent storm.
Posted by Amy Vernon on Thursday, April 19th, 2007 at 5:18 pm |
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