Cortlandt Officially Closes on 352 Acres of Open Space
The Town of Cortlandt officially closed Thursday on 352 acres of open space that was once proposed to be developed for more than 300 homes.
In 2000, the town and Scenic Hudson jointly purchased the Hudson Highlands Gateway Park property from Ginsburg Development Corporation through a partnership with several other entities. Cortlandt was designated the steward of the land and was responsible for developing a trail. It was also agreed at the time that Cortlandt would solely get the deed to the property after 15 years.
“I had the honor of signing the documents today at the closing with Scenic Hudson representatives,” Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi said. “This pristine property is now a part of our open space in Cortlandt for future generations to enjoy and I thank Scenic Hudson and all of our other partners in making our dream become a reality.”
Cortlandt chipped in $1 million of the $6.2 million purchase price, along with New York State and Westchester County. Scenic Hudson contributed $2.5 million, Ginsburg offered $100,000 and area residents forked over $600,000.
“Hudson Highlands Gateway Park is a tremendous natural asset to the Town of Cortlandt and the Hudson Highlands. We were gratified to work collaboratively in 2000 with the town, Westchester County, New York State and multiple private donors to conserve this important property,” said Steve Rosenberg, executive director of Scenic Hudson Land Trust.
Scenic Hudson will hold a permanent conservation restriction to ensure the land will remain protected open space.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
