Saturday, December 19, 2009

120-acre SI boy scout camp may be developed

From SI Live:

The Greater New York Councils (GNYC) of Boy Scouts has tapped an international commercial real estate firm to market Pouch Camp in the Greenbelt to the government or, possibly, private buyers — whichever can come up with the millions needed to make a deal.

A spokesman for GNYC said the company, Jones Lang LaSalle, had been selected but a contract had not been signed. The executive committee of the board of directors for GNYC voted late last month to hire a real estate firm to market the property with an emphasis on selling the development rights to the 120-acre camp to the city or state to preserve the site.

If a conservation easement can’t be secured, GNYC has said it may be forced to sell all or part of the camp to private developers. Pouch Camp would represent one of the largest parcels of undeveloped residentially-zoned land in the city if it hits the real estate market.


The land consists of 120 acres of woodland and lake in the heart of the Staten Island Greenbelt.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too bad I have memories of weekend campouts there from back o the '70s

Pouch is accessible by mass transit and hiking and is a great parcel of undeveloped land in this overdeveloped town,,,but hey we must support our developers

Anonymous said...

Poor boy scouts, bleeding from various lawsuits, declining membership, selling to developers.

Anonymous said...

I can't understand why the Boy Scouts Organization suddenly has no money. Their headquarters are located in the Empire State Building (big rent). They raised the registration fee for cub scouts and boy scouts. They changed the uniforms so parents have to shell out money for a new uniform (not cheap). Their Scout Leaders and Den Mothers are all volunteers and give generously of their time to keep these programs intact and give these boys a chance to be involved in a structured, community based, volunteer program. Could it be that their money problems stem from the top? All these executives make six figures or more. The volunteers do all the work, including recruiting. Sounds to me like the BSA has a lot in common with the MTA. Maybe they should cut the executive salaries at the top, get a smaller and cheaper headquarters and forget about making money through development. Camp Pouch is a wonderful venue for young boys. Best of all, it's accessable to boys in the five boroughs. I think the BSA needs to regroup and go back to the drawing board and rethink this real estate sale (land grab) for big developers. The best alternative would be to start at the top and work your way down.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Staten Island,the garden spot of nyc.Radon gas,highest amounts of sulphur oxide and oxides of nitrogen(gotta have those x-press busses)in the 5 boros.The former mercury dumping ground for Bulova watch.Notice that a lot of young guys are bald and the high rate of blood diseases in women.

Queens Crapper said...

Even more of a reason for why it shouldn't be developed.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that! Development would only make things worse. Preservation of this beautiful space is necessary. Let all these high-paid executives take a pay cut.