Tonight, midway through a meeting that lasted for five hours, the Planning Board completed the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process for 75 North Seventh Street and 708 State Street and voted unanimously to make a negative declaration.
The Planning Board did not vote on approving the site plan, but a negative declaration is all that is needed for the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) to make a decision about granting PILOTs and other financial benefits to the project. The IDA meets tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for the purpose of doing just that. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. At the Planning Board meeting tonight, Dan Kent of the Galvan Foundation said that "site plan approval at the October meeting would be fine" for pursuing funding from NYS Homes and Community Renewal.
COPYRIGHT 2021 CAROLE OSTERINK
Number 18 asks if the project is INCONSISTENT with the existing community character, and that was a YES. It sure is out of character, but then again Galvan is trying to remake the neighborhood and call it their own.
ReplyDeleteNightmare in the making. An artist rendering, is a creative work designed to promote an idea, in this case a developers wet dream. Like the disaster at the Promenade Park down at Front Street, reality has no resemblance to an artists fantasy.
ReplyDeleteWe had a basic park layout that was very useful and could have been cleaned up and updated in sections without spending millions and shutting down the entire park. In it's place we had all trees destroyed and a gigantic concrete wheel chair ramp that takes up 75% of the entire park area, an area that was used by kids and adults alike. Of course some new trees and shrubs may be planted that could look nice in 20 or 30 years, if the roots take in the now compacted soil.
Who in their right mind would put the design of a multi million dollar park renovation up to a vote of local residents who have no experience or knowledge of park renovations? Then contract the job out to a company who is antagonistically running a fleet of enormous gravel trucks through the city? These boondoggles are an example of an out of control government so blinded by it's desire to be perceived as a champion of the underclass that it has lost sight of it's fiduciary responsibility to the public.
Hudsonites may be Luddites ?? it may be the lead in the pipes perhaps.
DeleteHudson is not allowed to have any good news. What a sad state of affairs posing as leadership. I mourn her loss.
DeleteI hope IDA members consider the long-term impacts of their decision this afternoon, as well as the opportunity cost of such a large handout to a project with such murky data, and vote no on this dubious proposition.
ReplyDeleteThere are other, better ways to create economic opportunities for residents than partnering with a sham non-profit. Hudson's leaders owe the community more.
Strangely and troublingly, #13, Impact on Transportation, has no reference to the impact on existing parking availability in the neighborhood. And this will be the one of the, if not THE, largest and most problematic impact of all from this development if it allowed to happen.
ReplyDelete