Neighbors want park on site of natural gas regulator
Central Hudson to review request for public use of Uptown property
Neighbors of the Washington Avenue property where Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. will build a new natural gas regulator station have asked the utility to consider using part of the parcel for a public park.
Brad Will, a former city alderman who lives near the site, said some residents met with Central Hudson representatives a few weeks ago to discuss possible changes for the property at 245 Washington Ave. He said an architect brought along drawings to show utility company representatives some ideas to make the gas regulator station “better fit into the residential neighborhood.”
One of the proposals was to create a community benefit agreement that would allow public use of the property outside the perimeter of the gas regulator station, Will said. He added the station itself would take up approximately 15 percent of the Uptown property at the corner of Washington Avenue and Janet Street.
Will said if Central Hudson agreed to pull back the location of a fence to just around the station itself, it would leave enough room for an L-shaped park.
He said neighbors also asked Central Hudson to consider more landscaping for the site to further screen the station from the community. He said the utility was also asked to consider further noise reduction measures.
“It’s kind of Central Hudson’s call,” Will said this week. “We think it would really be an unprecedented and good public relations call on their part.”
On Feb. 20, Central Hudson was granted approval from the city Planning Board to build the aboveground natural gas regulator station. The approval is for a one-year period.
John Maserjian, media
relations director for Central Hudson, said the approval came after the Planning Board heard and considered public comments about the project.
“As a part of our preconstruction process, we met with the public and listened to additional ideas for the site,” Maserjian said in an email Thursday. “We are in the process of reviewing their ideas.”
The new regulator station will replace an existing apparatus on nearby Emerson Street built in 1930. The new station is to consist of two lines that come out of the ground and go through equipment that is designed to balance the pressure
of natural gas running to about 5,100 customers.
During review of the project, neighbors raised concerns regarding the safety of the new station, its impact on the community and property values, as well as the noise it would generate.
Will said the station would be fenced off from public access. He added that if safety of the station were a concern, the project would never have been approved.
Additionally, Will said if a community benefit agreement is reached, it would require the benefit holder to have insurance on anything outside the fence and therefore take the onus off Central Hudson. He said neighbors may work with the Kingston Land Trust on that aspect.