Wallkill Valley Times May 22 2019

Vol. 37, No. 21 3 WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2019 3 ONE DOLLAR Bushmen keep hopes alive Scout project Page 32 Page 16 w w w .W V T I M ESON L I N E . c om Montgomery residents fight auto facility By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] John Brown and Leonard Brown, of the Historic Brown Family Farm, LLC, filed an appeal to overturn the use determination for BHT-Montgomery, which could lead to the project being rejected by the Town of Montgomery planning board. Town of Montgomery Building Inspector Walter Schmidt ruled the property to be an auto sales lot and automobile recycling facility because it fit the dictionary definition—despite the town code not containing a definition for that use—and granted the special exception use permit. The 118-acre project will contain about 4,115 parking spaces for storage of used inoperable insurance salvage/resale vehicles, according to the draft scoping document for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It also includes a 9,900 square foot motor vehicle sales building and a 70,000-square-foot drop off and pick up area. Cars will be sold through an online auction. John Brown, Leonard Brown and the Historic Brown Family Farm, LLC requested that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) reverse Schmidt’s determination and determine that the use is a junkyard, which is prohibited under town zoning law. “We have a ruling from the zoning enforcement officer that we think is wrong, and we don’t want it to stay on the books,” Attorney with Rodenhausen Chale Continued on page 3 Keeping in step The Walker Valley Band marched Sunday in the New Windsor Memorial Day Parade. A complete list of area Memorial Day Parades and services is on page 6. Dilapidated Deli irks neighbors Maybrook eyesore prompts concerns from village residents By LAURA FITZGERALD [email protected] The boarded-up, dilapidated building at 305 Homestead Avenue in Maybrook has peeling paint and visible holes. One Maybrook resident wants something done about the eyesore, also known as the red deli. The deli was closed about eight or nine years ago. Maybrook resident Linda Amodio contacted the board in June of 2016 about the deli, however her contact dropped off about a year and a half ago because she felt she wasn’t getting anywhere. The eyesore breeds raccoons, cats, rodents, bats and other pests, which infiltrate her yard and pose a health risk. In an email sent to Maybrook Mayor Dennis Leahy in June 2016, Amodio said the building was full of holes. “When I’m sitting on the side patio that’s what I have to look at,” Amodio said. Maybrook Mayor Dennis Leahy said the village is doing what it can to take care of the building. The board recently issued a violation notice, which is pending before the courts. When Amodio first contacted the village, Leahy said there was little the village could do without infringing on property owner’s rights because the building was properly secured. “Under the zombie laws of the state, the requirements of the property owner was to have the building properly sealed Continued on page 5 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL