Making a Sharpe Decision
By Don Rittner
When Brian Dwyer steps out to his porch to begin each new day, it’s a practice that’s been going on at this location for close to 283 years. Brian lives in what may be the oldest wooden house in North Greenbush, the Juria Sharpe house, situated in the original area of Defreestville and off an old road now called Laura Lane. When Juria Sharpe decided to become a tenant farmer under the auspices of the Van Rensselaer Patroon system during the 18th century, he knew he picked a choice location. Directly across from the house, circa 1720, was a fresh stream, and a few yards from that the stream’s origins, a sizable spring that gave inhabitants of this small farm many years of fresh potable water. In fact, the water was so good, that it was bottled and sold until the latter half of the 20th century. To this day, while snow covers almost every inch of Rensselaer County, the spring bubbles to the surface - warmer than the surrounding air - and continues to flow all year long and stay green with vegetation everywhere.
But this idyllic repose from the hustle and bustle of the 21st century may soon come to an end. One of the county’s most historic sites is now surrounded - though you can’t see it presently — by the trash of modern civilization: speedy byways and crass suburban developments with moronic names. An equally, absurd new development is proposed by Frank Nigro to the southeast called "Oak Hill at North Greenbush." "Oak Kill" is a better name, since it will cram several hundred renters on a small piece of the hilltop. In fact, it’s so dense that a new zoning type is being considered by the town called PDD (Planned Development District), or as I see it "Pretty Damn Disgraceful." On one hand, the denser a development the better, since it theoretically has less impact on the environment. Not in t
his case. A 252-unit apartment project on 32 acres with parking spaces for all, and did I mention the State wants to build an I-90 four-lane spur 140 feet in back of the historic Sharpe house?
We all know that if you live far away from work and play you need a car to go both ways. Let’s look at the statistics: 36% of American households own 1 car, 35% own 2, and 20% own 3 or more (1.77 cars per household average). So this complex will have a minimum of 446 parked cars! The number of vehicles in the U.S. totals 214 million. The population of the country is 290 million! The average American household spends $16.48 a day or 1 out of every 6 dollars for the family cars. In 1995, the average family drove 34,459 miles per year. The circumference of the Earth is less with 24,902 miles. Nineteen percent of the average U.S. household budget is devoted to transportation making it the second largest household expense of the family budget. Owning, fueling, and maintaining a car costs the typical household over $6,000 per year, and on average, car commuters work an entire day each week just to pay for their car! Finally, the average driver spends about an hour per day behind the wheel. And I haven’t even addressed the impact on local schools, which by the way are near capacity in this area of Defreestville.
So the question is what will this development contribute to the way of life in that little corner of Defreestville? Not a damn thing except traffic congestion. You and I know that those who rent these apartments will mostly be working in Albany who can hop on the new spur (and exit 8) and get there in less than 15 minutes. These apartments are nothing more than pit stops for cars and resting holes for their owner’s bodies. How can you call this luxury living with 500+ people and 400+ cars milling around 32 acres? This development as proposed is simply a classic example of sprawl. Take a patch of land away from the center of downtown and place a small-integrated community on it that has no connection to the land or history with the surrounding neighborhood.
Vehicle miles of travel are growing nationwide at 2.5% and more than 4% in many metropolitan areas annually resulting in severe traffic congestion. The U.S. now accounts for one-fourth of total global carbon emissions, and is growing at more than 4% a year, with 30% of the contribution from the transportation sector. It seems the Town has to make a "sharpe" decision on this one. Will the town stay the course or choose sprawl?