The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released this week on the proposed Tappan Zee Hudson River Crossing Project details a much bigger impact on one area of South Nyack than it will have here in Tarrytown.

On our side of the river, there is no property displacement. Unlike the 6.09 acres – including six homes, one vacant lot, one green space and one park that stand to be eaten up in Rockland County – the land at stake in Westchester County is a .05 acre partial of vacant area in the southwest corner of the 11.3 property of the Quay Condominium community, located riverside at 279 South Broadway. 

The loss of this partial will require no mitigation associated with any displacement and only a negligible reduction in property tax revenues, according to the findings. In both the long and short span bridge proposals which are still up for debate, the highway would be elevated over this sliver of property, as shown on the attached image.

You can read the entire, if lengthy, document here, which compiles figures on traffic, air quality, noise, accidents (numbering approximately 2,000 from Jan. 2008 – Dec. 2010), community, and much more which we will continue to explore in future articles, leading up to the Westchester hearing at the beginning of March.

Facilities at the current base of the bridge in Tarrytown – the toll plaza, maintenance building, and headquarters for State Troopers (Troop T) are to be moved within the same general vicinity and therefore are not considered to have substantial impact on the land use.

The proposed connector extension of the RiverWalk is to remain unaffected, as it will traverse under the bridge.

It's that mass transit void that still burns, as has been the outcry of many a public official, including Mayor Drew Fixell who said previously, “The absence of mass transit is a serious deficiency in the proposal that needs to be corrected. It is a missed opportunity.”

According to the study, the replacement bridge would "substantially enhance incident management, responses to accidents, and resultant vehicle delays," along with bolstering bus transit safety and usage. "At the same time, the Replacement Bridge Alternative would not preclude future bus rapid transit or commuter rail service at the Tappan Zee Hudson River crossing, but such a proposal would be subject to a separate environmental review and approval process at the time that it is foreseeable and financing is available."

Today Mayor Fixell objected to the depiction of the impact as only slight: "I wouldn't characterize the proposal as only having minor impact even though there is only the small taking of property in the Quay.

"Impacts do go well beyond the issue of whether land is actually condemned... There will be significant impacts on the Quay even though only a small amount of land will be taken," Fixell said. "The residents of the Quay have been extremely concerned about this throughout the 10 years the project has been under consideration... I doubt that their concerns have been adequately addressed."

Public hearing information for the DEIS of the TZ Hudson Crossing Project, Westchester:

Thursday, March 1, 2012
Westchester Marriott
Grand Ballroom
670 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, New York 10591
4 - 9:00 p.m. (project presentations repeated at 5 and 7 p.m.)