Friends of the Mahicantuck

01/21/2026

Thank you to the Albany Times Union and Tyler McNeil for sharing the good news! When the community comes together, anything is possible! We are all so grateful to for preserving the forest and to owner Don Lucarelli for agreeing to sell.
If you have the means and would like to show your gratitude to Hudson Taconic Lands, consider making a donation!
Read the article here:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/troy-riverfront-remain-untouched-housing-plans-21304385.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGltZXN1bmlvbi5jb20vbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlL3Ryb3ktcml2ZXJmcm9udC1yZW1haW4tdW50b3VjaGVkLWhvdXNpbmctcGxhbnMtMjEzMDQzODUucGhwI2dpZnQtYXJ0aWNsZS1idXR0b24%3D&time=MTc2OTAwMjQzMTkzNg%3D%3D&rid=Y2U1NWQxZTQtMGFlNC00MWM1LWI4YWMtMTRlM2ZmNWI5NTI4&sharecount=MA%3D%3D -article-button

01/19/2026

A huge thank you to and for featuring the fight to save 1011! The Sierra Club is a leader in environmental protection and we are honored to be in their national magazine. What started out as a piece about community resistance happily turned out to be a success story! Read it here:
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/saving-more-green-acres

01/15/2026

The community fought for 6 years and today we are THRILLED to share that the forest at 1011 2nd Ave is SAVED!! Thanks to Hudson Taconic and Scenic Hudson, the last forest on the Hudson River in Troy will be preserved and protected for future generations. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for every single person and organization that has shown up, written letters, and amplified the cause over the years- it is truly a COMMUNITY WIN!
And of course a gigantic THANK YOU to Jim Bonesteel and for saving this ecologically sensitive and culturally significant Indigenous land!
It took a village to save a forest AND WE DID IT!!!

11/05/2025

The City Council races by were an inspiring example of grassroots campaigning and connecting with voters delivering at the polls! This may be our strongest council in Troy history- thank you to every single person who made it possible!

11/02/2025

1011 2nd Ave is still under threat of development, despite unanimous opposition by the community surrounding it. We need a City Council representative that will listen to their constituents and vote to protect the Last Forest on the Hudson River in Troy! For that reason, we are voting for Phil DiLorenzo for District 1! The zoning change that would allow the 175 unit apartment complex will be voted on by the City Council, and so to save the forest, Phil needs your vote! See you at the polls on Tuesday!

Today’s the last day of early voting, until 5 PM!

500 Federal Street in downtown Troy was super easy and quick.

Voting early lets me check you off my list so i dont have to remind you to vote on Tuesday, so do my team a favor and check it off YOUR list!

Make your voice heard. Vote Today!

09/11/2025

RED ALERT!! ALL HANDS ON DECK! The Troy Planning Board has scheduled a Public Hearing for Tuesday the 16th at 6pm at Troy City Hall and this is our last chance for the community to speak into the record what needs to be studied in the SEQRA Environmental Review.

Why is this important?

Several years ago when the City Council led SEQRA, it was the community concerns spoken into the public record, along with expert analysis, that created the basis of our lawsuit challenging the city, WHICH WE WON! Now the Planning Board has given the public just 7 days to read over 1,000 pages of plans by the developer, but we will not be deterred by this strategy and need you to write the Planning Board telling them what you want to see studied under SEQRA and speak at the public comment! Things that the developer has not addressed that can be studied under SEQRA include but aren’t limited to:
Ecology
Trees- we want a tree study!
The presence of Bats on the land
Impacts of Noise, light and traffic
Geology
Rare Species on the land Impacts
Climate Change
And so much more.

Remember! The criteria for Negative Declaration (ending the Environmental Review) is that there are NO significant adverse environmental impacts from this project. So let’s give them a whole bunch!!!
Please reach out to us for help crafting a statement and also send us a copy at [email protected]

Submissions to to [email protected].

We’ll see you there!!

08/19/2025

The Troy Planning Board is meeting Tuesday the 19th at 6pm and needs to hear from the community that we demand a Positive Declaration for SEQRA!
What does any of that mean? SEQRA, or the State Environment Quality Review Act is the environmental review process that the proposed 170 unit apartment complex must undergo before moving forward, and a Positive Declaration ensures that we can properly study all of the impacts of this project, for which the forest would be cut down and the 5,000 year old Indigenous archaeological site destroyed. A Positive Declaration also requires a public scoping process, so the community can participate and be represented!
Please take a few minutes and write a quick email to [email protected] to tell them you want a Positive Declaration for 1011 2nd Ave and if you want, then list any concerns you’d like to see studied, like the National Register eligible archaeology, the ecology, the impacts on traffic, noise, the known bat colonies that roost there, the species of plants found no where else in Rensselaer county but on this site, etc. We need them to know that we care!
If you have the time, attending the meeting and speaking at the public comment is important too! We’ll see you there! #

06/16/2025

Planning Board Meeting Alert!!! Tuesday June 17th at 6pm
Troy City Hall 233 River St

The Last Riverfront Forest in Troy is under threat- again!- by developer Kevin Vandenburgh, who wants to clear cut the trees, grade and destroy the land and it’s 5,000 years of Indigenous cultural history and build a 175 unit apartment complex.

This 12 acre site is a National Register eligible archaeological site that has been used as a quarry in the Mohican homelands for thousands of years. Seriously! We have archaeological reports dating tools from this very site to 3-5,000 BCE! The forest has Never been built on and is an ecologically sensitive area, with established bat colonies, deer, fox, muskrat, beaver, hawks and eagles, numerous plant species found no where else in Rensselaer county and at least one mussel species identified by the as imperiled.
1011 2nd Ave is located in the very north end of Troy, too far north for public transit and is in a DEC identified Environmental Justice Neighborhood, in which every single resident is against this project and have signed petitions saying so.

What can you do? Attend the Planning Board meeting on Tuesday at 6pm and share your thoughts during the public comment. You can also participate over zoom! (The zoom link is in the June agenda, available on the planning website at troyny.gov) Write an email to [email protected]. Please reach out if you want help crafting a statement.
This community has fought this project off for 5 years and we won’t back down now!
It takes a village to save a forest!
#

05/19/2025

The drawings have been released and 175 apartments in a flood zone destroying a 5,000 year old National register eligible Indigenous archaeology site and the very last forest on the Hudson River in Troy is the plan.
Want to stand in their way? Come to the Troy Planning Board meeting on Tuesday 5/22 at 6pm at City Hall and/or write an email to [email protected].
Remember! The developer is starting from scratch again because the community showed up for the last 5 years to stop it! We can do it again!
Reach out if you want help crafting a statement and we’ll see you there!!

05/14/2025

Game back on!
Developer Kevin Vandenburgh has put 1011 2nd Ave on the agenda of the Troy Planning Board for May 20th at 6pm. He is seeking to build the same apartment complex but with a different zoning, Planned Development District.
The plans have not been released to the public yet, but we’ll share them as soon as possible.
The Troy Planning Board was established in 2024 by the mayor after she dissolved the Planning Commission for appropriately analyzing this very project.
This new Planning Board has never had 1011 in front of it, so it’s important to come out let them know that the community does not want the very last riverfront forest in Troy clear cut for apartments.
Emails can be sent to [email protected].
Watch for more info and we’ll see you at the meeting!!

05/13/2025

Congratulations to our co-founder Sarah Bachinger for being recognized as a 2025 Woman of Distinction Honoree!!! Sarah is an incredible artist, filmmaker, writer, activist and dedicated community organizer around climate change and Indigenous advocacy. Her recent film, Elegy for a Glacier, was featured at the United Nations and has been shown internationally.
Find more of her work at

10/25/2024

HUGE NEWS!!!! WE WON IN COURT!!! (City Council) led by Carmella Mantello had voted 6-1 to skip a full environmental review to push through the 230 unit apartment development at 1011 2nd Ave in Troy.
THAT DECISION WAS OVERTURNED TODAY!!!
The court sided with the community by overturning the rezone decision and ordering a full environmental review of the project.
This is a victory for the community, by the community. Lets be clear: this is a win, even if it’s not the end of the fight. It takes a lot of work, sometimes it can be tiring, it takes a long time- but our actions matter, and they pay off if we work together!
We are so thankful to so many for their tireless work to protect this land, and while this is an incomplete list, we want to recognize our incredible representation at the , clinic director Todd Ommen, .forreal .borrero and the Kanien’keha:la women leaders from Akwesasne, and we also place gratitude in the tireless work of the Stockbridge Munsee band of Mohican Indians.
There are so many more people to thank, but today we thank every one who showed up into many ways, in person or in spirit, as we walked the walk together.
THIS IS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE!!