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Let Governor Pataki bring jobs to the Harlem Valley
02.10.1999
by Assemblyman Willis H. Stephens, Jr.
Guest Column - Harlem Valley Times
Let Governor Pataki bring jobs to the Harlem Valley
For five years, the expansive buildings of the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center have been sitting vacant, eerily haunting the town of Dover. The Wingdale facility was closed in 1994 by former Gov. Mario Cuomo, taking hundreds of jobs from the town and leaving the Harlem Valley in economic doldrums. The only reminder of the once booming campus is the maximum security Division For Youth (DFY) facility that occupies a small portion of the property.
When the psychiatric facility was closed by Gov. Cuomo, he opted to keep DFY facility open. This created the question: What do we do with the remaining vacant buildings on the grounds?
Several different investors have come forward with proposals to convert the buildings into commercial centers, retail hubs, and senior residences. The economy of the area would flourish. However, there was one catch: nobody would buy the buildings, as long as DFY facility was still on the property.
The result has been years of economic stagnation in an area with a great potential for prosperity. This year, Gov. Pataki has set out to change that. The Governor's budget proposal this year includes $75 million in funding for a 330-bed secure facility to replace the Harlem Valley DFY facility in Wingdale.
The construction of the new DFY facility would allow all the buildings of the Harlem Valley campus - including those currently occupied by DFY - to be sold for commercial, retail or residential use. The jobs brought in by the businesses would undoubtedly surpass the number of existing jobs at the DFY facility and would bring additional real property and sales tax revenue to the community.
The Governor's budget proposal signals that a deal to convert the Harlem Valley campus to the private sector is near. It is now up to the Legislature to ensure that this plan becomes a reality. I have every reason to believe that the redevelopment of this former psychiatric facility will be the linchpin in the economic revival that the residents of the Harlem Valley so desperately deserve.
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