Rough waters in Red Hook as officials look to take boat club by eminent domain

May 12

Written By HVNY

Town of Red Hook officials are looking to take over the Red Hook Boat Club, a member-supported club in operation since 1948, by eminent domain and open the area for public use.

The Red Hook Town Board says the plan furthers the town’s 1993 comprehensive plan, and calls the acquisition a way to “provide the Town’s people ‘windows on the Hudson’ as well as preserving waterfront open space.” The board says the property is “the only viable location in the town to have a public waterfront park with an accessible crossing over the train tracks and suitable parking.”

Members of the site’s current operator, Red Hook Boat Club, Inc., are now suing the town for its actions, and started a GoFundMe campaign, saying “The Town Board is mounting an inappropriate land grab that smacks of gentrification, opportunism, government overreach, and blatant disregard for an entire group of people.”

“This move disregards the decades of volunteer effort, community spirit, and personal investments that have sustained the Boat Club for generations. It raises serious questions about fairness, transparency, and respect for private property.”

Former Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and current Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino have both publicly denounced the town’s plan to use eminent domain with Serino saying “government should only ever use its power to take private property in the rarest and most necessary circumstances – and only with full transparency and when it’s clear that it’s in the public’s best interests.” Elizabeth Spinzia, supervisor for the Town of Rhinebeck said in a community forum that she does not like “this flex of eminent domain in an attempt to ‘take’ the boat club … It’s very heavy handed, divisive, and in my opinion, unneeded and unwarranted.”

A public hearing is set for Friday, May 16, 2025 at 6:30pm at the Red Hook High School Performing Arts Center, 103 West Market Street.

https://www.redhookny.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/931?fileID=16525

Link to the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-red-hook-boat-club-from-eminent-domain