SOUTHERN DUTCHESS

Board to hire archaeologist in review of Fishkill historic site development

Geoffrey Wilson
Poughkeepsie Journal

FISHKILL - The Town of Fishkill Planning Board will hire an archaeologist while moving forward with the site review for the Continental Commons hotel and retail project.

Thursday night's Town of Fishkill planning board meeting continued the review of the project intended to be built on property that played a role in the American Revolution. The site review will continue at the planning board meeting in August.

Continental Commons would develop land once occupied by a portion of the Fishkill Supply Depot and Encampment, 70 acres that served Gen. George Washington and his troops during the American Revolution. The proposal has been contested by a group intent on ensuring each 240-year-old artifact that may remain buried, or even bodies, are preserved.

Several archaeological investigations of the site conducted in accordance with the state Historic Preservation Office, the latest coming in 2013, determined the only remnants include a burial ground of less than half an acre and an unidentified, crumbling wall. But, the Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot argue the archaeological surveys have been insufficient.

As part of the presentation, Joel Klein, an archaeologist representing the Continental Commons project, addressed claims about the property, including the size of the burial ground on the property, the archaeological reviews performed at the site and the number of bodies interred at the burial ground.

Claims by the Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot that there were anywhere from hundreds to thousands of soldiers interred on the property did not match the archaeological surveys performed there, Klein said. A contention by the Friends group that the Fishkill Supply Depot was home to the largest American Revolution burial site was also false, Klein said.

The Fishkill Supply Depot's place on the National Register of Historic Places also resulted in a misconception, according to Klein. The register "was designed to be and is administered as a planning tool," and it acts as a "speed bump" to development on registered sites, not as a protection from all development, Klein said.

Responding on Friday to the meeting, Lance Ashworth, president of the Friends group, said the group adopted the estimate of about 300 in summer 2011, and they have stuck with that estimate since. Ashworth also acknowledged that the 87 people listed on the group's website may not all be buried on the property.

However, Ashworth maintained that the property deserves further research.

"No one will ever truly know what's under the Continental Commons property unless it is tested in a long-term archaeological survey," Ashworth said.

Greg Lane, spokesman for Continental Commons with Next Generation Strategies, said previous archeological work was done in accordance with a work scope reviewed and approved by the New York State Historic Preservation Office.

As part of the board response, the planning board agreed to hire an archaeologist moving forward with the site review, which Domenic Broccoli, Continental Commons developer, agreed to pay for.

The planning board also opted to extend the period for public comment on the environmental review process, noting that the board was "inundated with materials" irrelevant to the environmental review process, Hendricks said. Comments will be accepted for 30 days, and representatives for Continental Commons will be able to submit a response within 15 days of the comment period closing.

The planning board meeting drew a crowd of more than 50 attendees and did not include public comment. A public hearing will come at a later date, according to Mary Hendricks, planning board chairwoman.

In June, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation revised an earlier determination that the project would have a negative impact on a portion of the land.​ The office said further archaeological investigation need not happen prior to any approvals from the planning board, but should be a condition of those approvals.

The current plan includes preservation of the burial ground and development of a long-term maintenance plan in cooperation with a yet-to-be-determined local nonprofit. The development would include restaurants, shops, a hotel and museum on the east side of Route 9, between Snook and Van Wyck Lake roads.

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW