Op-Ed : Hudson Valley is ideal for win-win solutions By NED SULLIVAN

Op-Ed : Hudson Valley is ideal for win-win solutions
By NED SULLIVAN

What can the Hudson Valley expect from Gov. Eliot Spitzer? If his first month in office is any indication, the future looks bright with one possible exception.

Certainly the priorities outlined in the governor’s State of the State address play to the valley’s strengths its world-class scenic and natural resources, our economic engine, while addressing its chief weakness — struggling cities. Spitzer’s “smart growth” goal is to protect open space by halting sprawling overdevelopment. To achieve this, he plans to offer incentives for development concentrated in downtowns.

This is a win-win scenario for the valley. Economically, it will provide a boost for waterfront cities like Yonkers, Newburgh, Beacon, Poughkeepsie and Kingston, where salaries are up to 25 percent below the national average and young people are leaving in droves. The governor’s promise of property-tax relief and increased investment in infrastructure and universities will provide the catalyst for luring higher-paying technology companies to downtowns. His pledge to streamline the state’s brownfield program so cleanup of contaminated industrial sites can begin faster also will help.

IRREPLACEABLE TREASURES

If new businesses come to our cities, so will new residents and tourists, spurring further development. However, the governor must ensure that urban waterfronts don’t become casualties of these building booms. Riverfronts are an irreplaceable treasure a source of community pride, a place to congregate and connect with the majestic Hudson River.

The governor has already suggested tying his incentive packages for cities to their ability to reform fiscal-management policies. He should further leverage the state’s investments by providing incentives for zoning and other local actions that ensure that the primary use of waterfronts are as natural resources for the entire community, not just those who can afford the million-dollar condos. Further incentives should ensure that developments blend with the historic fabric of the city or town and don’t resemble massive, Miami Beach-style condos.

Spitzer’s downtown-revitalization initiative takes development pressure off open space around cities. To keep this pressure off permanently, he is counting on purchasing land with an increased Environmental Protection Fund, whose proceeds will come from an expanded bottle bill. In the Hudson Valley alone, 100,000 acres of “legacy landscapes” are under threat from subdivisions and minimalls. As we approach the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s “voyage of discovery,” it would be fitting to protect forever this world-class scenery.

The quality of life of future generations depends on curbing global warming, which Spitzer calls “the most urgent environmental issue of our generation.” In the Hudson Valley, we’re already experiencing its side effects warmer temperatures, increased erosion. The governor has pledged to combat climate change by expanding sources of clean energy and reducing the state’s energy consumption. He should also provide incentives for “green” building, especially along waterfronts. A model could be the hotel/conference center that Scenic Hudson and a private developer are planning on Beacon’s shore. To be built within a park, it will feature cutting-edge environmental technologies.

CHECKMATE SPRAWL

Finally, the governor has proposed transforming Newburgh’s Stewart International Airport into metropolitan New York’s fourth jetport. Done wrong, this could fill our skies with pollution-spewing jets and lead to development congestion and massive traffic jams around the airport, located in the heart of our congressionally designated Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

But there is a “smart” way. The Spitzer administration can partner with regional development and environmental organizations to checkmate sprawl around the airport. It can develop mass transit, linking the airport with downtown Newburgh. And it can team with airlines committed to reducing global warming. JetBlue already flies out of Stewart. Its chairman, David Neeleman, is an advocate for developing cleaner-burning fuels. Another partner could be Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson, who has pledged $3 billion to renewable-energy research. His recommendations for creating fuel-efficient airports could serve as a template for Stewart’s design.

The Hudson Valley offers the perfect setting for win-win solutions. Failing to get it right can’t be an option.

Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson, formerly was commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and deputy commissioner of the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation.

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