Letter to the editor: What's happening at the Binnekill bulkhead?

To the editor:

This is a picture of the Binnekill Bulkhead where the culvert lets water into the Binnekill. It lies on the outside of a bend in the river upstream of the village of Margaretville. From this point downstream for a hundred yards or so the bank has been eroded very much like you can see from this picture. During floods, the river rises above the bank and comes down the Binnekill rather than making the turn and flowing down the ordinary river channel.

Recently the Village of Margaretville took over this land using eminent domain procedures. Eminent domain is used for projects that require land for projects that are for the greater public good. It is obvious that the bulkhead needs to be rebuilt. A great deal of damage was sustained by buildings that were along the Binnekill during the flood last August. However I have not heard of any project like this being proposed by the village. No one that I have talked to knows anything about it. If anyone knows or can find out what the Village is up to I am sure that everyone in town would be interested in hearing about it.

Thomas Clark

Margaretville, N.Y.

Click here for more background on the Binnekill bulkhead and the village's legal battle to gain access to it, from the Catskill Mountain News. --Ed.