|
Belleayre Boosters March in Albany
03/27/2008
They were loud. They were organized. They were many. And they were heard.
On Thursday, March 27, more than 120 residents from Ulster and Delaware Counties marched on the New York State Capitol in Albany to protest recent proposed budget cuts that would severely impact the future of the Belleayre Ski Center, which straddles both counties and is the primary economic catalyst of the region.
Arriving by buses and cars, the group marched to the Capitol steps carrying signs reading, "Expand Belleayre, Expand the Future," "Belleayre = Real Jobs," "Close Belleayre and Close the Business Community," and "Save the People." Meanwhile, organizers met with several key State officials in an effort to have the proposed cuts put back into the budget. Meetings were held with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos; Senator John Bonacic; Assembly members Clifford Crouch and Kevin Cahill; and Deputy Secretary for the Environment Judith Enck.
The march was instigated by the recently announced budget and by attacks from neighboring Greene County, where officials there have sided with private ski center operators who claim that Belleayre, at just over 160,000 skier visits last year, is "stealing" skiers from the operations of Windham and Hunter, who enjoyed more than 700,000 skiers combined last year.
"Greene County says that Windham and Hunter are key economic drivers for their county," said Joe Kelly, Chairman of the Coalition to Save Belleayre. "Should Belleayre be any less so for Ulster and Delaware? It is the largest employer in the region and thousands of others derive an indirect living from operating businesses near the ski center. Not allowing it to stay current, with expansion and new facilities, will mean it will eventually die. It seems like that's exactly what Greene County wants and we're not going to stand for it."
Belleayre supporters reminded Albany officials that voters in New York State voted for a Constitutional Amendment to create the Belleayre Ski Center in 1947 and, that in 1987 voters passed a second Constitutional Amendment demanding expansion of the facility to 25 miles of trails. No significant expansion has taken place during that time.
"When Belleayre opened, the idea of ski centers at Hunter and Windham had not even been thought of yet," says Kelly. "It took the success of Belleayre to attract developers to conceive of those operations. Rather than the spiteful attacks, it would be more appropriate if those owners thanked the State for making their businesses possible."
In addition to the Coalition, other groups with members marching were the Belleayre Regional Lodging and Tourism Association, the members of which rely on overnight skiers guests, the Greater Margaretville Chamber of Commerce, the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, and Partners for Progress, a grassroots organization formed to support Belleayre and the proposed Belleayre Resort. Many individual residents, ski center workers and business owners also joined the march.
"It was an impressive showing," said Partners for Progress chairman Lewis Kolar. "We got the point across that there are a lot of people in the Belleayre community that want to see Belleayre reach its full potential. We all understand that times are tight but, this should be a time to invest in our economic future, not suppress it. And we're not going to allow another county to dictate what can and cannot be done to help our people survive."
One highlight of the day was when marchers, moving past the second floor window of Deputy Secretary Enck, were surprised when Enck appeared at the window, giving the crowd an enthusiastic thumb up. Another was when Senator Bonacic, a long-time supporter of Belleayre Mt., came out of his office and met with protestors on the capitol steps.
"That really inspired people to keep up the fight, which we have every intention of doing," proclaimed Kelly.
Media inquiries and photo requests should be directed to info@supportthecompromise.com
# # #
Return to Press Page
|
