Videos
Update regarding meeting of elected officials and release of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement. December 5, 2024.
Supervisor Van Tassel’s remarks begin at 59:33.
Village of Cold Spring Board of Trustees Meeting. September 18, 2024.
Update regarding the proposed shoreline section of the Fjord Trail from Dockside to Little Stony Point. September 5, 2024.
Supervisor Van Tassel’s remarks begin at 8:00.
Town of Fishkill Planning Board Meeting regarding application from Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail to redevelop Dutchess Manor and build parking lot at Dutchess Manor with up to 180 parking spaces. August 8, 2024.
Planning board website with supporting application documents is accessible here. Discussion regarding HHFT’s application begins at 54:34.
Presentation by Protect the Highlands to Town of Philipstown Town Board regarding Upland Alternative trail connecting Cold Spring Metro-North station to Breakneck Ridge. August 21, 2024.
Update from Supervisor Van Tassel regarding the proposed shoreline section of the Fjord Trail from Dockside to Little Stony Point. April 17, 2024.
At the April 17th Philipstown Town Board Workshop Meeting, Supervisor Van Tassel read a statement from himself, Mayor Foley of Cold Spring, and Mayor Winward of Nelsonville regarding their shared concerns about the proposed shoreline boardwalk that the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail has proposed building from Dockside Park to Little Stony Point. Supervisor Van Tassel also disclosed citing restrictions from the Metropolitan Transit Authority that prohibit construction of the Fjord Trail adjacent to Metro-North tracks.
Supervisor Van Tassel’s remarks begin at 19:08.
Statement from the Visitation Data Committee. April 4, 2024.
HHFT created the Visitation Data Committee, which is comprised of representatives from Cold Spring, Philipstown, and Nelsonville, in June 2023. Among other stated objectives, HHFT created the Committee to “help review the ongoing traffic study, pedestrian counts, and visitation projection for the project,” and also “to proactively and meaningfully inform the data collection process and visitor projection.” On April 3, 2024, the Committee released a statement, which was read into the record at the Philipstown Town Board meeting, about “significant concerns we [the Committee] have about one of the reports that HHFT is developing for the DGEIS submission.”
The statement from the Visitation Data Committee is read into the record by Supervisor Van Tassel beginning at 19:38.
Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Joint Public Session. May 8, 2023.
At the public information session that took place on May 8, representatives from NYS Parks and HHFT answered selected questions about the Fjord Trail. You will also hear brief statements by local officials from Cold Spring, Nelsonville, and Philipstown explaining their positions on the proposed trail, as well as comments from a small number of residents. Although the forum addressed only the top 15 of the 210 questions submitted, HHFT promised to provide written answers to the rest.
Department of Transportation Hearing: Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Bridge in Town of Fishkill. July 27, 2022.
HHFT projects that 600,000 visitors per year will visit the Fjord Trail. At 57:09 in the July 27, 2022 video:
“As far as pedestrians go, do you know how many people are anticipated to use the [Fjord Trail Breakneck Connector] bridge each day?”
Amy Kacala (HHFT Executive Director): “No, we have a number of visitor projections, but it’s a bit of projection math, but I believe we’re holding a projection at 600,000 when the whole thing [the Fjord Trail] is built.”