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Disputes claim that state has necessary access
Laura Bergman, who owns the property at the northern end of West Street in Cold Spring that serves as an entrance to the state-owned Dockside Park, says New York is claiming more rights than it has to create an entrance over her property to the proposed southern section of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
In a state court filing dated Sept. 4, Bergman's attorney argues that 1988 and 2000 easements that allow pedestrians and workers to enter the park do not permit access for the large numbers of visitors who would presumably pass by her home if the trail extends between Dockside and Little Stony Point.
Bergman was named in a lawsuit filed in May by the Village of Cold Spring and Town of Philipstown against state parks; Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc., a division of Scenic Hudson; and Putnam County, which recently asked Judge Gina Capone to remove it as a defendant. The village and town claim the state environmental review of the project does not adequately consider the trail's potential impact on the village.
Bergman purchased 3 North St. in 2012 from Richard Siskind, who in 1988 had granted an easement and right-of-way for pedestrians and some vehicles, landscaping, underground utility lines and grading, according to the court filing.
"The easement agreement contains no grant of public access, no authorization for a linear park, no right to accommodate high volumes of recreational visitors and no right to extend or convert the easement into a public trail or multi-use path serving a regional linear park system along the Hudson River," the filing states.
In the 2020 agreement, Bergman granted the state a 20-foot-wide easement for $1 to create an unpaved recreational trail. She claims that state parks presented a "superseding agreement" in 2022 that would have permitted additional uses such as walking, hiking, jogging, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, biking and other non-motorized activities, but it was never executed.
Bergman asked Capone to rule that the 1988 agreement is the only valid easement, saying that the circumstances since 2020 have "materially and substantially changed," given that she could not have anticipated the development of the Fjord Trail.
Laura Bergman, who owns the property at the northern end of West Street in Cold Spring that serves as an entrance to the state-owned Dockside Park, says New York is claiming more rights than it has to create an entrance over her property to the proposed southern section of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
In a state court filing dated Sept. 4, Bergman's attorney argues that 1988 and 2000 easements that allow pedestrians and workers to enter the park do not permit access for the large numbers of visitors who would presumably pass by her home if the trail extends between Dockside and Little Stony Point.
Bergman was named in a lawsuit filed in May by the Village of Cold Spring and Town of Philipstown against state parks; Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc., a division of Scenic Hudson; and Putnam County, which recently asked Judge Gina Capone to remove it as a defendant. The village and town claim the state environmental review of the project does not adequately consider the trail's potential impact on the village.
Bergman purchased 3 North St. in 2012 from Richard Siskind, who in 1988 had granted an easement and right-of-way for pedestrians and some vehicles, landscaping, underground utility lines and grading, according to the court filing.
"The easement agreement contains no grant of public access, no authorization for a linear park, no right to accommodate high volumes of recreational visitors and no right to extend or convert the easement into a public trail or multi-use path serving a regional linear park system along the Hudson River," the filing states.
In the 2020 agreement, Bergman granted the state a 20-foot-wide easement for $1 to create an unpaved recreational trail. She claims that state parks presented a "superseding agreement" in 2022 that would have permitted additional uses such as walking, hiking, jogging, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, biking and other non-motorized activities, but it was never executed.
Bergman asked Capone to rule that the 1988 agreement is the only valid easement, saying that the circumstances since 2020 have "materially and substantially changed," given that she could not have anticipated the development of the Fjord Trail.