Rhinebeck to the Rescue

Wow, this was a big week!  First, many thanks to all, whether you just joined this email list or visiting this website, or have been getting updates regularly. Your support matters. CSHV is about preserving our rural community and we are neighbors just like you.

Yay Rhinebeck!

To start, let’s thank the Town of Rhinebeck. Looks like they’ve also had enough of the shenanigans in Hyde Park and Clinton, where the town boards are willing to destroy our area’s natural beauty and manipulate local laws to serve a giant foreign hotel corporation 

(with zero benefits to area residents).

 See the Kingston Daily Freeman STORY HERE.Please 

CLICK HERE to send THANKS to Rhinebeck 

Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia and the rest of the Board for stepping up to protect the community and for respecting the environmental protections deliberately put in place for generations. Edit if you like and add your name. 

 It’s also especially meaningful to show her (and the rest of the Rhinebeck town board) some public love on Facebook and other social media because they’ve been attacked there for standing up for what’s right!

What Happened in Clinton and Hyde Park?

Dozens of people of all ages spoke out at the meetings and even more wrote letters urging the Hyde Park and Clinton town boards to consider the residents and the law before they acted. Thank you! It was truly heartwarming to see and hear from so many people who want to preserve the special qualities of the lands and waters that have been cultivated in the Hudson Valley for hundreds of years. It’s not by accident we live in such a peaceful rural area. Let’s keep it that way!

Despite the significant public opposition, the Town Boards of Clinton and Hyde Park completely capitulated to IHG Six Senses by settling one (of two) Six Senses lawsuits on the precise terms demanded by Six Senses (with the exception of courageous Hyde Park Ward 1 Councilperson Prine who deserves our thanks – please let him know HERE(edit if you like and add your name). The agreement the boards approved was far from what was presented by IHG’s lawyers as “just a formality” and their votes show that the Hyde Park and Clinton Town Boards have FAILED US.

So What’s Next? 

First, we are actively pursuing our legal options. The decisions about what’s legal and what’s not belong before a New York state judge.They shouldn’t be decided by local politicians (who have personal ideas about what’s good for our towns that are different from what’s in town Zoning Laws and Comprehensive Plans and might depend upon contributions for their re-election campaigns). 

Second, we are organizing to get the word out. One Clinton resident with family ties here back over 100 years just heard about the Six Senses project for the first time three hours before the Clinton Town Board vote. Please volunteer (use this form) and email us if you want to attend a virtual (or in-person) meeting about steps you can take! Even with all our busy schedules, there’s ways to help — making calls, posting flyers, social media, door-to-door, community meetings, press, etc. We can spread our roots where we live even if we can’t match the IHG Six Senses budget.

Finally, please share this message with your friends and networks and encourage others to tell their contacts — people who care about this community should know about what’s happening. The fate of this project affects the entire Hudson Valley. It opens the door to many more resorts and will forever change the place we love.  

Thank you for being a caring community,

Your CSHV Neighbors

Our bills are growing. If you can, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE to our Legal Fund,  Every dollar helps!  We accept offline donations (checks, cash and cryptocurrency-just email us), Credit cards and payment apps, and GoFundMe.