A packed New Windsor planning board meeting last week saw more than 60 residents oppose the proposed 172-unit apartment market rate luxury apartments known as Stonegate.

That’s an increase in construction from 81 units proposed by Stonegate to now 172 units.

And that increase in size has spawned taxpayer opposition to what opponents are calling too much New Windsor development.

The project came out of the blue, says retired New York City Police major case detective Saeed Salim whose family sought the good life in New Windsor.

“We were shocked,” he says, by the explosion of New Windsor construction.

He is part of an ad hoc group of residents opposing growth in town that they say is becoming too much.

New Windsor was a place with a bucolic reputation some years back.

“We have seen turkeys, foxes and even a bear but instead of looking at and hearing the sounds of nature where we daily see deer in our backyard we will now be looking at buildings, lights and water retention ponds,” say Paula and Robert Kammarada in a letter to the planning board.

Now town growth is mushrooming.

Growth has squeezed road parking at Mason Ridge where children and parents wait for school buses.

That means, says planning board chairman Gerry Argenio,“there can be eight to ten cars there.” And that’s too many, he says.

Residents also have complained online at Concerned Citizens For New Windsor on Facebook about the big bump in traffic they fear will become a problem of congestion in a town already seeing increased traffic from developments.

Traffic volume on Little Britain Road and cross street Route 300 saw 34,012 cars and other vehicles in 2018 according to the developer’s figures gleaned from state figures.

Executive Drive saw 22,535 vehicles in 2018.

“We’re going to fight it to the end,” says Salim.