ARCHIVE: Parcel B

Tue, Mar 1, 2011 • Parcel B

If you have driven on Purchase Street for the past couple of years you have noticed how bad traffic congestion has become. You've also seen the new traffic signals installed on Purchase Street between Manhattanville Road and the Hutchinson River parkway. Those signals were installed to handle the additional traffic generated by the office parks on Manhattanville Road. Now, Purchase Corporate Park Associates (PCPA) wants to build an additional office building on Manhattanville Road near Purchase Street.

By adding yet another building on Manhattanville Road this application will require:

  • Expansion of the intersection at Purchase Street;
  • Additional turning lanes; and traffic signal(s).

Inevitable consequences of the PCPA "Parcel B Application" include:

  • Intensification of traffic on area roads especially Purchase Street.
  • Destruction of parts of the historic Ophir Farm Group designed by preeminent architects including Frederick Law Olmsted.
  • Violation of a 1984 Settlement Agreement between PEPA and Purchase Corporate intended to protect open space, reduce traffic and strictly limit any further addition of office parks.
  • Violation of provisions of New York State environmental law since the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by Purchase Corporate uses an old EIS (1983) as the basis for the developer's report. Subsequently it fails to properly analyze current air quality and noise levels.

Action Taken

PEPA commissioned an independent review of the EIS by The Louis Berger Group, Inc., environmental consultants. They argue that the EIS fails to properly analyze current air quality and noise levels, as well as traffic congestion and parking issues. In addition, the developers submitted an incomplete "Alternatives" Chapter, especially crucial because of the possible destruction of the Ophir Farm Dairy, and Main Barn remnants that were part of a sprawling historic farm complex designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

PEPA believes these inadequacies violate provisions of New York State law as well as a 1984 Settlement Agreement between PEPA and Purchase Corporate Park Associates. Many of the problems derive from the use of an old EIS (1983) as the basis for the developer's report.

PEPA's consultants also commented on the failure of the Impact Statement to address the cummulative effects of changes in the community since the previous 1983 EIS. They wrote, "the resulting proposal effectively circumvented the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)."

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