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Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis

Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis On September 12, 2000, The New York Times published an urgent warning by noted Monarch butterfly expert Dr. Lincoln P. Brower, and other scientists and conservationists, describing a crisis situation at the Monarch butterfly’s overwintering grounds in central Mexico (The New York Times, Science Times, p. 1). Ten days later, the New York City Parks Department hosted a “who’s who” of Monarch experts and conservationists in New York’s Central Park, to inform…

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Touhey’s Obsession And Other News

Touhey’s Obsession And Other News Touhey’s Obsession And Other News By Daniel Van Riper 300 Washington Ave. Extension! Again! Charlie Touhey is having legislation introduced into the City of Albany Common Council, probably to be sponsored by 15th Ward Alderman Nick Collucio, to rezone that piece of land next to the Dunes development. Charlie seems to be trying by force of will to destroy this parcel and make bucks on his speculation at all costs to his reputation. Certainly, his…

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The Patroon Creek and the Pine Bush

by Lynne Jackson ALBANY, NY: Dr. George Robinson shared his adventures studying and speculations about the mysterious Patroon Creek, Albany’s only remaining above-ground creek at the November SPB lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church. The Patroon Creek begins in Lake Rensselaer, which is in the Pine Bush. The creek is fed by water filtered through huge amounts of sand of the Pine Bush which means that the water is of good quality. This is an unusual situation, because, unlike…

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Action Guide to Citizens

Among the steps people may wish to consider taking are: 1. File lawsuits against the city for reduced property values. Contact your own lawyer or Save the Pine Bush lawyer Peter Henner at 768-8232 or peter@peterhenner.com. 2. Speak about dump issues at meetings of the Common Council of the City of Albany.  The Common Council meets on the first and third Monday of each month (when this regularly scheduled meeting falls on a legal holiday, the meeting is changed to the…

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Dunn Landfill

RENSSELAER, NY: Until mid-March, when the coronavirus slowed organizing efforts, the Rensselaer Environmental Coalition (REC) continued making steady progress towards its goal of closing the Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill in Rensselaer. This 99-acre operation is located right next to the Rensselaer public school campus, and between Rensselaer and East Greenbush neighborhoods. In response to considerable community pressure, and perhaps to avoid holding a public hearing, the NYS departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH), held an”availability session”…

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The Proposed Albany City Charter: For Better or For Worse   The Proposed Albany City Charter: For Better or For Worse by Rezsin Adams Is the new charter the best the city of Albany can have? Absolutely not. Can we get a better deal? Who knows. Harold Rubin, Albany City Charter Commission Member, gave a presentation on the proposed charter and the work of the Charter Commission at the September vegetarian lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany….

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by Lynne Jackson ALBANY, NY: The July SPB veggie lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church was a forum for a bevy of politicians. Everyone came out to support Pine Bush preservation, a welcome change from previous elections. Candidates from Albany, most facing primaries in September attended as well as Ken Runion, candidate for Guilderland Town Supervisor who faces his challengers in the general election. First to speak was Marggie Skinner, Democrat, running for Common Council in the 9th ward…

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SPB Sues City & DEC Over Illegal Landfill in the Pine Bush

SPB Sues City & DEC Over Illegal Landfill in the Pine Bush SPB Sues City & DEC Over Illegal Landfill in the Pine Bush ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush filed suit in July against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the City of Albany over the permit approval for the City of Albany P-4 landfill expansion on Rapp Road. Save the Pine Bush is suing on the grounds that the permit approval was illegal because the…

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Done with the Dunn Dump

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: David Ellis of Rensselaer Residents Against Toxic Dumping and Lou Sebesta of Stop Trucks Assaulting Rensselaer (STAR) spoke at the May 15th SPB dinner about “Done with Dunn Landfill: Negative Impacts of Dunn C/D Dump Operations” in Rensselaer, and their efforts to close it. Later in the evening, George Keleshian of Zeroenergy Buildings, Inc., finished the presentation he did not have enough time to complete at the April SPB dinner. Before they spoke, Lynne Jackson…

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Peter Henner

NEW SCOTLAND — A man of principle and passion, Peter Henner worked for causes he believed in with the same logic and commitment he used when playing chess. He tackled his legal work as he tackled mountains on climbs with his wife — with a sense of adventure. “He always told everything straight,” said Nancy Lawson, his wife. Mr. Henner died at his Clarksville home on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. He was 64. The pages of The…

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Judith Enck Meets with Ezra Prentice Residents

by Tom Ellis   ALBANY, NY: When we learned that US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional administrator Judith Enck would be speaking in Albany the same evening Save the Pine Bush as the scheduled August dinner, SPB decided to cancel the dinner and hear Ms. Enck speak. On August 17, Ms. Enck, formerly of Albany, participated in a forum with the new NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner and residents of the Ezra Prentice Homes (EPH) on South Pearl…

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Don Reeb Speaks to Save the Pine Bush

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: After a rousing introduction by Carol Waterman, Don Reeb spoke at the February 19 SPB dinner about “Cities and the Environment.” Don, now 80 years young, is a retired University at Albany economics professor, was co-leader of the Stop Crossgates mall campaign, and has been President of the McKownville Improvement Association for many years.  He said he can remember the Depression well. He is one of 11 children; the family lived in a three-room apartment,…

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Horizontality and Consensus: Group Decision Making for a True Democracy at the

by Tom Ellis WASHINGTON, DC: 50,000 of us marched on Washington DC on Sunday, February 17, 2013, the largest climate demonstration yet, called “Forward on the Climate.” As Reverand Yearwood, who MCed the event said “ 50 years ago was very important, right here, Dr. Martin King marched. We marched for jobs and food. We marched for Equality. ….We all came together as humanity. But guess what? This rally 50 years later is as important or more important because, as…

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Save the Pine Bush Turns 35 in February

by Lynne Jackson     On February 6, 2013, Save the Pine Bush will be 35. I wanted to reprint the story of our formation (the extended version can be found on the website, http://www.savethepinebush.org) Save the Pine Bush came into being on February 6, 1978. It snowed that day. It snowed so much that the offices of the New York State government closed down and stayed closed the next day. This is the only time that I remember in the…

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Fishers in the Pine Bush! May 2011 Pine Bush Dinner with Scott LaPoint

Albany, NY: Recently, a friend out in Rensselaer County grabbed my arm and said “don’t you dare release your rehabilitated (orphan) rabbits out here—The Fisher will get them!” She went on to describe an animal so mean and vicious that no other mammal would be safe around them. And so, though I haven’t ever met a fisher, I got an idea of the reputation that precedes them. It turns out that fishers are a member of the weasel family. They…

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What’s afoot at the Preserve?!

By Grace Nichols November 2010 was notable in that folks in the community kept contacting us about the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. First it was the neighbors over on Lincoln Ave, wondering why the “forever wild” patch next door was being clearcut, as a new road was being put in connecting Lincoln Ave and Fox Run. Now that the people who had asked for that road for a decade were evicted, the City has put in a good one. Fox…

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Prayer

Prayer Prayer Breakfast May 11, 2004 On Tuesday, May 11 at 7:00 AM, people gathered to listen to Rev. Sam Trumbore of the First Unitarian Universalist Church read a prayer outside the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. View photos of the protest. This is his prayer: Protest Prayer Before a Bush/Pataki Prayer Breakfast Blessed God of our hearts, minds and spirits Holy Spirit of Light, Life and Love Precious Saving Power that moves us toward the good Protector of our…

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Spadefoot Toads and Hognose Snakes – Neil Gifford Has Great Pictures

Spadefoot Toads and Hognose Snakes – Neil Gifford Has Great Pictures   Spadefoot Toads and Hognose Snakes Neil Gifford Has Great Pictures by Lynne Jackson At Save the Pine Bush’s October dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany, Neil Gifford, Preserve Ecologist of the Albany Pine Bush Management Commission, gave an excellent presentation with phenomenal photographs about lesser known animals that inhabit the Pine Bush, the hognose snake and spadefoot toad. The totally harmless and very shy hognose snake,…

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Developer to Remove $50,000 Water Lines from the Preserve Developer to Remove $50,000 Water Lines Press Releases Press Conference on Monday, August 10 at 10:00 AM Save the Pine Bush Forces Developer to Remove Water Lines from Pine Bush Preserve Land For Immediate Release: August 7, 1998 For Further Information: Please Contact: Lewis Oliver at 463-7962 or Lynne Jackson at 434-1954   PRESS CONFERENCE & PHOTO OPPORTUNITY Developer to Remove $50,000 Water Lines from Pine Bush Preserve on Monday, August…

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Oral Argument in Hotel Case Heard in Appellate Division

Go directly to Common Council Members Download a PDF of this announcement ALBANY: Tharaldson Development Company of North Dakota, wants to construct a Residence Inn Mariott hotel on Washington Avenue Extension, adjacent to a known Karner Blue butterfly site and a site that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service recognizes as occupied by Karner Blues. Sound familiar? Save the Pine Bush has been fighting this development since the hotel project was first proposed in 2003. We won in NYS Supreme…

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Save the Pine Bush Joins with Residents of the Dunes to Win Big Charlie Touhey Cannot Build His Office Buildings Save the Pine Bush Joins with Residents of the Dunes to Win Big Charlie Touhey Cannot Build His Office Buildings by Lynne Jackson August 5, 1996 will go down as a day of victory for the Pine Bush. The Albany Common Council voted 12-3 not to re-zone 300 Washington Avenue Extension to commercial, stopping Charlie Touhey from constructing an office…

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Jerry Jennings Blinked

by Tom Ellis   First-term Albany Common Council member Frank Commisso, Jr., has figured out how Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings operates and is determined to make substantive changes.  A member of the common council’s finance committee, he led a revolt over two proposed bonding ordinances – one for $7 million to expand the city’s Rapp Road landfill yet again, the other for $2.35 million to “restore” the landfill.   Both ordinances were enacted on April 2 but Jennings made concessions. About one-half the 15-member common council attended…

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Save the Pine Bush

by Steve Downs   ALBANY: On September 15, 2009, Save the Pine Bush will argue before the Court of Appeals that it was entitled to standing in the case of the proposed Mariott Hotel case. In 1991 the Court of Appeals decided in the Society of Plastics v. Suffolk County, that the test for standing to bring an action in a the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) proceeding was whether the plaintiff would suffer a direct injury greater than…

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Save the Pine Bush Common Council Muzzles Hearing Pine Bush Residents Outraged Common Council Muzzles Hearing Pine Bush Residents Outraged by Daniel W. Van Riper, Mar./Apr. 92 Chanting, “We want to speak! We want to speak!” some twenty or so residents from the Pinehurst and Dunes developments in the Pine Bush expressed outrage at an attempt by the Albany Common Council leadership to prevent them from voicing their concerns over the proposed Woodlands at Pine Ridge office development. Most of…

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Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming!

Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Stanford Home Hearing Information Hearing Notes January 23 Hearing Canadians are Coming! Archeological Information Photos – Outdoor Photos – Indoor Bonding Editorial Preservation   Donate Contact   Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Well, one man is representing the Captain Richard Duncan Company. Background: In the 1777 and 1783, Captain Richard Duncan commanded a company in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, under Sir John Johnson. Richard…

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Residence Inn Hotel – Proposal is Back!

ALBANY: First proposed in the fall of 2003, this “Residence Inn” proposal for the Albany Pine Bush is back. The developer has written a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The public may now comment on this proposal and the DEIS at the hearing scheduled for Monday, April 18 at 7:00 at Albany City Hall, Eagle Street, Albany. This proposed development is on about 4 acres of land owned (or was owned by — see below) by Pyramid Crossgates. It is…

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Notes from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission

by John Wolcott Suburbs by any other name are suburbs just the same, and need to be solidly opposed by environmentalists and urbanists. Pine Bush sites that are within the City of Albany boundaries are disconnected from the real urban city, besides being in a globally rare eco-system. This applies to the sites of the high tech research facilities being built at the University of Albany. These sites are right next to the “Ship of Academia” (otherwise knows as the…

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Common Council votes to Suppress Public Comment

by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Citizens asserted their right to speak to elected officials at a meeting of the Albany Common Council’s General Services, Health and Environment Committee on December 1. Only one item was on the agenda: to consider the resolution offered by the Honorable Dominick Calsolaro to dedicate the Fox Run Estate Mobile Home Park to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission as required by the P-4 landfill permit. More that 30 citizens were in attendance, including a dozen…

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You Can Help Save the Pine Bush in The Town of Colonie

COLONIE: The Town of Colonie is currently working on its Town of Colonie Comprehensive Plan. Now is the time for people concerned about protection of the Pine Bush to speak up. According to the Town’s website, “A comprehensive plan is a document that, according to New York State Law, ‘identifies the goals, objectives, principles, guidelines, policies, standards, devices and instruments for the immediate and long range protection, enhancement, growth and development of a municipality.’ In short the Comprehensive Plan is…

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Rezsin Adams Remembered At the Save the Pine Bush Dinner

by Tom Ellis, October 2020 Newsletter ALBANY: Save the Pine Bush President Rezsin Adams, who died August 13 at age 93, was lovingly honored and remembered at a September 16 virtual Save the Pine Bush meeting facilitated by Lynne Jackson. Carol Waterman said Rezsin had a wonder-ful sense of humor, could be hilarious, and once allowed herself to be all dolled up as part of a La-dies Against Women guerrilla group skit; Rezsin posed and preened like a fashion model….

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Save the Pine Bush Virtual Meeting – Wednesday, February 22, 2023 6:30 PM

Save the Pine Bush Zoom Meeting February 22, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Alÿcia Bacon Moms Out Front and Save the Pine Bush Volunteer, will speak about … How to Get Our Government to Protect the Remaining Pine Bush Organizing a Lobbying Campaign Alÿcia Bacon will give a presentation on creating an effecting lobbying campaign. The battle for Pine Bush preservation started 45 years ago this month. Up until now, Save the Pine Bush has mostly used litigation to stop development…

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Save Holy Innocents Church, Albany, New York

Letter to the editor, Times Union, July 21, 2015 Photos by John Wolcott of Holy Innocents Fate of Albany’s historic Holy Innocents church unclear An opportunity to save the former Church of the Holy Innocents Seriously Endangered Church of The Holy Innocents Section of former Church of Holy Innocents collapses Read excerpts from a book about Holy Innocents Floor Plan of the Church of the Holy Innocents Read the story of Holy Innocents Church in Albany, New York, and why…

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Fighting the Crossgates Expansion

Dear All, The proposed apartment complex on Rapp Road in Guilderland is back.  Pyramid sold the 19 acre parcel to a local developer.  This new developer has proposed some modifications to the project.  The new name for the project is Apex at Crossgates. The area where the proposed apartment complex is to be built is recommended for partial protection by the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. The public hearing: Wednesday, July 13 at 7:00 PMGuilderland Town Hall5209 Western TpkGuilderland, NY…

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Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject

Search Newsletter Archives: What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush? – By Lynne Jackson – June / July 2022 Newsletter A Tribute To Lew Oliver, our wonderful lawyer The Pine Bush’s Most Famous Resident – The Karner Blue Butterfly Save the Pine Bush Victories and Fights The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally, Dec 99/Jan 00Save the Pine Bush is 25!, Mar/Apr 03 Legislation regarding standing in court We Need the Environmental Access to Justice Act,…

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