New York City Looks at 440,672 More Acres in Catskills

The Times Herald Record ran an article today describing a major New York City initiative to purchase nearly 100,000 acres  (looking at 440,672 acres but actually planning to buy about one fifth of that amount). But is it a coincidence that Congressman Maurice Hinchey aims to turn the entire Hudson Valley into a federal park just as New York City buys ever more land in the Catskills?  I wrote this letter to the editor of the Times Herald Record:

Adam Bosch (July 15, "NY City Wants Control Over Another 440,672 Acres in Area's Watershed") raises several useful points but neglects to ask the $64,000 question: Is there a connection between Congressman Maurice Hinchey's proposal for a federal park in the Hudson Valley and the City's aggressive land grab in the Catskills? In 1992 then-Assemblyman Hinchey proposed a bill that would have established socialist-style zoning boards in the Adirondack Park. Mr. Hinchey has repeatedly proposed aggressive land-use controls for 20% of Utah. Now, he claims that his federal park proposal for the Hudson Valley cannot possibly lead to radical restrictions on property rights. Maybe not today. But acceding power to a parks administrator eliminates the rule of law. And such restrictions can be implemented down the road without public debate once a park administration is in power.


Is the NYC land purchase a coincidence? Might the intention be to turn the Catskills into an Adirondack-style park and squeeze Hudson Valley residents out via a gradually tightening pincers (City owned watershed land on one side, a federal park on the other), forcing the Hudson Valley's population south to New Jersey and New York City? This is very much the gist of UN Agenda 21, and UNESCO has already been given administrataive control of more than a dozen parcels of land within the borders of the United States. Is depopulation the long term plan for this region? Or is it just a coincidence that the City is grabbing land just as Mr. Hinchey offers the Trojan horse of a federal park?

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.
Town of Olive Republican Commitee