Westchester Legislators Limit Fertilizers on Lawns
BY GREG CLARY • GCLARY@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 27, 2009

"This is public health and clean drinking water at stake. We've got to get serious, and it's cheaper and healthier to keep the pollutants out of the water than to try to remove them after they're in," said Westchester County Legislator Thomas Abinanti. (File photo/The Journal News)

THE EFFECTS

For the average homeowner or lawn-care enthusiast, the proposed ban should not affect the way yards are cared for. Most lawns in the Lower Hudson Valley have adequate phosphorus to maintain healthy grass, and a simple, inexpensive test can be done to ensure that. New lawns, which need extra phosphorus to take root, would be exempt from the ban. Garden centers and other retailers that sell fertilizer will be able to help their customers make the proper choice and follow the law. Educational materials would be provided for retailers to use and display, county officials said.

WHITE PLAINS - Westchester lawmakers are expected to approve a ban on phosphorus tonight that would force local gardeners and lawn-care companies to rethink how they fertilize lawns. The ban, along with other limits on fertilizing grass, would take effect by 2011; it has been debated for the better part of two years. The purpose, proponents say, is to reduce runoff of phosphorus and nitrogen into the region's water bodies and curtail the huge algae blooms that the nutrients produce and that threaten water quality.

"It's the right thing to do," said Thomas Abinanti, D-Greenburgh, chairman of the county Board of Legislators' environmental committee. "This is public health and clean drinking water at stake. We've got to get serious, and it's cheaper and healthier to keep the pollutants out of the water than to try to remove them after they're in." The proposed law does not ban nitrogen, because fertilizers would not be effective without it, experts say, but the law would include banning the application of any fertilizer within 20 feet of a body of water.

The added nutrients create problems by overstimulating algae growth, creating giant blooms that block sunlight from the water so plants under the surface cannot grow and provide food and shelter. The dying algae decomposes, sucking up vital oxygen from the water that fish and other aquatic species need to survive. Opponents of the proposed law say it will not succeed in lowering the amount of runoff or the nutrients.

"It's counterintuitive, but you need deep root systems to reduce runoff," said John Knutson, owner of Lawn King in White Plains. Knutson, who has a doctorate in physics, said the reduction in phosphorus could translate into less abundant lawns that will not retain water as well as thick ones will. He added that one thing average homeowners can do to reduce the problem is keep their mowers set higher, to produce deeper roots, and not trim so close to the ground near the edges of their lawns, so longer grass can retain the soil better during rainstorms.

"That's where the runoff goes," he said. "And you have more grass dying during dry periods, so there's nothing to hold the soil. The phosphorous moves on the soil." State water officials have said that phosphorus is "arguably the most significant of all pollutants," and that a pound of the nutrient has the potential to grow 500 to 700 pounds of algae.

That is especially important in a region with reservoirs that supply drinking water to 9 million residents of Westchester and New York City. There are similar problems in salt water with nitrogen, the force behind most fertilizers, which recently led county lawmakers to commit to a state-mandated $235 million renovation of sewer treatment plants near Long Island Sound.

Abinanti said that if the ban works, it could cut the amount of nutrient pollution and help reduce the need for more sewer improvements. Those facilities are fixed-point sources of nutrient pollution, while the fertilizers that suburbanites rely on for lush lawns are mobile sources. The proposed ban does not include fertilizing new lawns, which need more nutrients to take root, but it would outlaw using fertilizers from Dec. 1 to April 1, to prevent application while the ground is frozen and more likely to produce runoff.

Lawn-care experts say most soil in this region contains more than enough phosphorus for a healthy lawn. Soil tests easily can determine an individual need if there is a question. The vote is to take place tonight by the Westchester County Board of Legislators at its 7 p.m. meeting in White Plains.

 

Bondi Veto Smacks of Hypocrisy, Critics Say
BY SUSAN ELAN • SELAN@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 30, 2009

Some Putnam residents and officials are charging County Executive Robert Bondi with hypocrisy for ending a popular septic repair program for homeowners in the watershed because it involves the use of public funds while accepting state generosity himself. Bondi vetoed the county Legislature's appropriation of an additional $2 million in New York City watershed funds to continue a program that helps protect drinking water for 9 million people. But many want to know how that differs from Bondi's acceptance of a $23,840 state grant to restore the gabled roof on the late 19th-century barn that shelters the cattle on his Steuben County farm.

Bondi was among the winners of competitive grants given in 2001 under the state Barns Restoration and Preservation Program to restore and preserve 113 barns in 48 counties. Watershed money for the septic program "protects water quality in Putnam County, while the barn benefits one person," Legislature Chairman Tony Hay, R-Southeast, said yesterday. Hay said he doesn't buy Bondi's contention that spending money to repair the septic systems of individuals constitutes a gift. "New York City gave us the money to protect water quality," Hay said. "Fixing septics is serving that exact purpose."

Hay said he expects the Legislature to override Bondi's veto next week. But under the county charter the $2 million cannot be spent unless the county executive agrees. Bondi rejects the charge that grant money for his barn constitutes a gift. "There was a competitive grant process where everyone had the right to participate," Bondi said. "Not everyone wins." Bondi further denied that the grant constituted a gift because it imposed restrictions and did not cover the full cost of restoring the barn, an expense he had to cover. Bondi said he couldn't remember the total cost. To receive the grant, Bondi had to vow not to tear down or modernize the barn.

"It remains a historic barn and the state has the right to put up a sign saying that it is state funded," Bondi said. "There are strings attached and there is a public benefit." Kathy Wroblewski of Kent doesn't see why Bondi's situation differs very much from her own. Wroblewski bought a 2,000-square-foot piece of what she describes as "useless property" from the town for $6,000 to extend the septic fields for her new septic system paid for under the county septic repair program. The septic system Wroblewski is replacing is about 50 years old, she said.

She didn't have enough land to extend the fields for the new system. "If the New York City money is a gift, why isn't the money for the (Bondi) barn a gift?" she said. "You can see barns all over the place but if the lake is infected with sewage, it will cost millions to clean it up. Why would anyone object to something we absolutely need and a lot of people can't afford?"

Ann Fanizzi of Southeast, a member of the Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, agrees. "Since when is the maintenance of water quality a private matter?" Fanizzi said. "The expenditure of public funds for good 'private' purposes is done all the time. And what could be more private than funds expended for one's own private barn." The New York City Department of Environmental Protection weighed in yesterday on how the remaining watershed money should be spent in an e-mail from spokeswoman Mercedes Padilla. The county has $14.3 million left in its watershed account.

Putnam's program has repaired more than 125 septic systems in the county, with "the goal of protecting water quality and public health for county residents and water consumers alike," Padilla wrote. "As the county contemplates allocating additional funds to continue the program, DEP believes that other priorities - including the state-mandated stormwater requirements - ought to also be considered for use of the county's remaining East-of-Hudson funds."

 

 

Kent Vet Loses Home In Foreclosure, Blames Bank
BY SUSAN ELAN • SELAN@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 26, 2009

Dennis Sica Sr., 59, a Kent homeowner and Vietnam veteran, says his home was sold in February at a bank auction without due process. (Mike Roy/The Journal News)

 

Dennis Sica Sr., a Vietnam War veteran with two Purple Hearts, leaned heavily on his cane as he struggled up the stairs to the Putnam County Office Building. In the lobby, a foreclosure sale of the modest Kent home where Sica, 59, raised his five children was about to begin.

County workers and visitors zigzagged through the lobby Feb. 11 while Jay Hashmall, a White Plains attorney serving as referee, read the foreclosure documents aloud. Only one potential buyer was present. He represented a bank. It took barely 15 minutes to complete the sale of the three-bedroom, raised ranch house that Sica and his now-deceased wife, Elizabeth, bought for $62,000 in 1979.

Homecomings Financial Real Estate Holdings LLC paid $203,000 for the property that fronts Lake Tibet. Sica still owes the lender, Sterling National Mortgage Company, $396,760, according to Hashmall's report. Sica's path to foreclosure was paved with bad luck and questionable judgment that make his story unique. But in his foreclosure, as with countless others nationwide, banks played a decisive role by lending too much money to people clearly unable to make their payments on property valued at many times its worth.

Mark Seiden, a real estate broker in Briarcliff Manor, said during the boom, banks based lending decisions on "the mirror test." "If you could fog a mirror, you could get financing," said Seiden, who is now certified to handle distressed properties. "As long as the market kept going up, there was no risk for the banks."

Sica said at its height, the value of his 1-acre, lakeshore property soared to more than half-a-million dollars and he continued to borrow against it to cover family expenses. "People were using their home as an ATM to pay other bills and for luxuries," said Connie Fagan, co-executive director of the Putnam County Housing Corporation in Carmel. "The banks made it so easy, and people thought the banks knew what they were doing. They didn't see they would have to pay it back someday. Their houses kept increasing in value. Then the bubble burst."

The Carmel-based organization has more than 100 open cases of families facing foreclosure or who are behind on payments, said Katherine Perez, a foreclosure intervention counselor with the nonprofit. They own property ranging from $1 million homes to modest condominiums, she said. Up to 20 calls a day come from people who are unable to make payments because of loss of jobs or reductions in hours, Perez said.

"Many people are living from one mortgage payment to the next," said Dianne Chipman, co-executive director for the agency. "If they get sick or have a major home or car repair, they can't make their payment." Many got a mortgage with no income verification, Chipman said. "It was an upside-down situation," she said. "The value of the house was less than the principal."

Sica said his financial woes began after the death of his wife in October 2001. "I could not tolerate the grief of her death and went into depression," he said. In addition, severe post- traumatic stress disorder made him an easy target of predatory lenders, said Sica, who was wounded during his stint in Vietnam, where he served with the Marine Corps from 1967 to 1969. He receives 100 percent service-connected disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs "due to unemployability," according to V.A. documents.

From 2002 to 2004, Sica refinanced his house four times at the urging of lenders who took advantage of his mental condition, he said. "Each time I was given money out of the transaction that was added to the outstanding loan," he said. "But anyone could see that I couldn't fully comprehend the nature and complexities of mortgage transactions."

In September 2004, Sica borrowed $400,000 from Sterling National Mortgage Company Inc. of Great Neck, Long Island, with a 30-year adjustable rate mortgage. George Michaud, Putnam County director of real property, said the assessed value of the property at the time was $299,662. It is now assessed at $425,000.

Sica started with a yearly interest rate of 7.55 percent at a time many borrowers were getting much lower rates. According to Sica's mortgage documents, the rate could rise to 10.55 percent as of October 2007 but could not fall below 7.55 percent. The cap during the life of the mortgage was set at 14.55 percent. Sica's monthly payments began at $2,810.57. His monthly income was $1,263 in disability payments from the VA.

Tricia Hrotko, a spokeswoman for Sterling National, said the bank cannot comment, because of privacy regulations. In February, Sica's White Plains attorney, Jasbrinder Sahni of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, asked state Supreme Court Justice Andrew O'Rourke to dismiss the foreclosure action or give Sica time in court to determine whether the lenders had "defrauded" him by giving him loans based on the paper value of his home rather than his ability to make payments.

Sahni said the court also should explore whether the banks had engaged in "loan flipping, loan padding and/or equity skimming by refinancing Sica's prior loans into substantially more expensive loans with inflated costs." Sterling's lawyer, Michael Wrona, argued in court documents that foreclosure proceedings against Sica started in July 2005 but had been halted after Sica made several unsuccessful attempts to file for bankruptcy.

Sica has made no payments since January 2005 and his actions "have clearly been directed at harassing, delaying and harming" Sterling, Wrona stated. In a March 6 decision, O'Rourke ordered Sica to move out. "Defendant has been living in the residence since 2005 rent free," he wrote. "The sale has taken place and defendant must vacate the premises."

Sica has vowed to stay and fight the decision. "They're going to have to carry me out," said Sica, who without the aid of a lawyer has filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

Bondi, Putnam Lawmakers at Odds Over Septic Repair
BY SUSAN ELAN • SELAN@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 22, 2009

Putnam County Executive Robert Bondi has vetoed a plan unanimously approved by the county Legislature to spend $2 million more in New York City watershed money on failing home septic systems.

The popular program has paid for the repair or replacement of about 130 residential septic systems in Kent, Patterson, Carmel and Southeast. And 30 are under way at a cost of about $3 million. Without additional funds, the program would end, said Edward Barnett, the county's watershed information coordinator, yesterday.

Bondi said more free repairs of private septic systems would "constitute a gift of public funds" that is prohibited by law. "I find the random disbursement of funds to individual taxpayers with septic repair issues, and not to others, extremely inequitable," Bondi said in his veto message. Bondi also challenged the Legislature's authority under the county charter to "unilaterally allocate the funds in any manner it so chooses."

William Harding, executive director of the Department of State's Watershed Protection and Partnership Council, said yesterday that septic repair is one of the "specifically allowed uses" of the East of Hudson watershed fund created by New York City to protect what he described as the world's largest unfiltered surface water supply.

"From a technical standpoint, maintenance and repair of residential septic systems are very important because there is no filtration barrier" for the water supply that provides 9 million people with drinking water every day, Harding said.

Putnam has used the funds for septic repair for several years and wants to continue "a very successful program," he said.

If the county decides to move ahead with the expenditure for septic repair, it would have to file an appeal with the state Watershed Council. That process gives the 40 agencies and municipalities that signed the 1997 watershed agreement a say in how other signatories spend the money they received from the city.

The Bondi administration says new septic repairs would differ from the earlier round that were required by the city Department of Environmental Protection in exchange for allowing the county to buy the Putnam National Golf Club property in Mahopac using watershed funds.

The DEP did not respond to calls for comment.

Putnam's whole population benefits from the purchase of the golf club and parkland, Deputy County Executive John Tully said yesterday.

Bondi has not specified how he intends to spend the remaining $14 million in the watershed account. Putnam received $30 million from the city in the agreement. The account grew to about $42 million with interest.

The administration objects to the residents of Philipstown, Putnam Valley and other communities outside the New York City watershed not benefiting from the money.

But Legislator Sam Oliverio, D-Putnam Valley, chairman of the Health, Social, Educational and Environmental Committee, said everyone benefits from protecting the drinking-water supply. Oliverio expects the Legislature to override the veto.

Oliverio said he is ready to go to court if Bondi fights the override.

Letitia Driscoll, who moved to Carmel after the death of her son, Stephen P. Driscoll, a first-responder in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said she is grateful to the county septic repair program for helping keep Lake Carmel clean by fixing her septic system.

"I'm for taking care of the environment," Driscoll said. "Now I don't have to worry about the lake."

 

Putnam Deputy, Kent Cop Rescue Fisherman From Frigid Lake Gleneida
BY TERENCE CORCORAN • TCORCORA@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 14, 2009

CARMEL - A Dutchess County man was nearly spent yesterday morning after clinging to his capsized rowboat in the frigid waters of Lake Gleneida for 30 minutes before police rescued him. Richard Shinkaroff, 45, of Wingdale, was taken to Putnam Hospital Center, where he was treated for hypothermia and exhaustion after Putnam Sheriff's Deputy Vincent Dalo and Kent police Lt. Alex DiVernieri pulled him ashore around 7 a.m., said Capt. William McNamara of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Shinkaroff was fishing alone in an aluminum rowboat around 6:30 a.m. and was about 50 feet offshore when the boat capsized, sending him into the sub-40-degree water. "He doesn't even know how it happened or what happened. It was just bizarre," Lisa Shinkaroff, his wife, said yesterday. "He had many angels around him. Thank God he had his life jacket."

Shinkaroff had grabbed on to that life preserver and tried to swim for shore, but his heavy, wet clothes hampered his movements, so he held on to the cushion, McNamara said. About 30 minutes later, a passing motorist saw the overturned boat and called 911. Dalo was just a few hundred feet away when a dispatcher broadcast the emergency. He arrived within minutes, spotted the victim and called for assistance from the Carmel Fire Department and the Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Around that time, DiVernieri, who was on his way to work, heard the call and responded to the lake off Route 301.

He and Dalo found another rowboat with a broken oar and headed out onto the lake. "We were lucky to find it because most of the boats were chained up," DiVernieri said. When they reached Shinkaroff in the water, they were unable to pull him into their boat without the risk of it capsizing, so DiVernieri grabbed onto his clothing and held him close to the boat, while Dalo used the oar to paddle back to shore.

"His clothes were bogged down from the water, which was freezing," DiVernieri said. "He was talking to us and complaining about how cold he was." Dalo needed about 10 minutes to row close enough to land so Putnam Sgt. Lee Stabe, Deputy Fred Mark and Carmel police and firefighters could throw the rescuers a rope and pull them in.

Once they got on shore, paramedics and Carmel ambulance volunteers began to warm Shinkaroff before rushing him to the hospital. Shinkaroff appeared to be near exhaustion when Dalo and DiVernieri reached him. Dalo suffered a cut to his right hand during the rescue and was also treated at Putnam Hospital Center.

Lisa Shinkaroff said her husband was resting at home, and despite yesterday's scare, she expects that he will continue to fish.

Feds foot walkway projects in Kent, Croton, Cortlandt
BY MICHAEL RISINIT • MRISINIT@LOHUD.COM • APRIL 10, 2009

Pedestrians are one step closer to finding a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along much of Route 52 in Kent now that the state has awarded Putnam County $1.6 million for the work. The sidewalk, which will stretch from the ShopRite shopping center to Barrett Hill Road, is "a necessity," one business owner said. Kenny Hogan, owner of Kenny's Carpet One on Route 52, said he often sees people walking on the busy road's shoulder.

"There's two feet between them and a car," Hogan said. "(The sidewalk will) help spruce up the place a little. People will see something for their money." The money is part of about $81 million in federal funds for transportation-related projects in New York. Gov. David Paterson announced the Transportation Enhancement Program awards last week. The state Department of Transportation administers the program.

Although the Kent project and others in the Hudson Valley are part of the traditional, annual program, about 41 percent of this year's $81 million is coming from federal stimulus money. The program looks beyond conventional highway and bridge repairs and finances improvements "with cultural, aesthetic, historical and environmental significance."

Kent's sidewalk received the most federal money among the three funded projects in Putnam and Westchester. Plans for the Annsville circle pedestrian path in Cortlandt were awarded about $1.1 million, and almost $1.2 million was set aside for pedestrian and bicycle path enhancements near the Croton-Harmon train station in Croton-on-Hudson.

"We want to make that area more pedestrian and bicycle friendly," Croton Village Manager Abraham Zambrano said. Zambrano said the village's proposal includes improving South Riverside and Croton Point avenues. Sidewalks will be widened, the exit ramps from Route 9 realigned and traffic signals possibly installed. The intent, he said, is to make it easier for walkers and bicyclists to get to the train station.

In Cortlandt, walking paths are planned for the area near the Annsville traffic circle. Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi said the aim was to make the area near Annsville Creek and the Hudson River attractive to and safe for walkers. Memorials to veterans and emergency service workers also might be erected there.

The federal money covers 80 percent of each project's cost with Putnam, Croton and Cortlandt contributing the rest. Putnam County transportation planner John Pilner said the work in Kent probably won't start until 2010. There is enough room in the Route 52 right of way for the sidewalk, he said, so no private property will be taken. The sidewalk will be on the road's east side. It's part of a downtown improvement plan developed in 2005.

"The sidewalk will tie things together and just create a sense of community in that corridor," said Matt Marrone, KentRevitalization Committee vice chairman.

YOU CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE
07 November 2008 by Christine Torino

The Kent Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) is looking for people who would like to join their committee and help with arrangements for local speakers, public outreach programs, and outdoor programs. The meetings are short and friendly, and the tasks are not demanding. They need members to continue to operate.

The CAC would like to encourage interested persons to submit at least a letter of interest by Nov. 30. The meetings are normally held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. They do not meet in July and August. The meetings are in the Town Hall at the Kent Town Center, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

If the resume is adequate, they invite the person to their next meeting (non-members are always welcome), then they vote on whether to recommend to the Town Board the person for membership. CAC members are expected to help arrange for speakers (2-4/year), help organize hikes (2-4/year, identify conservation issues and respond to the Board on local conservation issues. Nearly all of the tasks can be done at home. The CAC’s focus is on providing to the public information on alternative energy sources, promoting a greener life style, and the enjoyment and preservation of our natural areas.

The CAC is a volunteer organization that provides recommendations on environmental issues and promotes the enjoyment & protection of local natural areas. Visit the CAC page on: http://www.townofkentny.gov/conservation.htm

Interested persons should send a resume to Kent CAC, Kent Town Hall, 25 Sybil’s Crossing, Kent Lakes, NY 10512
The Kent Conservation Advisory Committee was established as a volunteer organization to advise the Town Supervisor and the Town Board on environmental issues.The Committee is composed of seven appointed members who recommend one of the members to serve as chairman.

The Committee is committed to the identification, conservation, and enjoyment of the Town’s unique natural areas. We sponsor hikes, surveys, and the preservation of these areas. With the approval of New York State DEC, we have restored the fire tower on Mt. Nimham for public use, with the approval of New York City DEP, we have established a trail to Hawk Rock and are conducting preservation activities at the Mead Farm, a colonial homestead. We conduct educational programs in the use of energy efficient technologies, modern advanced waste water treatment systems, and the reduction of waste volume.

Although we receive some financial support from the Town, our special projects are supported by private donations. Donations, made out to PLAN KENT, may be sent to Sal Tripi, 64 Gleneida Ave, Carmel, NY 10512.Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Town Center and are open to the public. We welcome nonmember assistance in our programs.

The Chairman, George Baum, may be reached at alchemist3@comcast.net.

 

GOOD PRICES AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Living In Kent, New York

From the NEW YORK TIMES, By ELSA BRENNER November 27, 2005

THERE are few restaurants to dine in, no shopping malls and no movie theater. There is definitely no "scene" to speak of. But then those aren't the kinds of things most people are looking for when they move to the town of Kent, 65 miles north of New York City in north-central Putnam County.

What Kent does offer is the broad vista of uninterrupted landscape laced with bike paths, woods, streams and hiking trails, including a part of the Appalachian Trail. Kent, a town in the Hudson Highlands, also has an abundance of lakes and ponds with such beguiling names as Lake Louise, Sagamore Lake, White Pond, China Pond and Lake Nimham.

So when it comes to entertainment, the main attractions in the 42-square-mile, heavily treed municipality are biking and fishing in spring and fall; swimming, camping and boating in summer; and cross-country skiing, sledding, snowshoeing and ice fishing in winter.

These are some of the reasons that Steve Jacob, a sergeant with the New York City Police Department, and his wife, Angelica, a nurse at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, decided to buy a three-bedroom, two-bath Cape with lakefront rights in Kent two years ago and begin raising a family there.

Another factor influencing the couple was that at $305,000, their house was relatively affordable compared with other areas that are closer to New York City.

There was yet another draw: the town's easygoing pace of life. "In New York City, when you don't move your car a couple of seconds after the light turns green, you get honked at," Sergeant Jacob said. "Here, the guy in back of you usually sits and waits through a cycle of the lights, and then he'll get out of his car to see if you're O.K."

What You'll Find

The Jacobs settled into one of Kent's many neighborhoods of midsized Cape Cods and ranches on meandering streets and with little through traffic, which especially suits families with young children. The couple, who have a daughter, Maya, 2, and are expecting a second child in January, own a 1.25-acre lot and share a common beachfront area on a lake.

"It's a very close-knit community," Mr. Jacob said, "but with lot sizes large enough so everyone is still able to enjoy their privacy."

About a third of the town's housing stock - more than 5,400 living units, according to 2000 census data - is in eastern Kent on the 200-acre Lake Carmel.

Most of those homes, originally 1940's and 50's summer cottages and bungalows bordering the artificial lake, have since been expanded and winterized.

A smaller, more upscale selection of houses dots the landscape along lake shores in the western section of the town. Those contemporary and log-style houses are occupied mostly by weekenders, who represent about one fifth of Kent's total population of 14,000.

In addition to its lakes, Kent is home to several New York City reservoirs, along with large areas of adjoining watershed land that are protected from development, which enhances the broad vistas.

The town, where minimum lots sizes range from a quarter acre to three acres, has just a few supermarkets and little in the way of other shopping. With no downtown, it relies on nearby Carmel for its post office, ZIP code, public schools and movie theaters.

But all that may change. A revitalization committee, made up of town and county officials, business leaders and other residents, has been meeting monthly for the last year to develop plans for attracting retail outlets and light industry to Kent. The town has also received $30,000 in state grants to hire consultants to find ways to increase the town's tax base.

What You'll Pay

The midrange Capes and ranches in Kent sell in the high $300,000's to the mid-$500,000's and attract middle-income earners, many of whom, like the Jacob family, commute to New York City, said Eileen Barrett, a sales agent for Houlihan Lawrence. Sergeant Jacob counts among his immediate neighbors a fellow police sergeant and a New York City firefighter.

In Lake Carmel, which is a hamlet of Kent, the 60- and 70-year-old former summer cottages go for $200,000 to $425,000, Ms. Barrett said.

The lakefront homes in western Kent sell for $650,000 to $1.6 million, depending on square footage and lot size, she said.

Typical of houses currently on the market: a two-bedroom, one-bath Cape with an asking price of $299,816; a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath raised ranch for $420,000; and a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath colonial for $579,900.

The median sales price of a single-family home is $339,949, according to figures from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. The current median is up from $293,000 a year ago and from $257,500 five years ago.

In two condominium town house developments, the Fairways and Sparrow Ridge, two-bedroom units sell for about $350,000. Most rentals are in two apartment complexes in the town, where one-bedrooms lease for $850 a month, and two-bedrooms for $1,000.

But because there are few businesses in town, much of the tax burden falls on the shoulders of property owners like the Jacobs, who pay $7,200 a year for their three-bedroom home.

A three-bedroom house in Kent now on the market for $359,000 has an annual tax bill of $7,895; by comparison, the taxes on a three-bedroom in Carmel selling for $359,900 are $4,695 a year, said Margaret Harrington, a sales agent with Billingsley Realty in Mahopac.

"Carmel has more industry," she said. "Kent is more rural, but you pay for that."

Still, average property taxes in Kent for the coming year are expected to rise less than 2 percent, according to Bil Tulipane, the town's outgoing supervisor. "We try to keep a sharp pencil on the bottom line," he said of the town's $14 million proposed budget.

What to Do

Outdoor recreation during all seasons of the year is the big attraction in Kent. In addition to the swimming, boating and fishing that come with many homeowners' lake rights, the town is home to the 10,000-acre Fahnestock Memorial State Park.

Bass, perch, sunfish, pickerel and trout abound in three ponds and two lakes in the park; the camping season runs May through October; and marked hiking, biking and horseback trails run throughout the site.

Fahnestock Winter Park offers an array of snow-related activities, including cross-country skiing on groomed trails.

Kent is also home to the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park off Gipsy Trail Road, a 196-acre park with hiking trails, a beach and a stone monument dedicated to Daniel Nimham, a Wappinger American Indian chief who died fighting in 1778 with the colonists in the Revolutionary War.

Chuang Yen Monastery, which is also in Kent, is the largest Buddhist monastery in the eastern United States, and its 37-foot-tall colored porcelain statute of Buddha is said to be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The monastery also houses the Woo-Ju Memorial Library, which specializes in the Buddhist religion.

The Schools

Students in Kent attend Carmel schools, where out of last spring's graduating class of 350 seniors, 59 percent are attending four-year colleges and 30 percent are at two-year colleges, said Susan Dieck, a school spokeswoman.

In 2004, students taking the SAT tests at Carmel High School scored an average of 513 on the verbal section and 515 for the math test. Statewide, the averages in 2005 were 497 for the verbal section and 511 for math.

There are about 4,900 students in six schools in the district: three elementary schools, a middle school, the high school and an alternative high school. For younger students living in the hamlet of Lake Carmel, the bus ride to the nearest elementary school is less than 10 minutes; for others it is up to 15 minutes.

Students attending the high school can have up to a 30-minute ride each way, depending on where they live in Kent.

The district encompasses 85 square miles, including all or parts of the towns of Carmel, Kent, Southeast, Putnam Valley, Patterson and East Fishkill in Dutchess County.

History

The area that is now Putnam was purchased in the late 1600's from the Wappinger Indians by Dutch speculators and was sold several years later to Adolph Philipse, a wealthy merchant's son, becoming known as the Philipse Patent.

Kent, which was first part of Frederickstown, was made its own municipality under the name of Fredericks in 1795. Twenty-four years later, its name was changed to Kent to honor a prominent local family.

Farmland for centuries, the town became a suburban outpost of Manhattan in the 1960's, when Interstate 84 was built.

The Commute

The train ride on the Metro-North Railroad Harlem line from either Brewster or Southeast - the stations are just a few minutes drive from Kent - takes about 80 minutes during peak times.

Some Kent homeowners commuting to New York City, like Sergeant Jacob, who works with a police narcotics squad near the South Street Seaport, drive down the Taconic State Parkway, a trip that takes about an hour and 15 minutes, when traffic conditions are not heavy.

Interstate 84, which intersects with Interstate 684 in Westchester and then connects with north-south roads into Manhattan, is an alternative route.

What We Like

What lover of nature can resist an impressive array of the seasons changing outside the front door? Kent offers a haven for aficionados of open space and for those who relish playing in the outdoors.

What We'd Change

Although cellphone towers can be a hot-button issue, there isn't one in Kent, and residents' cellphone service is uneven.

"There are long stretches of road where there's no signal at all," Mrs. Jacob said, "and that's very significant for mothers like myself who travel with young children in the car. There are also a lot of elderly people living here, who would be unable to get even 911 in some places."

Blog Commentary on KENT LAKES, NEW YORK

Kent Lakes sits high atop the Hudson Higlands in Putnam County just on the edge of the megalopolis we call "the city" which those from away will call New York City. From here to midtown is about 60 miles. Once the land of summer camps and country hideaways Putnam County is now, sadly, nothing more than a bedroom community with large sections succumbing to sprawl and ugliness. A battle rages for the soul of our town - a battle between those who have lived here and like the rural aspects of this area and those who've moved up recently building 3000 - 4000 sq ft 4 bedroom McMansions on tiny lots, pumping three and four children into the schools and who demand a Home Depot on every corner and a Wal-Mart every 5 miles, people who bitch and moan about an 8 mile country drive to a supermarket then bitch and moan about the traffic and the high taxes that come as a result of giving them what they've asked for. Kent Lakes manages to bypass this argument largely because most of the town sits amid NYC watershed lands. Those living in the Catskill/Delaware section of town are blessed with thousands of acres of open space and quiet while those living within the Croton system face backslapping politicans and corrupt builders while the bulldozers rev up their engines and the blacktop and concrete companies foam at the mouth - so we won't talk about that here. Instead, we'll talk about the three state parks, the 6000 acres of watershed lands, the Chuan Yen Monastery and the little pieces of it that are still open and wild and wonderous and scary - all at the same time.