Reinvent Albany Joins Civic and Environmental Groups Thanking Gov. Hochul for Pausing NYSDOT Study of Route 17
November 3, 2025
The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State
Cc: Karen Keogh, Secretary of the Governor
Dear Governor Hochul,
As residents, civic groups, and business owners eager to see more safe, affordable and well-maintained multi-modal transportation in the Catskills and Hudson Valley, we applaud your recent instruction to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to pause their study of the State Route 17 (SR-17) corridor. Thank you for hearing our concerns about expanding the highway, and thank you for directing NYSDOT to take additional time to consider alternatives so that any taxpayer investment is aligned with our communities’ vision for more sustainable transportation infrastructure.
We appreciate you creating this opportunity for NYSDOT to better address the multitude of real needs of the people of the region, consider the dire maintenance backlog on all of our roads, streets and bridges, and adjust to the new reality of a federal government that is punitively shortchanging our state, even reneging on past commitments. We also encourage NYSDOT to use this moment to finally take stock of its legal responsibilities under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Not only is transportation the second largest sector of greenhouse gas emissions in NYS, but the majority of this project corridor is located within NYS identified disadvantaged communities, who are meant to experience the reduction rather than addition of emissions and co-pollutants under Section 7(3) of the law. Any project that includes a highway expansion in these disadvantaged communities directly contradicts this law and we appreciate this opportunity to collaborate with your administration to protect these communities and achieve CLCPA compliance on this project.
Your recent redirection of NYSDOT’s SR-17 planning effort is also the right time to set a new expectation: that the safety enhancements to that roadway, and the transition to Interstate 86 designation, be accomplished without widening the highway or adding vehicular capacity. This is due to the simple reason that expanding the highway would be directly counter to the stated goals of reducing congestion and improving safety. Removing expansion from the list of project concepts would also free up untold hundreds of millions of tax dollars that could instead be used for far more cost-effective, practical and popular projects all over region 8, creating excitement and union construction jobs in places throughout our region.
The ReThink Route 17 Alliance, in partnership with civic groups, local government officials, and community members, recently compiled a list of transportation projects that would address safety concerns, connect people to economic opportunity, and improve quality of life throughout our region – detailed in our report, Invest in our Communities, Not a Wider Highway. This list is illustrative and non-exhaustive, and we encourage NYSDOT to engage with the communities in the Hudson Valley and Catskills to continue identifying needs and opportunities for sustainable transportation investments that benefit residents with increased mobility and local union construction jobs.
During this re-evaluation period, we ask that you direct NYSDOT to cease consideration of any highway expansion in order to align with local transportation needs, protect disadvantaged communities and comply with the CLCPA.
We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, in order to use this interim period to find an agreeable path that allows NYSDOT to address the real safety issues, and the design issues pertaining to Interstate status, while allowing our constituents to be spared the harm that a road widening would impose upon them. Reducing the scope of any SR-17 modifications to the basics required, and freeing up the remaining potential funding to be used on other local priorities instead, would be a win for all concerned.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Catskill Mountainkeeper
Ramsay Adams, Executive Director
New Yorkers for Transportation Equity
Elizabeth Oh, Coalition Manager
For the Many
Jonathan Bix, Executive Director
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Renae Reynolds, Executive Director
Scenic Hudson
Jeffrey Anzevino, AICP, Director of Land Use Advocacy
Sustainable Hudson Valley
Melissa Everett, Executive Director
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
Jeff Senterman, Executive Director
Parks and Trails NY
Paul Steely White, Executive Director
Earthjustice
Susan Kraham, Managing Attorney, Northeast Regional Office
Orange Environment
Maureen Gaffney, President
Sierra Club
Roger Downs, Conservation Director, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
Lake Communities Alliance
Jessica Lansdale, President
Brandon Holdridge
Chester Town Supervisor
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Caroline Chen, Director, Environmental Justice
Reinvent Albany
Jon Orcutt, Senior Fellow
Mamakating Environmental Ed Center
Jackie Broder, Director
Basha Kill Area Association
Leslie Otto, President
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