Editor's Note: the following is a letter sent from citizen Buzz Cane. Want to write a letter to the editor? Send it to krista.madsen@patch.com.
What is going on in the small river towns?
There are deceptions being played out in Westchester and the Rockland Counties.
It is a call to ‘bring jobs to this corridor,' fast track a huge bridge without extensive review, limit local community committee involvement, refuse to conduct extensive and community involved studies on the environment in regard to air, water, river species, etc. Do not make anything transparent.
What is the motto?
The motto of some politicians during this re-election period is “Fast track.” This bridge is being fast-tracked without concern for communities, uncaring regarding creation of unbearable noise, endless pollution, health issues, and horrendous traffic issues within the river towns. This is just plain greed and politics working at its worst.
Not all the unemployed are in the construction business. These jobs will be doled out to the lowest bidder and where do you think the workforce will come from? It may not be from New York State or Union Workers. How unbelievable that non-union workers from out of state and paid less would be used. Believe it!
More information needs to be disseminated, more studies need to be done, and more questions asked and answered. What are the costs and impact of such a megaproject within these communities? All this needs to be examined under a microscope for a longer period of time.
Did anyone follow the news of I-287 and Ridge Hill issues that came to light AFTER the projects were in full swing? In addition, you can’t blame the current bridge for all the traffic on I-287. It will always be so.
See STREETSBLOG.org for more information on the Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act.
“Under the law, the state should only build projects that support sustainability and downtown revitalization, not sprawl.” The person in STREETSBLOG who wrote the above got it right.
This article should be reprinted in more newspapers, and spoken about in more news outlets.
It is so transparent to many who live in the affected towns. A megaproject is being rushed through without more environmental studies, without regard for the major negative input of such a project will have on these communities. This major disruption will spread through many towns not just those immediately east and west of the bridge.
Again, it is apparent that the people of these communities do not matter to some politicians. What matters is only the politics of getting elected and moving on to higher positions without regard to communities of senior citizens, families of all types, businesses, etc. in the path of this absurdity.
You can talk about mass transit. However, more cars and buses will move onto and off of this proposed mega bridge. The problem is all this traffic will funnel to t the same the same roadways. What will be next…tearing up all roadways near this bridge and more years of disruption? Are we looking at 15-20 years of pure chaos! Many of us won’t be alive to see the ending…only the great disruption and chaos caused by such a mega project while it is ongoing.
People are not stupid…fix the existing bridge… It most certainly can be done. Don’t listen to the Nay Sayers.
Leave the likes of the George Washington Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge, etc. where they are. Did any of the politicians involved every look at the river towns… They do not remotely resemble a big city and that is why many of us moved here and not there.
Construction of such major proportion does not fit well into this area. Fix the existing bridge. If you must build, construct up the county, with more roadway connectors, and a new bridge. See what happens and who would oppose upcounty!
Plenty of people will oppose including some politicians!
- Buzz Cane, IV, Tarrytown
