As port grows, concern focuses on leader’s ties
In Coeymans and beyond, McHugh plays many roles
COEYMANS — When attorney George D. McHugh campaigned in 2019 to be the leader of this Hudson River town, population 5,000, some residents had concerns about whether his previous job as general counsel and spokesman for the thriving Port of Coeymans could create an ethical quandary.
Three years after McHugh was elected town supervisor, the port continues to expand — with its eyes on a multimillion-dollar contract to take part in New York’s wind turbine industry. But questions continue to swirl around McHugh, who in addition to his part-time supervisor’s job has become an influential regional figure as an attorney for three surrounding towns as well as being full-time legal counsel for Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. McHugh’s wife, a former paralegal, is also in charge of coordinating Albany County’s economic development efforts.
McHugh has gained a foothold in these various government institutions as concerns have been raised about his involvement in the town’s planning and zoning boards, which he pushed to merge after he was elected. Some residents also questioned his installation of a local business owner as Planning Board chairman, and his decision to move his town office to a building that businessman owns. Those actions and others have drawn attention from residents who expressed criticism about McHugh as town supervisor and his close political connections throughout the county, which in turn could arguably benefit the port’s owner, businessman Carver Laraway.
During his campaign, McHugh told the Times Union he didn’t work for Laraway or Carver Companies any more, and would recuse himself from any matter involving them that would go before the Town Board. But the candidate also said he would be willing to represent Laraway as his personal at
torney if asked. McHugh’s adult son works for a port that Carver Companies owns in South Carolina.
Carver Companies, based in Altamont, is the umbrella organization for divisions of Laraway’s business, which includes the ports as well as a construction firm and a sand and gravel operation.
Several town residents declined to speak on the record for this story because they said they fear possible retribution. But others, including past political opponents and others frustrated by unannounced clearcutting of wooded property along the Hudson River by Carver Companies, say they are fed up.
Sara Pruiskma, a McHugh critic who previously ran for town board as part of a slate of Democratic candidates, said the supervisor’s governing style seems to be designed to shut down dissent.
In recent weeks, Pruiskma has been organizing with other residents to ensure the port’s business plans don’t run roughshod over residents. But she understands why some don’t want to speak publicly.
“I don’t need it, I don’t want it, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to be quiet,” she said.
McHugh did not return multiple calls seeking comment. In response to an emailed request for an interview, he emailed a statement.
“The Town Board and I are very excited about the offshore wind project and the prospect of industries, such as General Electric and Seimens Gamesa investing in Coeymans and bringing with them hundreds of good-paying, green energy jobs and an increased tax base,” he wrote. “All of our local businesses and taxpayers benefit in the process.”
Clear-cutting
Ashley Redfield and her husband, Jason, watched as contractors working for Carver Companies took down hundreds of trees on property adjacent to land the couple own along River Road.
Before the heavy machinery showed up last month, Redfield said, she had no idea the land was going to be cleared. She went to the town to try to learn more about the work, but got no answers. She reached out to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Carver Companies with limited success. No one from Carver returned her messages, but she was able to speak with an official at the state agency. A meeting with residents is in the works, she said.
Redfield said her family and their neighbors are frustrated by the lack of communication from the town and Carver, and are worried about the potential for environmental impacts on their water and property.
“I think that the general consensus is that everybody is just kind of wondering, ‘Well, what’s going to happen next?’ Because we know that there’s a huge project going on for the port,” she said. “And there’s talk about dredging in the Hudson (River). And people just want to know what they are going to be doing with the fill and what are the long-term environmental impacts of all of this.”
The land behind the Redfield home was sold in May to a company associated with Carver Companies, Carjan Holdings LLC., for $940,000. The 54-acre property with an address of 47 Bronk Road was owned for decades by members of the Powell family, the same family that founded the Powell & Minnock Brick Co. that later became the Port of Coeymans.
It’s unclear what the company’s plans are for the parcel. A spokeswoman said the company received all the necessary permits and at this time there are no specific plans for the site beyond the permitted work. Carver Laraway did not return a call to his cellphone. DEC records obtained by the Times Union show the company is permitted to clear 27 acres.
But the property may be tied to the port’s offshore wind expansion plans. The port has been designated by the state as one of the preferred sites for offshore wind manufacturing, and last month GE said it is in the planning stages to build two large offshore wind turbine manufacturing facilities at the port. The project would employ nearly 900 workers and include a new wharf that would be 400 feet long and 70 feet wide.
Paperwork filed with the DEC last year for the property directly south indicates a more than 220-acre plot at 87 Bronk Road — still owned by a member of the Powell family — is designated as one of two sites that would hold more than a million cubic yards of material from the port expansion project. The Bronk Road properties are zoned residential. The land at 87 Bronk Road had been considered as a potential site for a solar farm, according to town Planning Board minutes. It was unclear if that is still the plan.
“If it does go industrial, what’s that going to do to everybody’s property?” Jason Redfield asked. “Because then is (Carver) just going to come along and scoop up all of our land below market value, because then it gets him even more?”
The port’s ties to the Town Board extend beyond McHugh: Town Board member Brandon Lefevre, whom McHugh named deputy town supervisor, is a recruiter for Carver Companies.
When McHugh left Carver Companies in 2019 and decided to run for town supervisor, some residents feared it was at the behest of Laraway — or at least that, if elected, McHugh would work to smooth the way for the company’s planned expansions.
Interference
McHugh came into office promising a pro-business approach and revitalizing the town where he grew up. Some of the town’s initiatives, such as reducing the number of trucks on Main Street, lowering speed limits along certain roads and adding sidewalks, have been met with approval from residents. But others have drawn criticism.
McHugh merged the Planning and Zoning boards with the idea of streamlining operations. Last January, he appointed his sister-in-law, Candace McHugh, as town clerk after the previously elected clerk stepped down two days into her term. Candace McHugh ran for election unopposed in November.
McHugh also pushed to replace the existing Town Hall on Russell Road, citing mold in the basement along with space and accessibility issues. The proposal called for the town to borrow $4 million for a $7 million, two-story building.
Former Town Clerk Cindy Rowzee, a Democrat, forced a permissive referendum on the project and town voters rejected the proposal in the fall. One month later, McHugh signed a lease for the town to rent office space from Nolan Propane on Mountain Road Extension.
The town pays $2,000 a month along with utilities for the 2,000-square-foot space under a three-year lease. It also paid $5,000 for renovations to the property, according to a copy of the lease obtained by the Times Union. The building hosts McHugh’s office as well as the building department, while other town offices continue to operate out of the existing Town Hall.
Last March, Robert Nolan, owner of Nolan Propane, was appointed as the chair of the combined Planning and Zoning Board after the previous chair stepped down to be appointed to the Town Board. Nolan was already a member of the Planning Board when he was chosen to lead the combined entity.
McHugh has been faulted for involvement in a proposal that could have affected Nolan’s business.
Last August, a real estate company representing Long Energy submitted an application to place several liquid propane gas storage tanks on a site along Route 9W. Nolan recused himself from proceedings affecting that development, although an attorney for Long Energy accused him publicly of trying to sway the board’s decision, according to minutes of the meeting.
Several months later, McHugh filed an appeal to get the project halted, asking for a three-month moratorium because the town’s code did not clearly define several terms associated with the project, including what constitutes a “trucking terminal.” During a Town Board public hearing in December, McHugh argued that without a specific definition, town officials would be left to guess at the meaning.
McHugh later withdrew his appeal, and the town has been working on a zoning amendment that would add new definitions to the town code: one for a trucking terminal and a separate one for a fuel storage facility.
Public jobs
In the years since he became supervisor, McHugh has been hired by four local governments or agencies as an attorney, earning a combined $203,959 a year. That does not include his $45,000 town supervisor’s salary.
Last year, McHugh became legal counsel to Apple, the Democratic sheriff, at an annual salary of $125,959, according to county records. Apple said he has known McHugh for years and when his previous counsel left, he approached him about the job.
McHugh is also the attorney for the towns of New Baltimore, Athens and Westerlo, making a combined $78,000 per year, according to town documents.
McHugh’s wife, Rosemary McHugh, was hired last month as the economic development coordinator for the recently created Advance Albany County Alliance at an annual salary of $65,000.
The job duties include driving economic development and business relocation within the county, according to a job posting. Before joining the alliance, Rosemary McHugh worked as a personal trainer, as a paralegal for her husband’s law firm and at another local law firm. She also was an office manager at the Port of Coeymans, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The job, which was posted in January to the Alliance’s LinkedIn page, called for a candidate with a record of negotiating “high-value/highprofile projects, especially industrial corporate or other commercial expansions or relocations.” The job posting also requires four years of business attraction, economic development, or corporate consulting experience, while more than seven years was preferred.
Kevin O’Connor, the executive director of the Alliance, said McHugh was one of two candidates to interview for the job. Her duties will include helping the Alliance bring existing county economic development agencies, such as the Industrial Development Agency, under the Alliance’s umbrella.
He acknowledged that hiring a town supervisor’s wife could raise eyebrows, but defended the hiring and her qualifications, adding that her familiarity with the Port of Coeymans would be helpful in her new role.
“She’s a high-energy person and we felt like she was the best person for the job,” O’Connor said.
“We matter”
The Redfields and other town residents the Times Union interviewed said they don’t oppose development in the town or more jobs at the port — but want it done in a way that considers residents’ concerns.
The Redfields knew when they moved into their home that it was along a county road with a higher speed limit. But the thickly wooded backyard made it feel more secluded. The couple said the latest development has them rethinking where they live and questioning whether the Town Board is serious about building a good relationship between residents and local industries.
“We just feel like we matter — you know, the residents matter,” Ashley Redfield said. “The only way to build a positive, good working relationship with the people of your town and the Town Board and with the local businesses and industry is you have to consider their needs.”
Pruiksma noted that many of the residents that bought property in the area did so because housing is more affordable than in other areas. But the changes are unsettling for her.
“It’s becoming a pretty unpleasant place to live because there’s no balance between the industry and the residents,” she said.