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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. City residents will have a chance to voice their concerns next month about the environmental impact of a new central firehouse proposed for the corner of Main and Broad streets and using eminent domain to acquire the properties.
The Common Council has set a public hearing on both issues for Aug. 16. The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Aug. 13 Common Council meeting at city hall. The council adopted the draft environmental impact study (DEIS) for the new firehouse at a brief special common council meeting Monday night during its Committee of the Whole Meeting.
"We'd like to get those public meetings scheduled sooner rather than later we didn't want to wait until August," said Mayor Mary Foster.
City officials have stated they will use eminent domain to acquire the land for the firehouse if they are not able to buy it outright. The proposed site currently houses part of the Crossroads Plaza shopping center and a mixed business-residential building at 1141 Main St. that was acquired by the city last month.
"The other properties have been negotiated for sales prices, and so this [eminent domain] is a path that the owner of the shopping center is amiable to as well, so we are not doing this under protest with any of the owners of the [Crossroads Plaza] property," Foster said.
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