Proposal opposed
Developer proposes 240 units but group wants to keep 10 acres undeveloped
Two-hundred-forty units planned, but group says keep acres undeveloped.
A group of activists and residents opposed to a proposed 240-unit apartment complex on wooded acres along the Hudson River questions whether the city properly notified local agencies about the City Council naming itself lead agency for the environmental review of the Second Avenue Apartments project.
The Friends of the Mahicantuck are conducting in-depth reviews of each step the city takes in reviewing the project proposed by developer Kevin Vandenburgh. The local group would prefer that the 10-acre site, composed of nine acres in Troy and one acre in Schaghticoke, remain undeveloped.
The city letter identifies only the rezoning for the environmental review and fails to include the development, according to the Friends of the Mahicantuck. Jessica Bennett, a spokeswoman for the organization, said not including both items in the notification may require the city to restart the 30-day notice period which ends July 10.
“The city cannot segment the project,” said Bennett, who lives next door to the project site, which is listed as
1011 Second Ave.
Steven Strichman, the city’s commissioner of planning and economic devel
▶
opment, said the notification letter is correct. Strichman indicated that the project will undergo review by the Council’s Planning Committee before it reaches a council vote perhaps in September on the environmental findings.
The Friends of the Mahicantuck want the council to issued a positive declaration under the state environmental quality review act. This would trigger an extensive review of environmental impacts the project would have on the site and the surrounding area.
The group has started an online petition drive with a goal of 500 signatures supporting a positive finding under SEQRA.
“Please sign our petition demanding a “positive declaration” (or “pos dec”). This pos dec is needed to make sure the public has a strong say in this project,” the Friends group said in a statement.
The council voted 4-3 at its June meeting to name itself as the lead agency for conducting the environmental review of the project. The building site is at the far northern edge of the city between the Hudson River and Second Avenue on the Schaghticoke-troy border.
The council has to approve rezoning the site in order for the apartments to be built. The nine acres in the city is zoned for single-family homes. The acre in Schaghticoke is for the stormwater management system for the site.