Durst’s Hudson Valley Project holds its final scoping session

PINE PLAINS — Further soliciting the public’s feedback as to what should be included in the project’s scope, the Pine Plains Planning Board welcomed local residents and representatives to the second and final scoping session for the Hudson Valley Project on Saturday, July 31.

The Hudson Valley Project

Formerly known as the Durst Project, the application was submitted to the Planning Board by The Durst Organization in April, proposing a conservation/cluster residential single-family home subdivision with 237 residential lots on the 2,655 acres of property in Pine Plains at the former Carvel Country Club. The project encompasses 237 residential lots in Pine Plains and 51 residential lots on 445 acres in Milan, totaling 3,100 acres between the two towns.

As lead agency for the project’s review, the Pine Plains Planning Board scheduled two public scoping sessions: the first was on Wednesday, July 21, and the second was Saturday at 9 a.m. — both were held in the Stissing Mountain High School auditorium. 

Those who were unable to attend in-person will soon be able to watch a recording of the sessions on the Planning Board’s YouTube channel, “Pine Plains Planning and Zoning Boards,” and on the town website, www.pineplains-ny.gov.

Second scoping session

Similar to the first session, the public was given the opportunity to review plans, maps and other information in the lobby outside the auditorium and to pick up a copy of the scoping document before filing into the auditorium for the presentation. About 40 people were seated in the auditorium by 10 a.m.

Frank Fish, a planner with town consultants BFJ Planning, ascribed scoping as “the table of contents for the environmental impact statement [EIS]” and as “a comment on what you think is important to be in the scope and… what should not be in the scope.” 

Explaining why scoping matters in the required State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, he emphasized “the key to this is no agency can take any action, at all, in terms of land use approvals until they make the SEQRA findings.”

Describing the project’s decade-plus long history and multiple incarnations, planner Stuart Mesinger from engineering firm, The Chazen Companies, said the current plan is “an as-of-right plan” that complies with residential zoning in both Pine Plains and Milan. 

Along with having most of the developments clustered around Lake Carvel, he highlighted the amenities for homeowners, the connective open space, the robust network of trails and other project amenities.

Public comments

As the first to speak, Pine Plains Superintendent of Schools Martin Handler voiced his support for the project as “an economic development engine” he believes will benefit local residents. He said he saw “only a positive impact of the economic development of this project relative to our school system.”

Drawing from the Pine Plains’ updated Comprehensive Plan, which focuses on the preservation of its rural small town character, town Supervisor Darrah Cloud asked for a study of the sustainability of said rural character.

“How do we keep being a small place with lots of freedoms?” she asked. “How do we prepare for the impact of so many people coming in, and in that, could there be a guide to us so that we can go forward, beginning soon, to prepare for something like this and keep our small rural character?”

Concerned about the environmental impact, Pine Plains Councilwoman Sarah Jones suggested expanding a section in the scoping document to include a discussion of greenhouse gases; an assessment of CO2 capacity; and a discussion of mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gases during the project’s construction and after the development begins to operate.

Among the other comments and concerns, Gregg Salisbury voiced concerns about CO2 emissions through the construction of new homes while Brett Gold shared concerns about having the intersection of Mount Ross Road and Route 199 as an entrance.

By 11:07 a.m., the second scoping session concluded.

Comments can still be sent

Now that the scoping sessions are over, the public has until Tuesday, Aug. 10, to submit additional written comments either by email, to planningboard@pineplains-ny.gov or by mail, to Tricia Devine, Planning Board Secretary, Pine Plains Town Hall, P.O. Box 955, Pine Plains, NY 12567.

Residents may find the project description and map, notice of scoping procedures and a proposed Draft Scope for the DEIS on the Town of Pine Plains website, www.pineplains-ny.gov. Paper copies of the draft scope and project map may be found at the Pine Plains Town Hall front desk, located at 3284 Route 199, and at the Pine Plains Free Library, located at 7775 South Main St. (Route 83). Contact Devine via email or at 518-398-8600, ext. 3, for more information.

Latest News

In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible

In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible

There are artists who make objects, and then there are artists who alter the way we move through the world. Tim Prentice belonged to the latter. The kinetic sculptor, architect and longtime Cornwall resident died in November 2025 at age 95, leaving a legacy of what he called “toys for the wind,” work that did not simply occupy space but activated it, inviting viewers to slow down, look longer and feel more deeply the invisible forces that shape daily life.

Prentice received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1960, where he studied with German-born American artist and educator Josef Albers, taking his course once as an undergraduate and again in graduate school.In “The Air Made Visible,” a 2024 short film by the Vision & Art Project produced by the American Macular Degeneration Fund, a nonprofit organization that documents artists working with vision loss, Prentice spoke of his admiration for Albers’ discipline and his ability to strip away everything but color. He recalled thinking, “If I could do that same thing with motion, I’d have a chance of finding a new form.”

Keep ReadingShow less
people

Strategic partnership unites design, architecture and construction

Strategic partnership unites design, architecture and construction

Hyalite Builders is leading the structural rehabilitation of The Stissing Center in Pine Plains.

Provided

For homeowners overwhelmed by juggling designers, architects and contractors, a new Salisbury-based collaboration is offering a one-team approach from concept to construction. Casa Marcelo Interior Design Studio, based in Salisbury, has joined forces with Charles Matz Architect, led by Charles Matz, AIA RIBA, and Hyalite Builders, led by Matt Soleau. The alliance introduces an integrated design-build model that aims to streamline the sometimes-fragmented process of home renovation and new construction.

“The whole thing is based on integrated services,” said Marcelo, founder of Casa Marcelo. “Normally when clients come to us, they are coming to us for design. But there’s also some architecture and construction that needs to happen eventually. So, I thought, why don’t we just partner with people that we know we can work well with together?”

Keep ReadingShow less
architecture
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

‘The Dark’ turns midwinter into a weeklong arts celebration

‘The Dark’ turns midwinter into a weeklong arts celebration

Autumn Knight will perform as part of PS21’s “The Dark.”

Provided

This February, PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, New York, will transform the depths of midwinter into a radiant week of cutting-edge art, music, dance, theater and performance with its inaugural winter festival, The Dark. Running Feb. 16–22, the ambitious festival features more than 60 international artists and over 80 performances, making it one of the most expansive cultural events in the region.

Curated to explore winter as a season of extremes — community and solitude, fire and ice, darkness and light — The Dark will take place not only at PS21’s sprawling campus in Chatham, but in theaters, restaurants, libraries, saunas and outdoor spaces across Columbia County. Attendees can warm up between performances with complimentary sauna sessions, glide across a seasonal ice-skating rink or gather around nightly bonfires, making the festival as much a social winter experience as an artistic one.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

Tanglewood Learning Institute expands year-round programming

Tanglewood Learning Institute expands year-round programming

Exterior of the Linde Center for Music and Learning.

Mike Meija, courtesy of the BSO

The Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI), based at Tanglewood, the legendary summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is celebrating an expanded season of adventurous music and arts education programming, featuring star performers across genres, BSO musicians, and local collaborators.

Launched in the summer of 2019 in conjunction with the opening of the Linde Center for Music and Learning on the Tanglewood campus, TLI now fulfills its founding mission to welcome audiences year-round. The season includes a new jazz series, solo and chamber recitals, a film series, family programs, open rehearsals and master classes led by world-renowned musicians.

Keep ReadingShow less
education

Designing for wellness

Designing for wellness

Natural light can be a powerful tool for wellness.

Natalia Zukerman

Wellness is often framed as something we do — a dog walk, a yoga class, a healthy resolution. But as we retreat indoors in winter, we are reminded that wellness is also something we live inside. Our homes quietly influence how we breathe, sleep, focus and feel — sometimes for better, sometimes not.

Interior design for wellness is less about color and style trends and more about intentional choices. Specialty designers create spaces aligned with the health-first framework of the World Health Organization’s guidelines. But with some basic knowledge, homeowners can borrow from that playbook and embrace wellness at home.

Keep ReadingShow less
writer's notebook
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.