Dear Mr Hall:
As you are well aware, the Genting group has proposed to build a casino "resort" filling the 240 acre property on Route 17A (currently occupied by Faire Properties) in the Town of Tuxedo. The property is surrounded by Sterling Forest State Park, much of it bordering the Doris Duke Preserve. The development will subject the Scenic Park to intense disturbance. The proposed 1.5 million square feet of building space, rising to 226 feet, expected to draw some 19,000 cars daily, adding up to 6.9 million visitors per year, will seriously impact the integrity of the surrounding forest, its status as a Forest Preserve, as an Important Bird Area, and as a source of clean drinking water for millions.
The success of this development is predicated on creating an Exit 15B from the New York State Thruway connecting to CR 106 in Harriman State Park and Rt. 17A through Sterling Forest. To create an adequate and safe exit the developer would require taking several acres of Harriman State Park lands. A recent alternate proposal for a less extensive, less safe exit would have still required a smaller parcel of state land.
As the stewards of these two important State Parks, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the Office of New York State Parks, must take their responsibility seriously. Do not succumb to the allure of promised funding and/or a land exchange that would facilitate this massive development in this inappropriate location. To cede any public land for a development of this magnitude would seriously compromise a public trust which you are bound to uphold.