Thursday April 25, 2024 
Quackenderry Common in DeFreestville Part of North Greenbush
Last week, there was a public hearing for Quakenderry Common project. This is a mixed-use housing project to be located near Rte. 43 and Rte. 4 in DeFreestville. The meeting was well attended because of a notice in the Advertiser. The town of North Greenbush needs to do a better job of being more transparent and announcing meetings. Other towns and cities in the area have email distribution lists for their citizens, North Greenbush should adopt this practice.
The meeting was attended by many DeFreestville residents. Major concerns related to taxes, school, traffic, water, and emergency services. I have mixed opinions of this project. In general, I support more mixed-use spaces and greater density designs. However, I do agree with many of the comments that a 5-story project would probably increase traffic.
Emergency services was a recurring issue. A member of the North Greenbush Fired Department (NGFD) stated during the meeting that the NGFD had conducted a thorough needs assessment. NGFD is in a good position and aware of needs that need to be addressed as the town grows and changes. One of the benefits of this project is that will include an ambulance location for that side of town. This is a critical and documented need for North Greenbush.
An ambulance location in DeFreestville should not overshadow the residents concerns related to water and traffic. I think that revisions should occur to the project to slightly down scale the overall size, but still address this critical need of an ambulance for that side of town.
The developer stated that this project addressed items in the Town’s comprehensive plan. With all of the new development on Route 4 and elsewhere, how accurate is this comprehensive plan? North Greenbush needs an updated plan.
Michael Myer, North Greenbush
POESTENKILL: Quite and Safe By Whose Standard?
Excerpt from the Town of Poestenkill web site: “Quiet, safe, and far removed from the hustle and bustle of modern urban society, Poestenkill is a quaint community located in Rensselaer County, New York. As a “gateway” to the Rensselaer Plateau, we offer residents and visitors a unique opportunity to experience a wealth of outdoor recreation activities”. Activities like raucous front porch displays of drug and alcohol induced altered state behavior along with yelling, shouting and other vile vocalizations, visible outdoor urinating, drum and amplified electric guitar noise heard and recorded ¼ mile away, all emanating from a Barberville apartment house for the listening and viewing enjoyment of residents in the area. Or the Barberville Falls, where the placid sound of the water is drowned out if not by drum and guitar noise, then from the constant roar of motorcycles with no mufflers and modified very loud exhaust systems of local car and pickup truck owners speeding up and down Blue Factory Road at full throttle. On an occasional Saturday, one may catch a glimpse of sports car rallies speeding down Blue Factory then roaring up Plank Road. Apparent organized events, it’s like sitting trackside at Le Mans viewing a race. However, everyday traffic speed on Plank and most other roads throughout the town is quite similar. Posted speed limits are routinely ignored and exceeded by 15-20 mph or more. Hey why not? There’s seldom any traffic enforcement presence for speeders to worry about. For sure, once past the highway garage heading up Plank Road into East Poestenkill anything goes. The feckless Town Supervisor and Board essentially say there’s little or nothing the Town can do about any of this, similar to locating the source of PFOA’s still coursing through Poestenkill’s ground water forcing yet unknown numbers of residents to pay for municipal water. “Quite and safe”? “Free from urban hustle and bustle”? Pure fiction!
Joyce & Gary Blauvelt, Poestenkill