When Steve Bluestone bought the historic Hillsdale Mercantile building on Anthony Street in 2018, it seemed like a chance to get in early on a good deal. The warehouse, which had sat mostly empty for years, was across the street from an isolated, 2.4-mile section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail that, he thought, was about to be connected to the larger trail running more than 20 miles south to Wassaic.
Bluestone had heard that the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation had plans for a bridge connector ready to go, and he envisioned a perfect spot for a brewery, where summer bicyclists could park, ride, and grab a beer at the end of the day.
"You saw what happened to Millerton?" he asks. "Millerton, just 20 minutes south of here, the rail trail got built, and it touched into the town in both directions. Every vacant store filled up. And they're busy.”
Bluestone opened Roe Jan Brewing Co. in 2020, and earlier this year, his friend, Kevin Hinds, opened up Twisted Sisters Coffee House next door. Both men now worry they got in too early, because the bridge has yet to be built.
"Kevin's had a busy day today," Bluestone notes. "We get busy days, but then there's quiet days. And the rail trail, occasionally you'll see some bicycles going? We do get some bike traffic, but not nearly as much as we could if we [weren't cut off] — because 2.4 miles is nothing on a bike.”
For months, Bluestone and other business owners have been trying to get an answer from state officials about why construction has stalled. He shows me a letter he received in April from Regional Parks Director Linda Cooper, saying the state still needs to finish a review process and acquire land from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association before it can put the project to bid and hire a contractor.
Phil Meeks, the board director of the HVRTA, tells me more: after years of bureaucratic hurdles and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state no longer has enough money to finish the job, the price tag for which has inflated to about $4.5 million.
“The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, as well as State Parks, is not pleased with how long it’s taken to accomplish what we want to accomplish. It’s complicated, but most of those tactical situations have been resolved," says Meeks. "The design work has been resolved, the land transfer is all but resolved — it should be resolved in the next couple weeks. And the remaining factor, which is a big one, is we have a funding shortfall. So we have a funding shortfall of a little over $2 million to begin the project.”
Last week, Meeks and Cooper met with local officials and business owners, including Bluestone, to provide an update. Meeks says there will be more communication going forward, but he’s hesitant to provide a specific timeline for the bridge, as they’re still working with New York lawmakers to secure the funding. Long-term, Meeks says he’s focused on changing the way HVRTA and the Parks Office collaborate on these projects, to speed up construction. The HVRTA hopes to one day extend the trail as far north as Chatham.
Matthew White, who owns multiple businesses in Hillsdale, including the Hillsdale General Store, says it's a frustrating situation.
"I think folks who don't own and run brick-and-mortar businesses cannot remotely comprehend the challenges we face," he adds. "In a rural community with no infrastructure, this is what I'd call infrastructure."
For Bluestone, a former developer and contractor, the news is disheartening. Roe Jan Brewing Company is his retirement project: he and his wife poured millions of dollars into preserving the 19th Century building, earning a New York Historic Preservation Award in the process. Their beers are brewed in-house, they built an outdoor beer garden during COVID, and they frequently host live music. Bluestone says he and other business owners even donated to the bridge project years ago (how much, he wouldn’t say) — but now there’s no bridge, and the brewery has yet to make a profit.
He’s not sure he can hold on much longer.
“We’re not announcing, we’re not officially [closing] — although if anyone listens to your story and wants to buy a brewery and restaurant, come on in," laughs Bluestone. "I’m ready and I’m done…but I’m not done.”
In a statement, the Parks Office says it is working diligently with the HVRTA to bring the project to fruition. In the meantime, it says bicyclists can use Route 22, a state bicycle route, to get between the two sections of the trail.
