Shapiro Builds Bridges

This article appeared in the Townsman, July 3, 2008 edition

Woodstock, July 1, 2008

Ulster County Legislator Brian Shapiro (D-District 2) has called upon the Coalition to Save Belleayre (CSB) to “reach across the aisle” and join with the Save The Mountain (STM) “to build an unstoppable movement in favor of our state owned facility [the Belleaye Ski Center in Highmount]”. In a message to CSB chairman Joe Kelly Shapiro suggested, “Let’s build bridges and recognize the things that we have in common.”

Shapiro’s message addresses two issues commonly conflated by the public. One, supported by CSB, is the effort of the State of New York to expand and enhance the state-owned Belleayre Ski Center, and the other, strongly opposed by STM, is to realize the Crossroads Venture plan to establish a major, privately owned resort including hotels, golf facilities, conference center and housing almost adjacent to the Belleayre facility.

STM opposes the Crossroads Venture project even after it was scaled back in size and supported by then Governor Eliot Spitzer. The proposed project still requires final approvals by various state and local agencies. Shapiro has also been highly critical of the proposed Crossroads Venture project.

Private ski facilities in neighboring Greene County, principally in the townships of Windham and Hunter, with the support of the Greene County Legislature have loudly opposed the proposed expansion of the Bellayre Ski Center, claiming the state subsidized facility has an unfair advantage over private facilities. They have been successful, along with other privately operated recreational facilities, in persuading the NY State Legislature to authorize the creation of a “blue ribbon” commission to evaluate whether state-owned recreational facilities constitute unfair competition to privately run golf courses, ski centers and camping sites. Shapiro characterizes this as “ill conceived legislation.”

Shapiro’s call came in response to reports of Joe Kelly accusing him in particular and the Ulster County Legislature in general of being “totally AWOL” in its support of the Bellayre project, accusing them of “mind-boggling inattention” and a lack of “willingness to fight for a property that pulls 200,000 visitors a year across the county from Kingston to Highmount.”

To Mr Kelly’s accusation that Ulster County legislators “sit back silently while Greene County ruthlessly attacks the biggest attraction in Western Ulster County” without the Ulster County Legislature “reacting in any way,” Shapiro cited a resolution he introduced calling upon the Ulster County Legislature to urge the state’s “major investment in Belleayre Mountain Ski Center,” which was unanimously adopted at its July 11, 2007 meeting and sent to various state agencies and officials.

Shapiro says that in a recent conversation with Joe Kelly he agreed that there is much work to be done to move forward to effectively advocate strong support for the publicly owned Belleayre Ski Center.

“I know the vast majority of “Save the Mountain” folks would immediately heed the call to support this publicly owned facility, which brings so much to our community and the local economy as well. Enlisting support for Belleayre should not exclude those opposing the Crossroads project, which needs to be considered separately based on its own faults or merits,” said Shapiro.