The Adirondacks Are Still Struggling Says Local Government Director in Empire Page Interview

ALBANY, NY (05/23/2010)(readMedia)-- Contrary to the claims of the Adirondack Council, the communities that exist within the Adirondack Park are "nowhere near a model for rural development, nor an economic success" argues Frederick H. Monroe, executive director of the Adirondack Local Government Review Board in an exclusive interview published May 23 on the Empire Page website.

John Sheehan, a spokesman for the Adirondack Council made that claim in a recent op-ed piece for the Albany Times Union.

Monroe points out that half of the Adirondack communities are experiencing a decline in population, school enrollments are declining, unemployment in the Park is much higher than in the rest of the state and the medium age is rising. "Young families are moving out - there are few good jobs for them," Monroe states.

In terms of Gov. Paterson's proposed moratorium on state land purchases in the Adirondacks – a measure the Adirondack Council opposes – Monroe states "after years of state land purchases, some Adirondack communities have little or no land left for necessary infrastructure, affordable housing, economic development and other community necessities."

Monroe and the Adirondack Review Board are critical of the Adirondack Park Agency, the entity created to form and implement long-range plans for Adirondack land use. The APA is stuck with a 1970s mind-set Monroe states and its plans need to be re-done in light of current conditions.

The entire interview with Fred Monroe can be found in the Improving New York section of the Empire Page website.

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