State Senator For Sale: How Real Estate Interests Killed OC Preservation Bill

$362,607.25 was given to State Senator Skoufis while he helped kill a bill to permit Orange County towns and villages to tax property sales in order to preserve land.

On August 14th, 2020, State Senator James Skoufis voiced his concerns to The Times Herald Record about a land preservation bill involving Orange County.

This struck many as odd at the time. Why would a Democrat be against land preservation during a climate emergency?

Today, we know why.

Land preservation is a big issue in the Hudson Valley, especially in Orange County, because many people move here from New York City to enjoy the scenery and local wildlife. The last thing anyone wants to see when they come to Orange County is the city-like environment they just fled from.

Given the worsening climate crisis, and water restrictions in major Orange County towns such as Woodbury and Palm Tree, and villages like South Blooming Grove, one would think the local Democrats would want to protect and preserve what green space that they can.

Before, it was to pre…