Homes planned on scenic site
Impact on environment, traffic, schools concerns residents

By Michelle J. Lee Poughkeepsie Journal March 6, 2005

BEACON -- A large tract of woods and open land at the base of the Hudson Highlands could turn into a new residential community, raising environmental concerns among some city residents.
Developer Lawrence Kalkstein of Preshrock Corp. in Montrose, West-chester County, said he purchased 123 acres along Hiddenbrooke Drive on Feb. 25 from the Ursuline nuns for $2 million.
He has submitted three different proposals to city officials to build 65 to 75 single-family homes by Depuyster Avenue and deeper into the property, leading toward the mountains.
''Really, our intent is to cluster all [homes] up front and keep most of the land virgin and dedicate it to some public function, either parkland, museums, [or] wildlife,'' Kalkstein said. He has not set a price range for the homes and hopes to get approval for the project soon.
He said he does not plan to build near the Carmels of the Incarnation, a Carmelite nun group that operates a monastery on an adjacent property.
Before the homes could be built, the proposal would require nu-merous studies to look at the project's impact on environment, traffic and other issues. It would also require approval from the Beacon planning board.
Kalkstein said his company has been working in the area for the past 10 years and has renovated buildings at 232 and 257 Main St.
He had worked as an accountant and tax attorney in Westchester County. In 2002, he was disbarred from practicing law by the state Supreme Court Appellate Division and his accounting license was revoked by the state Education Department after he pleaded guilty to counts of second- and third-degree grand larceny, all felonies.
In March 2001, Kalkstein was charged with stealing more than $720,000 from the Village of Tuckahoe, where he was treasurer, tax refund checks intended for Gov. George Pataki's campaign and seven private clients, according to The Journal News in Westchester.
Money was paid back
He pleaded guilty in December 2001 and was sentenced to five years probation in March 2002 but avoided jail by repaying more than $770,000, The Journal News said.
''I made a mistake in life and that's that,'' Kalkstein said. ''I need a second chance in life, like most people.'' He said his prior convictions have no bearing on his current profession as a developer.
Hiddenbrooke neighbors are concerned about the possible environmental impact from development of the property, which includes steep slopes, wetlands and two brooks.
Bernadette Clement, a retired IBM secretary who lives in Jessen Park, next to Hiddenbrooke, said she is against the development.
Her home faces Lake Carol, which floods during heavy rainstorms. The natural lake is fed by underground springs and Hidden Brook and cannot be treated due to state environmental regulations, she said. Clement is worried more homes could cause more water problems, damage trees and strain traffic, local schools and utility services.
Bridget Robinson, a nurse who lives on Caroline Street, said she attends Mass at the Carmelite monastery and frequently walks and runs on the Hiddenbrooke property. She fears development could mar the peacefulness of the land.
''I'm not against development and progress, but when it impinges upon one of Beacon's many gifts of beauty and nature, it would be unfortunate,'' she said.
Maintenance is concern
Sister Marjorie Robinson, prioress of Carmel of the Incarnation, said she was worried about how the land and road would be maintained after construction.
''I would also be concerned, no matter what he proposed to do ... how he is going to maintain and care for the rest of the land because with being an owner comes responsibility,'' she said.
However, Anthony Taylor, an autobody worker who lives on Depuyster Avenue, believes more homes could benefit the city. ''More people might come out and build more businesses,'' he said.
The homes could help people trying to move to Beacon and could also mean more police patrols, Taylor said. His only concern was the impact on city schools.
Beacon businessman and resident Andrew Chiusano said he hopes the development would be well-designed and appropriate for the area. ''Certainly, it keeps the local housing market and economy going in a positive direction,'' he said.
Chiusano said there should be a healthy mix of open space and development. ''You can't save all the open space,'' he said. ''Save what you can and be diligent in what you can in saving all the areas.''
Zoning being changed
Mayor Clara Lou Gould said the city council has been updating zoning for the past two years, and the Hiddenbrooke property is the last parcel to be reviewed.
The council is considering increasing zoning to require homes built on one, two and three-acre lots for less density.
''It's a beautiful piece of property and one of the last places of open space in the city,'' Gould said, adding the unique terrain should be respected. She said she hoped there could be some public use of the undeveloped land.
The Hiddenbrooke property has an unusual history. The prior owner was oil millionaire James Noah Slee, who bought the land in 1913 for his wife, Mary Roosevelt West Slee, and three children, said Denise VanBuren, former Beacon Historical Society president.
Slee divorced his wife in 1922 and married abortion rights activist Margaret Sanger the same year. The estate was sold to the Ursuline nuns for 98 acres in Fishkill.
In 1924, the nuns added a brick chapel, which still stands. The former estate house burned down in a fire in 1972.
For more than 50 years, the Hiddenbrooke land was a novitiate where young nuns trained, said Elsie Burke, 87, who has lived in a house next to the property since 1943. Burke is the widow of David Burke, who was the groundskeeper from 1943 until the late 1980s.
The novitiate had 55 nuns at its high point during the 1960s, Burke said. The property also had a working farm where nuns grew fruits and vegetables and raised chickens, cows, pigs, goats and horses.
''They did it in a certain way, especially the gardens,'' Burke said. ''They were self-sustaining.''
During the 1970s, Robinson said, the Ursuline nuns started to leave the property, possibly due to fewer young nuns or teaching obligations in New Rochelle and the Bronx. The Archdiocese of New York purchased the 29-acre monastery and the Carmelite nuns moved there in 1982.
Sister Dorothy Ann Kelly, the prioress of the Ursuline Provincialate in the Bronx, did not return phone messages. Attorneys Richard Cantor and Jennifer Van Tuyl, who represented the Ursuline sisters in the past, also did not return calls.
Sale considered in 2003
At a September 2003 city council meeting, Kelly said the sisters were looking into selling the property to help care for their elderly and sick members.
Shannon Murphy, a painter and the granddaughter of David and Elsie Burke, has been working for two years to preserve the land. Her dream is to protect the trees and turn the chapel into a spiritual center and art school.
Kalkstein sold the chapel and surrounding four acres to Jonathan Miller of Gate House Realty. He declined to say how much it cost. Miller said he will restore the church, which is in disrepair. He declined to discuss plans for the site.
Murphy hopes to work with Kalkstein to preserve the trees, which absorb runoff water from the mountains. She also hopes to garner support to purchase the chapel from Miller.
She said the chapel has historical significance and has been closed to the public since the 1970s.
''It should be open and filled with voices and performance and ritual,'' she said. ''I would like to see Mass there.''
Michelle J. Lee can be reached at mlee@poughkeepsiejournal.com
PLANS ON VIEW - Three housing proposals for the Hiddenbrooke property are available for view at city hall, 1 Municipal Plaza.
- The city council will discuss possibly rezoning the property at 6:30 p.m. Monday. For information, call city hall at 845-838-5000.

Copyright © 2005, Poughkeepsie Journal .

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