Dear Editor,
I am a homeowner in Swan Lake for more than twenty years, my parents having met as teenagers there in the 1950’s. I am also the president of a charitable organization, The Catskill Clean Water Fund which has raised and spent over $110,000 over the past 12 years to combat an invasive water chestnut plant in the lake. What started out as an effort by locals to preserve Swan Lake through grass roots activism has become a model for other lakes and rivers facing the issue. Thus, it was with great interest that I saw your story. Unfortunately, however the story only begins to scratch the surface of what is truly going on.
The “Hamlet” of Swan Lake has over the past twenty years gradually been overrun by developers. Worse, they are developers of high-density multi-unit housing. Thus, when one thinks of the beautiful Catskills and of course a “Hamlet” like Swan lake the last thing they think about is what is being proposed here. 180 homes all multi family. The number alone should be enough for any reasonable person to wonder how a rural community could handle it. Obviously, it can’t.
While we could spend quite a bit of time explaining why the proposal to change the zoning to accommodate the developer surely would not pass scrutiny under the current statutes, what is most disturbing is that it likely will pass at essentially the sole urging of one man, Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo who has maintained relatively unchecked power by way of being in his “elected” position while running unopposed. Perhaps one might consider asking Mr. DeMayo why he would be and has in the past, been so quick to grant applications such as this to build high density housing units in a rural “Hamlet” despite opposition from the few people who become aware in a timely fashion that something is occurring right under their noses which could forever alter the character of a place. The few residents who have spoken out have never received a…
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