Neighbors Seek to Block Likely Approval of Cortlandt Hotel
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Neighbors of a 93-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Cortlandt are trying one last attempt to convince the town’s Planning Board not to approve the project next week.
Petitions containing close to 100 signatures were submitted Friday as the Planning Board gets ready to consider a resolution on Sept. 5 giving its blessing to the five-story hotel that would be constructed on a 2.4-acre site near King Buffet on Route 6.
“I do believe that these petitions should give pause to their fait accompli thoughts,” stated Michael Marx, one of the coordinators of the petition effort.
The hotel, which also requires a height variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals, is located across the street from where a new gas station and convenience store are being built. The hotel is slated to include an outdoor parking lot with 101 spaces, a courtyard deck, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, small conference center and a full bar and grill.
In July, Planning Board Chairman Steven Kessler rejected a plea from a resident to keep the public hearing open. He said the state Department of Transportation (DOT) will be coordinating all the traffic signals on Route 6 to make sure the traffic flows smoother. The traffic island entering Jacob’s Hill Road will also be improved.
However, residents on Jacobs Hill Rd. are not satisfied with the plans and expressed their concerns in the petitions.
Besides eliminating the island at the bottom of Jacobs Hill Road, residents maintain a feeder lane should be constructed to accommodate traffic there.
In addition, residents feel the Planning Board should not dismiss a suggestion that was made to have an entry to the hotel grounds from the Bear Mountain Parkway, which would require DOT involvement.
Residents are also calling for a new traffic study that extends west past the Peekskill border and as far east as Lexington Avenue.
Meanwhile, residents are asking that certain conditions be part of an approving resolution if the Planning Board leans that way. One condition mentioned was “no illegals” permitted to be housed at the hotel.
“If the economy turns south, the hotel industry may seek alternative profits at the expense of taxpayers through rentals to ‘illegals,’ as defined under federal statutes for non-citizen migrants,” the petition stated. “An illegal child will cost the Lakeland taxpayer approximately $35,000 per year. This township should not blindly accept this.”
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/
