The National Park Service (NPS) announces plans to construct
a new maintenance facility at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Historic Site. The preferred alternative is a site on
the former James Roosevelt estate, south of the "Red House"
building on Kessler Drive in Hyde Park, New York. The site was
chosen for its remoteness from visitor activities, and the visual
screening provided by a tall evergreen hedge.
In fulfillment of responsibilities under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act, the NPS has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) describing
this project, and has opened a 30-day public comment period from
May 8 through June 11, 2001 .
The EA will be available to the public on May 8, 2001. Interested
persons may contact the park at (845) 229-9115 to request a copy,
or may view a reference copy at the Hyde Park Free Library on
Route 9 in Hyde Park. A portion of the text from the document
will also be available on the park's website at:
http:/www.nps.gov/hofr/home.htm
Currently, the NPS uses historic structures at the Vanderbilt
Mansion and Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Sites
to house its maintenance operations. This has, over the decades,
caused damage to these structures and reduced the effectiveness
of maintenance operations. In the year 2000 over 61'7,000 people
visited the three NPS sites in Hyde Park. The NPS has selected
the construction of a new maintenance facility as the best means
to address the challenges of serving both the resources and our
visitors.
The NPS will accept written or electronic comments through
June 8, 2001. Telephone comments will not be accepted.
Comments can be mailed to to:
Superintendent
Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
4097 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY 12538
Or via e-mail to:
rova_webmaster@nps.gov
After analyzing the comments, the NPS will make a decision
regarding the construction of a new maintenance facility and
the Environmental Assessment.
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