Is the APA Corrupt or Just Inept?

A psychological study of the pathology of the Adirondack Park Agency needs to be written.  It is a truth universally acknowledged that the APA is inefficient at best and corrupt and completely ineffective at worst. Why is it that the agency paid for by New York taxpayers continues to confound, upset, enrage and confuse citizens with interests in the Adirondack Park and the New York State citizens and taxpayers who foot the bill for the agency's operations?  I think the APA and all of the stakeholders - property owners, businesses, the citizens and taxpayers, others -- could work together in a remarkable partnership to really effectively protect and improve the Park.  What great things could be accomplished if there was more goodwill and cooperation and common purpose between the APA and the people of the Park and of this State. Every time I hear a story involving the APA, it has a bad ending.

Read the APA 2007 Annual Report

Adirondack Park Zip Codes

For a larger map of Adirondack Zip Codes, visit the Adirondack Park Agency website.

Adirondack Park Land Classification Scheme

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, originally developed by the Adirondack Park Agency in 1972, divides the lands of the Forest Preserve into several classifications. DEC manages individual areas of the Forest Preserve in accordance with the guidelines given in the Master Plan, as summarized for the major classifications below:

Wilderness

There are 17 wilderness areas with a total area of about 1 million acres. Because access by motor vehicles and bicycles is not allowed, wilderness areas afford visitors exceptional opportunities for solitude in remote forest settings. The St. Regis Canoe Area is managed as a wilderness, but with special emphasis on travel by canoe.

Wild Forest

About 1.3 million acres of Forest Preserve land are classified as wild forest. These diverse lands offer a wider range of recreational opportunities. Limited access by motor vehicle is permitted on designated roads, and most trails are open to mountain bicycles. Some wild forest areas have extensive snowmobile trail systems. Areas like the Moose River Plains and Aldrich Pond Wild Forests are available for a variety of motorized and non- motorized recreation.

Primitive Areas

Primitive areas generally are Forest Preserve land areas that have the natural characteristics of Wilderness but either because of small size or the presence of roads or other man made features cannot be classified as Wilderness. There are two dozen Primitive Areas and corridors totaling approximately 51,000 acres of land within the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

Historic Areas

Historic areas are properties that are significant in New York State history and are now owned by the State of New York. There are three historic areas in the Adirondack Park: Camp Santanoni, John Brown's Farm and grave site and Crown Point. All are listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places and have been designated as National Historic Landmarks. Camp Santanoni is the only publicly owned Adirondack Great Camp and is managed by DEC as an Historic Area. More information about Crown Point and John Browns Farm and how to get there is available by visiting the website for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Intensive Use Areas

A number of places within the Forest Preserve are developed for more Intensive recreational use. Besides the Gore Mountain and Whiteface Mountain Ski Areas and the scenic highways ascending Whiteface and Prospect Mountains, there are numerous campgrounds and picnic areas throughout the region.

About the Adirondack Park Agency Commissioners

The Adirondack Park Agency Board consists of eight commissioners appointed by the Governor; the other three members are the Secretary of State, Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, and Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

The Commissioners are:

Frank Mezzano, Speculator
Arthur Lussi, Lake Placid
Katherine Roberts, Garrison
James Townsend, Rochester
Leilani Ulrich, Old Forge
Ross Whaley, Tupper Lake
Cecil Wray, New York City
Vacant
State: Frank Milano (Designee: Richard Hoffman)
DEC: Denise Sheehan (Designee: Stuart Buchanan)
DED: Charles Gargano (Designee: Randall Beach)

The Honorable Ross S. Whaley
Chairman, Adirondack Park Agency

New York State Adirondack Park Agency
P.O. Box 99
1133 State Route 86
Ray Brook, New York 12977
Tel. (518) 891-4050
Fax (518) 891-3938
www.apa.state.ny.us

The New York State Senate approved the Governor’s nomination of Dr. Whaley as Chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency on September 16, 2003. He brings to that position more than 30 years experience as a university teacher, researcher and administrator. He also served as Director of Economics Research for the United States Forest Service for 6 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a Ph.D. in natural resource economics from the University of Michigan.

Since 1984, Whaley has been associated with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 16 years as its President and subsequently as University Professor. As Professor his interest focused on the political economy of sustainable development. He continues to maintain a part-time relation with ESF through the Research Foundation.

Ross Whaley has served as a consultant to or member of several state, national and international commissions devoted to natural resource and environmental issues. In recognition of these activities, he has been awarded the Pinchot Medallion by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, the Professional Conservationist Award by the New York Conservation Council, the Heiberg Memorial Award by the New York Forest Owners Association, and Honor Alumnus of Colorado State University.

Commissioner Leilani C. Ulrich
Appointed by Governor George Pataki
Term ends 2008

The Honorable Leilani C. Ulrich
P.O. Box 642
2955 State Route 28
Old Forge, New York 13420
Tel. (315) 369-3353
Fax (315) 369-3355

151 Adams
Old Forge, New York 13420
Tel. (315) 369-3647

Leilani C. Ulrich is the Founding Director of Central Adirondack Partnership for the 21st Century, a not-for-profit regional planning group based in Old Forge. She has also worked for the New York Planning Federation, the Conservation Fund, Herkimer Community College and Lynn University of Old Forge.

Commissioner Arthur Lussi
Appointed by Governor George Pataki
Term ends 2010

The Honorable Arthur S. Lussi
Commissioner, Adirondack Park Agency
c/o Lake Placid Vacation Corp.
1 Olympic Drive
Lake Placid, New York 12946
Tel. (518) 523-2556
arthur@lpresort.com
www.lpresort.com

222 Averyville Lane
Lake Placid, New York 12946
Tel. (518) 523-4610

Arthur Lussi is/was president of his family business, Lake Placid Vacation Corp. which owns and operates Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club. He grew up in Wilmington, where his parents operated the Holiday Motel at the base of the highway to Whiteface. Both worked as ski instructors at the mountain. In 1969, his family moved to Lake Placid, and he began skiing at Mount Whitney, after school and at Whiteface on the weekends as he attended Northwood School. Lussi later was the ski team captain at Dartmouth College, where he received a degree in English. He also has a law degree from Syracuse University. Eventually, Lussi returned to Lake Placid, and in the late 1990s, his family purchased the former Lake Placid Club.

Commissioner James T. Townsend
Appointed by Governor George Pataki

The Honorable James T. Townsend
Commissioner, Adirondack Park Agency
c/o Remington, Gifford, Williams & Colicchio, LLP
Suite 1400, Alliance Building
183 East Main Street
Rochester, New York 14604-1617
Tel. (585) 232-5225
Fax (585) 232-2557

James T. Townsend was appointed to the Agency in June 1999. He is a partner with the Rochester, New York, law firm, Remington, Gifford, Williams & Colicchio, LLP, a general practice firm concentrating in corporate, business and real estate matters. He is also Counsel to the Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation. Also, he was an Assistant Corporation Counsel to the City of Rochester. Mr. Townsend received his B.A. in Government from Trinity College in 1968, and his J.D. in 1971 from Albany Law School of Union University, where he was a member or the National Moot Court Team and was awarded the Moot Court Prize. Civic and professional activities include the Volunteer Legal Services Project, Monroe County Bar Association, Chair of the Seventh Judicial District, Attorney Grievance Committee, Chair, Salvation Army Advisory Board, for President of The Harley School Board of Trustees, the American Arbitration Association, and the Rochester Hearing and Speech Advisory Committee. Mr. Townsend resides in Rochester, New York.

Commissioner Frank Mezzano

The Honorable Frank Mezzano
Fish Mountain Road
Lake Pleasant, New York 12108
Tel. (518) 548-5204
frank.mezzano@gmail.com

Frank Mezzano was appointed to the Agency in February 1998. Mr. Mezzano attended Moses Brown Prep School in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated Wells High School in Hamilton County. He attended the University of Arizona. Since 1962 he has owned the Speculator Department Store. From 1993 until his appointment to the Agency in 1998, Mr. Mezzano was Supervisor of Lake Pleasant, a member of Hamilton County Board of Supervisors, and President of Speculator/Lake Pleasant Consolidated Health District. During that time he also served as the County representative to Region 5 Open Space Committee, a member of the Local Government Review Board and Intercounty Legislative Committee on the Adirondacks and Director-at-Large of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages, as well as an advisor to the Agency's Economic Affairs Committee. Since 1997 he has served as Director of Colonial Health Care Corporation of Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home. He was recognized as the Review Board's 1996 Outstanding Local Government Official. His community activities include, among others, Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman from 1977-1992; member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1990; member of the Speculator/Lake Pleasant Fish and Game Club since 1994; member of the community marching band since 1994. Mr. Mezzano and his wife, Betty, have a daughter and granddaughter.

Commissioner Katherine Roberts
Appointed by Governor George Pataki

Katherine Roberts was appointed to the Agency in June 1995. She was employed as an investment analyst by INA Corporation, Philadelphia. Mrs. Roberts has served as principal, chair of the Social Studies Department and teacher at the Spence School. She is also an author and writer. Commissioner Roberts served as Executive Director of the Open Space Institute, which buys and protects land. She has served as vice-chairperson of the Hospital for Special Surgery and trustee to the Hudson Highlands Land Trust; the Garrison Landing Association; the Alice Desmond and Hamilton Fish Library and United Hospital in New York City. Commissioner Roberts resides in Garrison, NY with her family.

Commissioner Cecil Wray
Appointed by Governor George Pataki
Term ends 2010

The Honorable Cecil Wray
c/o Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
919 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Tel. (212) 909-6533
cwray@debevoise.com
www.debevoise.com

Hickey Road
Keene Valley, New York 12943
Tel. (518) 576-9220

47 East 88th Street
New York, New York 10128
Tel. (212) 427-0352

Cecil Wray was appointed to the Agency in June 1999. He is Of Counsel with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, having retired as a full-time senior partner in 1997. His practice has focused on general corporate matters, including domestic and international corporate finance transactions, securities matters and acquisitions. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a Law Clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark. He is also an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School, where he teaches Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Wray received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1956 and his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1959, where he was the Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. He is a member of the New York City Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the American Law Institute, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He was a founder, and later President, of the American College of Investment Counsel, an organization of lawyers engaged in major institutional financing transactions. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Wray is presently President of Episcopal Charities of the Diocese of New York and a Trustee of the Board of Foreign Parishes of the Episcopal Church. He is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Search and Care, Inc., East Side Community Center, Inc., Hudson Highlands Music Festival and the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, and was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of the Adirondack Council. Mr. Wray resides in New York City, with weekend and vacation homes in Garrison and Keene Valley, New York.

Oh, where to start?

There's just so much to say about the APA, that frankly I've been trying to avoid it. Anyone in and around the Adirondacks knows about the APA. For those of you in other parts of the country and abroad, the Adirondack Park Agency is an appointed body of state government bureaucrats whose mission it is to ensure that the development of the Adirondack Park is in keeping with the protection of the environment. In many parts of the country and the world, organizations tasked with the protection of the environment do so with clarity and a lot of public outreach and education. But not the APA.

Now let me say that we try wherever possible to be green. We believe that global warming is one of the paramount issues facing our civilization. We're fans of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." But in our dealings with the APA, we've come to believe that they represent a throwback to the Soviet-style bureaucracies that kept three Russian families living in the same two-room apartment.

The Adirondack Porn Agency

In an amusing tribute to the wonderful Adirondack Park Agency scandal in which the APA Executive Director and Agency staff were found by the New York State Inspector General to be sharing nude photos using Agency computers and storing the pics on their hard drives, t-shirts are now available that sum up the problem quite nicely. According to the Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc., "Word of mouth is flashing around the Adirondacks that excellent new T shirts reflecting the APA porn scandal are available. Contact Ted Galusha (518) 623-4519 for information or screwingthelittleguy@hotmail.com." The reverse side reads "Screwing the Little Guy Since 1973".

When You Have Bad Taste and Break the Rules

The following is the text of a November 9, 2005 press release issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York regarding the construction of a horrific McMansion on the Fulton Chain of Lakes.

COURT HALTS CONSTRUCTION OF ADIRONDACK MANSION

Herkimer County Home Eight Times Larger Than Adirondack Park Agency Limits

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that a state judge in Herkimer County ordered an immediate stop to construction of a massive residence in the Town of Webb after ruling that the owner violated the building permit issued by the Adirondack Park Agency ("APA"). The Town of Webb lies within the Adirondack Park "Blue Line" where construction projects fall under the jurisdiction of the APA’s rules and regulations.

If built as planned, the partially completed home - - owned by Timothy J. Noonan - - would be 59 feet high and 19,000 square feet in area. Those dimensions far exceed the 35-foot height restriction and 2,500 square-foot size limit in Noonan’s APA building permit.

"The Adirondack Park Agency balances the needs of local residents with the century-old commitment of protecting the resources of the Park," said Attorney General Spitzer. "Builders must comply with Adirondack Park Agency rules and avoid damage to the scenic beauty and natural resources of the Adirondack Park. I applaud the Agency for this common sense enforcement action, an effort that has now been affirmed by the courts."

The APA issues permits with conditions to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. Permit conditions protect the open space character and scenic beauty of the Adirondack Park for all New Yorkers to enjoy. It is critical for the agency’s enforcement credibility that its rules and regulations are consistently applied and that its permit conditions are upheld.
The Noonan house, situated between Second and Third lakes in the Fulton chain of lakes, is in a 59-acre, 12-lot subdivision being developed by Noonan and a partner. The APA approved the subdivision, in 1989 with conditions that limit houses built on the lots to no more than 35 feet in height and 2,500 square feet in size. Construction on Noonan’s home began in 2003.

Noonan rebuffed efforts by the APA to settle this land use dispute in 2003 and 2004. The case was then referred to the Attorney General’s office for enforcement because Noonan refused to limit the height or overall size of his house, which would rise above surrounding trees and be visible from many vantage points, including nearby Bald Mountain.

As a result of today’s ruling by Judge Michael Daley in Herkimer, Noonan will have to comply with the terms of his APA building permit, including dismantling those sections of the house that exceed the size and height limits.

The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Susan Taylor, under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General John Sipos. Staff from the Adirondack Park Agency, including attorney Paul Van Cott, assisted with the case.