State Assembly Approves Orangetown Land Swap with O&R

The New York State Assembly approved legislation Monday that would allow Orangetown to swap land with Orange and Rockland Utilities for a local power project.

The bill passed the State Senate in March and will now go to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

“I am thrilled this legislation is now headed to the Governor’s desk and will become law," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (D-Suffern), who sponsored the bill in the Assembly. "Yesterday’s passage was vital to ensuring local businesses have reliable access to power, local residents have their neighborhoods spared invasive development, and that our area remains economically competitive well into the future.  

“By authorizing this parkland transfer, O&R will now be able to construct electricity transmission facilities further away from the homes of Orangetown residents, which is a development both the surrounding community and I certainly welcome."

O&R has been able to continue work on the stuctures due to a revocable license granted by the town of Orangetown. The transition structures will allow O&R to tap an existing overhead 138kV transmission line to feed power to its new substation on Corporate Drive. They are part of a $29.8-million O&R substation and transmission line project designed to provide more reliable electrical service to local residents and businesses.

"At the end of the day, the license was a temporary measure that Supervisor (Paul) Whalen and the (Orangetown) town board were good enough to provide us with to get this work going," said Mike Donovan of Orange & Rockland. "It took a lot of good work by a lot of people to get us to this point."

The work is considered vital to economic growth in Orangetown for projects such as Verizon's expansion of its data centers.

“These facilities will also provide the means for sufficient electric service to the Corporate Drive area in Orangeburg, helping guarantee existing business there remain a vibrant part of the local community, and that we can attract new businesses and jobs to our area," Jaffee said.

 “In this critical pursuit, I appreciate the engagement of local residents, the commitment of both corporate and governmental stakeholders, the assistance of my Assembly colleagues, and the partnership of Senator David Carlucci in seeing this bill passed in the State Senate.”

Donovan was complimentary of the work of officials at the state and town level for their support.

"I think Assemblywoman Jaffee continues her winning ways," Donovan said. "She continues to show gret leadership on this. This legisltion is vital tot he people she represents. Among those people are Orange and Rockland Utilities. We recognize that with any legislation these days, to shepherd it through the legislative process is a heavy lift. She and Senator Carlucci should be applauded for their efforts on behalf of the people of Orangetown and O&R."