FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL’S DRAFT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT NOW PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
GARRISON, NY (May 11, 2023) – The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s (HVSF) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which was completed and submitted to the Philipstown Planning Board on Monday, April 10, is now available on the town’s website and will be open for public comments during the next Planning Board meeting on Thursday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m. The DEIS was prepared to address possible environmental impacts and respective mitigation related to the project proposal.
Of note, the studies conducted found the following:
- 72-Hour Pump Study: The two existing on-site wells are more than adequately prepared to meet the water demand. The wells were pumped successfully at more than six times the project’s designed water demand for 72 hours.
- 2022 Season Noise Study: Even with simultaneous theater and wedding events, noise from the project will be well within the Town Code noise limits.
- 3-Month Camera Study: No threatened or endangered species were detected after six wildlife cameras were deployed at The Garrison for three months, collecting 1,167 photos of wildlife, including 9 mammals and 14 bird species.
- 10-Viewpoint Visibility Test: The new leaf-on and leaf-off photos taken from 10 selected viewpoints provide evidence that the new theater design has a minimal visibility impact on the surrounding views.
The Philipstown Planning Board will be held at Philipstown Town Hall, located at 238 Main Street, Cold Spring, New York, and will also be live streamed on YouTube. Written comments will be accepted by the Planning Board through May 30, 2023 and can be submitted by emailing crockett@philipstown.com.
About Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Founded in 1987, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is a critically acclaimed (The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal), professional, non-profit theater company. The Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged in rotating repertory under an iconic, open-air theater tent overlooking the Hudson River. In recent years, the Festival has also ventured beyond the tent, touring its work to other venues throughout the Hudson Valley as part of its HVSF On the Road series, transferring productions to other theaters, engaging its community through radically participatory art-making, and reaching over 50,000 students and educators annually through its year-round education programs. For more information, visit: hvshakespeare.org or follow HVSF on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter