Dear Scenic Hudson Member:

Yonkers is at a crossroads. Within the next decade, over 140 acres of former industrial property will be redeveloped for residential and commercial use. Done right, this revitalization can help establish Yonkers as a great American 21st-century city with a truly great Hudson River waterfront. But we have to be careful to safeguard Yonkers' special assets, like its unique location on the Hudson River across from the Palisades and its human scale and community character.

One developer, Struever Fidelco Cappelli, is in the process of seeking approval for a series of massive downtown redevelopment projects that could profoundly alter the character of Yonkers for the next 100 years:

• Palisades Park currently proposed as two 25-story riverfront towers that will block views of the Palisades and the Hudson River and create shadowing on other buildings throughout the neighborhood.
• Riverpark Center/Cacace Center currently proposed as two 50-story towers plus an additional 1.3 million square feet of retail space and a 6,500-seat stadium.

We're all in favor of the city's revitalization goals -- investments of this scale can offer tremendous benefits to the city. But these proposals are so large and complex that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement describing them is over 4,000 pages long. The city has only provided for a 30-day public comment period (to end Tuesday, May 13), but is that sufficient to set the course of the city's waterfront for the next 100 years?  And this is happening during one of the most serious real estate development downturns in years.

Three Goals
Here at Scenic Hudson, we have three main goals:

1. Making sure the public has sufficient time to do the sort of thorough review and analysis that proposals of this scope demand.
2. Making sure the waterfront project is designed to preserve the dramatic views of the Palisades and the Hudson that Yonkers residents, the many people traveling by on the train, and others currently enjoy.
3. Making sure that the waterfront project is designed to create a great public place on the River, which if done right will become a magnet for future economic prosperity.

Speak Out at a Meeting
Your strong voice is needed to persuade city officials to provide more time for the public to review and comment on the complex plan. Please attend the following meetings and call for an extended comment period, even more public parks and no view-blocking high-rise towers:

Speak Out by Phone or E-Mail

Call or write your city officials and ask them to extend the public comment period -- we need enough time to be absolutely sure that we're doing the right thing for Yonkers:

• City Council President Chuck Lesnick: 914 377 6060
• Commissioner of Planning and Development Louis C. Kirven: 914 377 6150

Thanks for all you've done with Scenic Hudson so far. Your city's future is at stake, so stay energized and stay with us.

Sincerely,

Ned Sullivan
President
Scenic Hudson