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Dover Knolls Pulls Project
08.10.2007
Oren Phillips
Staff Reporter Harlem Valley Times
After four years and millions of dollars spent, the developers of Dover Knolls have decided they have had enough and withdrew their redevelopment application of the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center from the town.
"If we sound aas if we are fed up, it's because we are," said Denise Coyle, general counsel for the Benjamin Companies, during a press conference held at the site on Aug. 7.
"We deeply regret to announce we have withdrawn our application for the site. After four years and $16 million spent, we have come to the conclusion that the town board of Dover is either unwilling or incapable of moving the project forward," she said.
Coyle said the latest roadblock came on July 25 when the town board passed a resolution to pay $25,000 in taxpayer money to hire a third planning consultant without informing the developers.
"The town board has repeatedly displayed an unwillingness to move forward," said Coyle.
Michael Zarin, the attorney for the Benjamin Companies, said in the past three years the town has already hired three other urban developers, including Torti Gallas.
Torti Gallas came up with a plan they believed both sides could agree on after five months of meeting with the town and its planners.
"They came up with an amazing plan that we were ready to study. In February, we got a letter from the town rejecting the plans for the project and we were in shock. Then they felt they had the right to hire another consultant and say either we accept the plan or else," Zarin said.
"The company decided that after all the work that has been done, it has been for nothing," he said.
At press time, Supervisor Jill Way and the town board stated in a submitted press release that they have tried to work with the Benjamin Companies, and the developers were non-responsive to the collaborative suggestions.
Edia Flood, of the Citizens for a Better Dover community group, said at the press conference that she asked Way if the person hired in the resolution would be a mediator to work with both sides to move the project along.
"She said yes, which is an insult to the integrity of the committee and the community," Flood said, inferring that the planner was not hired to act as a mediator.
Zarin went on to say that in March the company sent the town a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which he said is an act of good faith that states both sides agree to work together to make progress.
"They refused to sign it or meet with us to talk about it," he said.
"We can't spend millions of dollars and time and effort if we don't know if the municipality will support the plan," Zarin said.
Coyle said the Benjamin Companies was invited by the town in 2003 to purchase the property, and was told the town board would work with the developer to fast track the project.
"I don't know what happened between then and after the 2003 election. They are creating obstacles to make themselves sound good," she said.
Flood, along with Citizens for a Better Dover member Linda French, were on hand at the press conference and showed a petition signed by 720 residents in town asking to move the project forward.
"If anything is going to change, it has to come from the people in Dover. The town board doesn't listen to the people," said French.
"There used to be an open dialogue between the citizens and the town board, but that isn't the case anymore. In February we asked for a big meeting between the developers, the town board and the residents, and we were "yessed" to death by the town," said Flood.
Future Plans
Coyle said the company has no intention of abandoning the site and recently purchased new land on the Dykeman Farm property.
"There is no way we are leaving or giving up. We are devoted to the project moving forward," she said.
"We have gotten great community support, and this is a project that will benefit the town. If it takes months or years, we will try to work with the current town board, or if a new town board comes into power, to move this project forward," Coyle said.
"Though we have been forced to withdrawn the application, we have not given up on developing this project," stated Alvin Benjamin, chairman of the Benjamin Companies.
"The Dover Knolls project is a triple win for the town, creating jobs, tax revenue and much-needed economic development for the area. I still wholeheartedly beleive in the importance of this and what it can do for the community, but I do not believe in the board's desire to work with us in developing the site. Consequently, I see no point in continuing the development process with the Board," he stated.
Zarin said the company plans on mothballing the site and securing the property. It will not spend any more money on it for the time being.
" we are going to reach out to the people in the community who want to see this project move forward," he said.
"This was not the outcome the company was hoping for. They want to build a beautiful community," said Zarin.
Coyle said that in the future, the company plans to re-submit the application to the town, but the residents should voice their opinions in the voting booths.
"Over 700 signatures have been collected and they still haven't listened," she said.
"In November you have the power of voting," said Coyle.
In the next few weeks, the company will be sending out fliers to the residents about their next moves and plan on holding a large open house in the community at a date and location to be determined.
Town Board Responds
At press time, Way and the town board sent a press release to media outlets outlining their position on the Benjamin Companies' withdrawal.
"We are very disappointed with the news of the withdrawal because it appears to suggest that they (the Benjamin Companies) did not really intend to collaborate," Way stated.
Way stated in the release that representatives of the Town of Dover and the Benjamin Companies attended an informational meeting in June that announced the availability of possible grant funding for case studies of transit-based sites, such as Dover Knolls.
According to the release, the town board hoped to use the opportunity to collaborate about the economic development of the proposed hamlet, but the developers never respond to the board's invitation.
The board, however, has submitted the grant application in case the Benjamin Companies may join them if it is awarded.
Way stated that the board approved consultative services for the development of a "consensus plan" to help resolve both sides' differences, but failed to receive a response from the Benjamin Companies until the developers sent their "vitriolic and discourteous correspondence that they have withdrawn their application."
" the residents of Dover deserve better than this. Compromise is not always easy. Collaborations require creativity, and above all, commitment to stay the course when things are not going as expected," Way stated.
"We have not left the table. The future of the Town of Dover is at stake. We know it is our clear and abiding role to ensure that developers in the town carry out projects that balance residential growth and economic development for our residents," she stated.
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