After more than a year of back-and-forth, Rockland County business owners along the Route 9W corridor and the owners of the Champlain Hudson Power Express hydropower cable have locked up a deal on compensation for mom-and-pop shops that weathered disruption from roadwork detours.
Small-business leaders and local elected officials flanked U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler at Stony Point Town Hall to announce a $1 million “Good Neighbor Fund” with money from CHPE to be distributed to impacted businesses along the Route 9W corridor where the electrical cable has been laid.
“I’m extremely proud to have helped broker this deal,” said Lawler, a Republican whose 17th District includes all of Rockland and Putnam counties and parts of Westchester and Dutchess. He had been a frequent go-between for Blackstone and Transmission Developers, Inc., the entities behind CHPE, and business owners.
Lawler said the deal came as a result of “sustained advocacy” by small businesses in the 9W corridor. He also thanked CHPE for their partnership.
Stephanie Melowsky, board president of the North Rockland Chamber of Commerce, said the $1 million pot was “more than just a number. This represents survival. This represents hope.”
Melowsky, before a politician-studded press conference, admitted the deal was less than the business community’s hoped-for target.
The original estimate of business losses by the Chamber was pegged at $13 million.
Transmission Developers, Inc. and Blackstone had originally put up $150,000 as a business relief fund.
“Just like any negotiation, there comes a point where you have to agree to disagree,” Melowsky said. “There has to be a resolution.”
Lawler said that those who participate in the $1 million would agree to forego any type of litigation against CHPE “going forward.”
Businesses still waiting to ‘bounce back’
The Community Foundation of Orange, Sullivan and Rockland could work with the Chamber on deciding funding distribution.
The application process is open to any business along the Route 9W corridor in Rockland from Stony Point to Congers. Documentation of business disruption will be required, but final details are not yet available.
Rocky Alexander, owner of Rock’s Kitchen in Stony Point, said the impact of the compensation really depends on how many businesses apply and qualify.
Meanwhile, Alexander said, many businesses are still lagging as customers developed new shopping habits after the long delays last winter and spring. “It’s going to take some time for us to bounce back.”
Businesses aren’t out of the woods yet. Another round of roadwork has commenced and is expected to stretch to fall.
‘Chippie’ history
CHPE, or “Chippie,” is a 339-mile-long cable that brings Canadian hydropower to Queens. Most of the cable goes under the Hudson.
In Rockland, it comes on land from Stony Point to Congers to avoid environmentally sensitive Haverstraw Bay.
The plan, more than a decade in the works, had been touted as an alternate energy source for New York City. It took on more importance after the shuttering of Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan.
Work to lay the transmission cable, and then relocate local utility lines, led to extensive roadwork.
Who pays and who gets paid
The battle over compensation for businesses has gone on for months.
CHPE had previously said the project already provided a slew of “community benefits,” including around $31 million given to local governments, plus future taxes the project would pay.
In recent weeks, both sides had dug in: Merchants were pushing for state Public Service Commission involvement. CHPE counsel, meanwhile, in a letter stated there was “no basis for entitlement to any payment from CHPE.”
The CHPE cable line is expected to be fully charged and transmitting hydropower to New York City this month.
Nancy Cutler covers People & Policy. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on X, Bluesky and Instagram at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland businesses clinch compensation deal after CHPE fight
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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