crossroads

To the Editor:

The recently posted letter from Bob Axelrod concerning the Belleayre Resort is perplexing.

Where has Mr. Axelrod been for the last six years? It was then, not the other day, that a public/private partnership agreement was announced between NYS DEC and Crossroad Ventures. In response to environmental concerns about the delicate state of the Ashokan Reservoir, the developer sold to the state 1200 acres of privately owned land east of Belleayre Ski Center. Now opponents suddenly want that same fragile area developed with ski trails and lifts. The real strategy here is to start the environmental impact process all over. Mr. Axelrod, apparently, has all the time in the world.

The fact that reviving the Highmount Ski Center takes advantage of existing trails thereby reducing the need to cut trees is overshadowed in Mr. Axelrod’s view by the outrageous notion that visitors who chose to stay adjacent Belleayre Ski Center might have easy access.  Read more

Dear Editor:

The Catskill Heritage Alliance has put out the call to their members to come to the Public Hearing May 29, to be bigger, better and, most of all, louder.  Just what we need—another circus.  Before they turn up the volume, I urge you to take a look at their rhetoric. 

Despite the fact that the Belleayre Resort has been reduced in size by 62%, they insist on calling it a mega-development.  Despite the fact that buildings have been clustered and moved off the ridge top, they insist on decrying ridge top development.  Despite the fact that our communities have repeatedly sought improved cell service and telecommunications, they have obstructed it.  They’ll tell you that the lack of cell service along Rte 28 is saving lives.  Tell that to emergency responders and the unfortunate person who hits a deer late at night on a lonely stretch of the highway.   Read more

To the editor:

We, the elected municipal officials of the Towns and Villages in Ulster, Greene and Delaware Counties, are writing to our regional media outlets, DEC and New York State officials in support of the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park. We represent our municipalities and understand the powerful positive impact - the needed impact – this Resort, and the build-out of Belleayre Mt. Ski Center, can and will have on our area. We have also seen the long, slow and painful decline of our mountain Main Streets and communities. Hunting and fishing licenses in NYS, along with visits to our area, have dropped over 20% in the last 10 years, our population is shrinking, and lodging units are down 90% since the 50s and 60s, let alone a century ago. Additionally the NYC DEP is aggressively purchasing local properties that will forever be un-developable, further limiting our choices and potential to expand and preserve for the next generations of native dwellers.  Read more

Dear Editor:

Last week the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released documents for review of the proposed Crossroads resort and plans for expansion at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center (http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/90370.html). 

The plans for the Ski Center include alternatives that do not tie it in to the proposed resort. These alternatives cost less and return greater benefits to the public than the Full Build Out Alternative, estimated to cost $74 million. The Catskill Heritage Alliance is petitioning the State of New York to save money for taxpayers by pursuing these better and less expensive alternatives.  Read more