Thursday, November 04, 2021
Patriot Hills Golf Course deal is off the table after Stony Point ballot defeat
After voters narrowly rejected selling the town golf course to a local developer, Supervisor Jim Monaghan said Wednesday he believes any deal is off the table and blamed false fears of high-density housing for scaring off support.
Residents voted down the town board-supported sale of Patriot Hills Golf Course and 26 former Letchworth Village acres on Tuesday by 118 votes — 2,265 to 2,147, according to unofficial Board of Elections results. Monaghan said the uncounted write-ins and absentee ballots are unlikely to change the outcome.
Monaghan said he spoke with the developer, Raja Amar, and Amar told him he and his partners are not interested at this point in renegotiating or leasing the property from the town.
"I believe we lost a great opportunity to revitalize the Letchworth property and golf course," Monaghan said.
Monaghan said people believed the false claims the property could be used for high-density housing — linked to Hasidic Jewish builders. He said the property is not zoned for high-density housing and Amar had no intentions of reselling the land.
"How do you change that perception?" he said. "People didn't vote against a new community center or other amenities and property improvements."
Democrat supervisor candidate Michael Diederich, who opposed the sales conditions but lost to Monaghan Tuesday, said people "instinctively knew selling to Raj on his terms was a bad deal, thus the 'no' vote."
Diederich argued the property could be flipped to developers seeking high-density housing, raising the specter of Hasidic Jewish builders controlling the land and potentially the town government. He's been critical of Hasidic Jewish development.
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