Bonacic defends property rights
If New York City wants to prevent landowners from developing their property, they should buy the development rights to that land. Their refusal to do so just shows that they want to continue to be parasites on the rest of the state, getting their water at our expense.
It seems that State Senator Bonacic (R-C-Mount Hope) agrees with our philosophy. The Times Herald-Record quotes him as saying:
Let them buy the development rights. For those landowners who want to sell their gas rights, let the city pay the same market rate to keep the land undeveloped. We buy agricultural development rights for tracts of land we want to preserve. Let those who oppose the lawful exploration and extraction of gas in the Catskills (do the same). …
If New York City can stop development of energy sources in the Catskills, they can diminish the value of people’s land without compensation.
The article seems to say that the City is turning a deaf ear to these arguments:
While the city’s DEP points out that it has already invested $541 million to buy watershed land, it did not directly address Bonacic’s proposal, except to reiterate the “unacceptable threats” of drilling to drinking water.
“We look forward to continuing a dialogue with elected officials and all stakeholders to protect the watershed during this process,” said a statement by Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway.

