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Top Stories 2012: Debate Rages Over Rivertowns Square

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The year began with vocal public hearings as Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley residents voiced concerns with the proposed Rivertowns Square development and ended with talks about environmental concerns.

An artists rendering of the proposed Rivertowns Square development.

An artists rendering of the proposed Rivertowns Square development.

Photo Credit: Daily Voice

While developers planned and replanned to accommodate the villages' requirements, residents had concerns about development in a recession, traffic, added enrollment to the public schools and busing of school-age children. Traffic in Dobbs Ferry was the most frequent complaint.

The project, to be located between the Saw Mill River Parkway and Lawrence Street, would include an apartment building with 202 units, a gourmet supermarket, retail and restaurant businesses, and a Sundance Cinemas complex with eight theaters.

“The biggest problem is the traffic it would warrant,” Dobbs Ferry resident Hubert Herring said in a November meeting. “Whatever else you want to say about the project is irrelevant, because the traffic would be a disaster.”

In May, Dobbs Ferry Board of Trustees received the preliminary final environmental impact statement and proceeded to discuss traffic, soils, noise and environmental conditions and a look ahead to a third meeting that would focus on socioeconomic and zoning issues.

As recently as mid-December, the Dobbs Ferry Board of Trustees will hold another work session to review the Draft Environmental Findings Statement with the prospect of more planning and changes as the Rivertowns head to 2013.

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