Rockland renews open space program with $5.5M worth of land buys. See where they are

HAVERSTRAW - Rockland County has made land purchases in the last couple months, part of a long-dormant Open-Space Acquisition Program. So far this year, the county had purchased a total of 26 acres in two towns.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day on Tuesday detailed the land buys at a press conference along the Hudson in Haverstraw Bay Park. The county park was the first space bought by the county, back in 1999.

The goal, Day said: Preserving historic and cultural places; ensuring open space; and protecting the Hudson and other waterways.

The recently acquired properties include:

• 20 New Valley Road, New City, purchased March 15 for $4 million. The 11.83-acre parcel was owned by the Milich family.

• 1015 and 1019 Route 45, in the Ramapo section of Pomona, purchased March 31. The total sale cost was $1.39 million; the two plots total 13.34 acres. The land was owned by the Susan Gordon and Edmund Wyatt Gordon revocable trusts.

The sites will be used as "passive" parks, which means any development will be minimal.

"These will be legally open space in perpetuity," Day said, with the dedication confirmed by state legislation, a designation that is hard to undo.

The New City property has been in Scott Milich's family for generations. He said he was thrilled that the wooded area, stream and open fields would be preserved.

"Our family's pleased to be able to play a small part in a larger effort to preserve natural places in the area," said Milich, a 2019 Republican candidate for Clarkstown Town Board.

The Pomona property is located in a community known as Skyview Acres, established in 1946 as a social experiment in racially integrated living. The wooded property sits behind CEJJES Institute, a nonprofit established by the Gordons that works to promote social justice, particularly as it pertains to the health, education and well-being of marginalized communities.

Edmund Gordon, now 101, could not attend Tuesday's press conference, but the family shared a statement that they were grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the community.

3 more purchases expected

In his 2023 State of the County address, Day foreshadowed the purchases. He said the program, which had been cut years ago when Rockland's deficit swelled, would become active again. The idea is to save sensitive sites from development.

County government put $30 million into the Open Space Acquisition Program in 2019. This round of purchases totaled more than $5.5 million.

Rockland: Officials demand transparency, action from CSX in wake of massive brush fires

Clarkstown: A school inside house was shut down. Now the property's for sale for $1.2M

'We would be laughed out of court': Haverstraw OKs controversial Orthodox Jewish synagogue, settles lawsuit

The public or elected officials can nominate parcels, which are evaluated by an Open Space Acquisition Committee if the property owner is contacted and willing to sell. Sites are rated by their environmental attributes, and whether they under threat of development or are tax delinquent.

"The public is the entity that first nominates these properties," Day said.

Day said recommendations have been received for six parcels. The other properties, totaling 24 acres, could be purchased by year's end.

A Freedom of Information request to the county for nominations to the Open Space program is pending.

Small area, growing population

Rockland is the smallest county, geographically, in New York, outside the five boroughs. With a plethora of wetlands and steep slopes, county officials say there’s little left to preserve. The county's population grew 14.8% between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Around 338, 330 people live in the county.

Rockland has significant state parkland within its borders. Day said developable land is scarce.

The population growth skews to certain areas, with most increases concentrating in areas of Ramapo and in the town of Haverstraw along the Ramapo border.

There's been a 23% population increase between 2010 and 2020 in the village of Pomona, which splits between the towns of Ramapo and Haverstraw. One recently purchased property, along Route 45, sits in the Ramapo portion of the village.

Along with that growth in Pomona, the village and surrounding areas have seen a surge in real estate demand.

Value of the land

Town assessors said that calculating the value of property isn't a simple math calculation, especially for unique and undeveloped land.

For example, the New City property was assessed in 2022 at $206,400, according to the property transfer report filed with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Using the town equalization rate, the market value of the property could be up to $5.14 million.

But Clarkstown Town Assessor John Noto said property value calculations are much more complex.

"With vacant land there’s too much variable on it," Noto said. "What’s the topography, how much could really be used, depending on if there’s wetlands, etc." Plus, he said, Clarkstown's last townwide assessment was done in 1985.

Ramapo Town Assessor Scott Shedler agreed. The Pomona property is located in his town. Location, acreage, the recent sale prices of similar properties nearby, are factors that influence a property's market worth more than the number listed in town assessment rolls.

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Open space buys in Rockland County preserve land in Ramapo Clarkstown