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Update - January 2005
Currently, the Empire Connection project is proposed as a
single cable instead of two, and no facility is proposed for
the Spuyten Duyvil Triangle. Conjunction LLP, the provider
company, continues to seek financing and partnerships for
its venture. The Preservancy continues to monitor this project.
Background
The Empire Connection is an effort by a private developer,
Conjunction LLC, to connect the upstate and downstate electricity power
grids via underground cables. Originally, the project was
proposed to bring 2,000 megawatts of power to NYC via two
cables, at a projected cost of $750 million.
Original plans called for above-ground cables to follow the
Metro-North tracks along the Hudson River shoreline in the
Bronx. Negotiations with Scenic Hudson in 2002 convinced Conjunction
LLC CEO Steven Mitnick to bury the cables, along with other
existing cables, along the tracks. Original plans also called
for an above-ground power converter to be built on the Spuyten
Duyvil triangle.
Full Scope of Project Revealed
Local residents and the environmental community
were unaware of plans for the Spuyten Duyvil triangle until a member of
the Riverdale Nature Preservancy board of directors investigated
the scope of the project in late 2003. Even then, the full
scope of the converter was not revealed until Conjunction
filed its application to the New York State Public Services
Commission on November 17, 2003. The application showed an
industrial facility rising some 11 stories high and covering
approximately one-half the land area of the triangle.
Sound Opposition Prevails 
Responding to outcries from community and environmental groups, the developer sought a new location for the converter.
Arguments against the converter on the Spuyten Duyvil triangle
were based on scenic, environmental, and land use considerations:
- The triangle is part of the swath of green running along the
Hudson River in New York city. Its trees are visible not only
to residents of Spuyten Duyvil, but to the thousands of commuters
on the Metro-North Hudson Line and the boat traffic in the
River.
- It is part of the coastal zone, and there is a newly-forming
salt marsh along its southern edge.
- It is recommended for
purchase in the 2002 State Open Space Conservation Plan.
- It has been recommended for acquisition for a park by the New
York Department of City Planning.
- Bronx Community Board 8’s
197-a Plan recommends further study of a special scenic view
district along “parklands with views of the Hudson River
and the Palisades in Spuyten Duyvil” that would protect
the view of the triangle and the river beyond.
- The triangle
is currently zoned by New York City for low-density residential
land use, and further protected by a Special Natural Area
District zoning overlay.
- The converter facility would set
precedent for overriding zoning designations for manufacturing
uses elsewhere on the city’s waterfront.
Chronology
Fall 2003 - Riverdale Nature
Preservancy becomes aware of Empire
Connection project
Through a series
of conversations with a host of individuals including Conjunction
LLP president Steven Mitnick, representatives of Scenic Hudson,
Riverkeeper, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and
local elected officials, a member of the Preservancy board develops a fuller account of
the project to bring to the community.
November 6, 2003 - Riverdale Nature Preservancy adopts
the position that there should be no industrial development
at the Spuyten Duyvil triangle
November 11, 2003 - First community forum on the project
With the help of the Friends of Spuyten Duyvil, the Preservancy’s
annual meeting is transformed into a community forum on the
Empire Connection. Representatives of Scenic
Hudson and Riverkeeper
describe their organizations’ involvement with the project.
Neither organization had
been aware of plans for an above-ground converter at the Spuyten
Duyvil Triangle. The community voices its disapproval
of the Spuyten Duyvil facility.
November 17, 2003 - Conjunction
LLP files a 1,000-page application with the New York State
Public Service Commission (PSC)
The purpose of the application is to obtain a certificate of
environmental compatibility and public need. The application
includes a diagram of the facility showing the building and
outdoor equipment taking up some one-half of the triangle,
which is much more extensive than verbal descriptions of the
facility to date.
The project is exempt from EIS requirements, although the
PSC application and review is
intended to gather public comments and address a broad scope
of project impacts.
December 1, 2003 - Press
conference in Spuyten Duyvil
Approximately 40 local officials and residents attend a press conference at the Metro-North railroad
station overlooking the Spuyten Duyvil triangle. It is played
on the 6:00 news on Channel 4 and all day on NY1 and News
12.
December 2003 - Preservancy requests active
party status in review of Conjunction LLP’s application to the PSC.
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