Letter to the Editor

Bulldozing the past

By John W Foster, Retired Electrician Local 3631BEW, Middletown
Posted 5/5/22

Each year we forever lose relics from the past in the name of progress. It’s happening all over the Orange County area, but, for now, we’ll just look at the towns of Montgomery and the …

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Letter to the Editor

Bulldozing the past

Posted

Each year we forever lose relics from the past in the name of progress. It’s happening all over the Orange County area, but, for now, we’ll just look at the towns of Montgomery and the Town of Wallkill. Look closely and you’ll find more and more areas being covered with condos and warehouses. All have come in with tax breaks so that YOU, the taxpayers, must take up the slack. These buildings are being stuffed into spaces that would be better used for single family homes on one-half to three-quarter acre lots. The current developments are turning this area into a bedroom community. We allow ‘Rabbit Warrens’ to be built and filled with people who have no idea of what they are getting into. They end up driving an extra 2 to 4 hours each day just to get to work! If you think about it, they are giving the firm they work for many hours each week just to live in these condos and give no thought as to how it affects their families. Is that what we really want our communities to be like? I think not.

As far as these warehouses go, they promise to bring lots of good to the area, but I really haven’t seen any yet. They don’t pay taxes as you do for your home. They pay only minimal wages and offer no future for their employees. Are they really great for our area? Recently, a home that had stood for over two centuries was removed for a warehouse. For over two centuries it had housed families from the area during good times and bad. These people lived and worked right in this area! They raised their families and contributed to help make this area what it was. Now it’s gone. We have let the COLDEN mansion go to pot. Our community should feel complete shame for allowing such an action to take place.

More of these ‘Rabbit Warrens’ are being built in the town of Wallkill along with ‘jerry built’ commercial properties. Just build them as quickly and as cheap as possible with no regard to what was there first. The past is just bulldozed over and forgotten about.

An example of such action is a condo being built at the intersection of Foster and Inwood roads during the spring of 2022. You may not know this, but there was a foundation of a log cabin in about the middle of the driveway to the complex. To most people it sure didn’t look like much. Just stones laid up in about a 16 x 16 area. Those were the dimensions of that cabin. It was partially filled with leaves, dirt, and other debris. The point remains that there was a log cabin home from an early settler who lived his life here. Surely, he worked hard to make a living and was located only about 30 minutes from Scotchtown, the nearest town, and over and hour from the ‘big’ town, Middletown. He got his water from a spring that was only about 100 feet from his house.

This was brought to my attention by the owner of the farm in 1947. That year, we had a summer with very little rain. The streams dried up, as did the swamps. The livestock had to really search for water. R. Rogers, the owner of this property, raised chickens and leased out his pasture and hay fields to farmers to run dry stock. As the dry period lasted, he, along with his hired man, found the spring and dug it out. They dug down about 5 feet and hit the bottom as well as finding a crock that was filled with coins.

Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and MIL pieces. In all honesty, it wasn’t a lot in monetary value because of the age and condition. The latest was dated in 1842. It was my privilege to hold the coins for a few minutes! Now there is no sign that anything was even there. It is all under tar and cement. The spring was filled several years ago. There is nothing to make people aware that, at one time, a family actually lived there. Raised a family there. And, yes, probably died there. They are lost for all intents and purposes. The past is hidden from view and replaced with a ‘jerry built’ structure - trying to squeeze every cent out of the area. Again, the taxpayers must foot the bill. Condos don’t pay at the same rates a homeowner does.

And just in case you were interested, the New York State Building Code is available to look at if you choose to educate yourself. The building code is a list of MINIMAL requirements that are necessary for new construction. Minimal. Not what most people would consider when trying to raise a family.

I am NOT against quality construction performed by well trained workers. Isn’t that what we all want?

Unfortunately, quality constructions are NOT what we are getting in many of the buildings going up today. I also believe that we should preserve the past as much as is possible. Those of us that were here from the past have essentially made this area what it is today. We have got to stop destroying the past just to make a few bucks. We really have so much to lose.