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Town Officials Say There Is No “Community Fund” To Aid Businesses
By Tina Traster
Businesses impacted by the pipeline project along the Route 9W corridor in North Rockland are hoping their hardship stories will bring relief but that remains to be seen.
For now, state officials are trying to ease the disastrous traffic bottleneck and construction nightmare along Route 9W from road work on the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) pipeline, but mom and pop businesses are seeking to recover from losses they’ve incurred over the past eight months.
To date, CHPE has thrown out an offer of $100,000 to the North Rockland Chamber of Commerce, but board members and Stony Point’s Supervisor Jim Monaghan both say the offer is too paltry. The Chamber says upwards of 40 businesses have been negatively impacted by the ongoing work, which has patrons staying away because construction has turned the area is an obstacle course.
After RCBJ wrote about struggling businesses, Monaghan sent a letter to CHPE and Gov. Kathy Hochul seeking help. State Senator Peter Harckham last Tuesday met with business owners to hear their plight. Stony Point’s presumptive next supervisor Amy Stamm, attended the meeting.
CHPE representatives were not at the meeting, but Chamber members and the business community say CHPE in its original communications about the project said towns have “negotiated a substantial benefit package to offset disruption for our residents and businesses.”
At the time, Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips said, “I am proud we were able to negotiate important revenue for our residents and businesses to offset any construction inconveniences.”
But it turns out that despite these representations, compensation from CHPE is not flowing directly to hurting mom and pop businesses. Town officials say monies received for “community benefits,” must be used for capital improvements or for the benefit of the community as a whole.”
“You can’t take the money and give it to private businesses,” said Monaghan. “You can build a park or a town pool or improve streetscaping, but the funds must benefit the community at large. We can’t take money and give it to private businesses. That would be illegal.”
The CHPE project has become a hot potato as smarting business owners look for relief. Some say CHPE representatives have suggested that the “Community Fund” monies towns received might be a source of help. Many have said they’re unlikely to survive the remaining months of construction, which is slated to last through November.
The only way for businesses to be made whole would be for CHPE to offer somewhere between $1 million and $5 million to businesses that can document losses, according to Monaghan.
“CHPE has been misleading businesses when they say there’s a ‘community fund,’ because they know that money can’t be used like that.”
Prior to construction, CHPE secured agreements with affected towns and villages to utilize the rights-of-way owned by municipalities. The Town of Haverstraw got $6.8 million for a Community Fund; the Village of Haverstraw, $3.5 million for a Community Fund, and $3.85 million for a Streetscape Fund; the Village of West Haverstraw got $2.5 million for a Community Fund and $2.23 million for a Streetscape Fund; and the Town Clarkstown scored $3.9 million for a Community Fund.
The Town of Stony Point is slated to receive $5.3 million for capital improvements, with $2.9 million for road improvements once the project is completed.
Still, residents are pushing for meetings with Monaghan and Phillips, hoping they’ll work with state officials to lean on CHPE for more funding support for local businesses.
“We plan to meet with the Town of Haverstraw Supervisor and the Chamber next week to listen to what’s happening to businesses,” said State Senator Bill Weber. “We want to meet to see what we’re dealing with. We need to know how they’ve been impacted.”
Weber said there is no other state funding to tap for this issue.
The North Rockland Chamber is planning to hold an information session at on Sept. 9 at 6 pm in Stony Point Senior and Community Center at 19 Clubhouse Lane, prior to the town’s town hall meeting. Businesses are invited to come and submit documentation that outlines their losses in revenue so the Chamber can collect data.
For now, Senator Harckham is focused on mitigating road disruptions.
“My priority in this regard at Stony Point is to mitigate the disruption to the business community as quickly as possible,” said Harckham. “I’ve had productive conversations with CHPE, O&R and the Public Service Commission to discuss adjustments to the construction schedule that would better accommodate the needs of affected businesses and minimize economic impacts.”
The Senator added, “I appreciate the willingness of CHPE to contribute to the relief fund supporting these businesses, and I will encourage them to possibly increase their contribution to this fund.” Harckham was referring to the $100,000 CHPE has offered the Chamber, which would set up a fund and create criteria for applications.
Until CHPE comes forth with financial help, it may be up to the community itself to save its businesses. The Chamber said the local PBA has made a commitment to purchase lawn signs to post countywide to encourage people to support Stony Point’s businesses.
“It was clear during the planning phase that work along 9W would impact businesses and residents, which is why CHPE collaborated with elected officials to establish the $31 million community benefit fund for the Towns of Clarkstown, Haverstraw and Stony Point and the Villages of Haverstraw and West Haverstraw,” said a CHPE spokesman. “How the benefit money is spent or distributed is at the discretion of local public officials and what is allowed by state law.”
Monaghan said he speaks weekly with CHPE executives to discuss the project. He’s been told construction will be completed in November but remains skeptical, adding, “I’ll believe it when I see it. There are always unforeseen complications.” On top of that, O&R’s project to replace gas lines has been exacerbating the disruption to the town.
“Stony Point will receive $18 million over 30 years in taxes,” said Monaghan, adding that it’s good for taxpayers but it doesn’t help small businesses right now. “It’s not like I can write them a check.”
The CHPE power line that will transmit hydroelectric power that originates in Quebec, runs beneath Lake Champlain, surfaces around the capital region, runs under the Hudson River below Greene County, and then resurfaces in Rockland County before re-entering the Hudson River en route to Queens. It will pass through 15 New York counties and cover 339 miles with plans to power the equivalent of more than one million households. In Rockland, it will run through parts of Stony Point, the Town of Haverstraw, the villages of Haverstraw and West Haverstraw and parts of the Town of Clarkstown before re-entering the Hudson River to its final destination, Astoria, Queens.
