GREENBURGH, NY (Dec. 21, 2016)—The Open Space Institute (OSI) has donated a key portion of the Glenville Woods Preserve to the Town of Greenburgh. The transfer allows the town to take ownership of a crucial recreational access point, while protecting critical forest and wetland habitat.
Valued at $800,000, the 18.3-acre property connects Glenville Woods Preserve to a 580-acre strip of unbroken parkland within a heavily developed area. The Preserve’s hiking trails enhance access to several local recreational networks, including the North County Trailway, Cherry Town Lakes, Saw Mill River Parkway and the Tarrytown Lakes Trail. Featuring a small playground, the property is used by local residents for passive recreation.
The transfer is the latest in a series of five celebrated properties OSI is donating to municipalities across New York, totaling 350 acres and valued at over $3.1 million.
“Surrounded by development and in a densely populated neighborhood, the Glenville Woods property is a key link connecting local residents to recreational opportunities found in nature,” said Kim Elliman, president and CEO of OSI. “OSI is proud to have played a role in ensuring access to a much-used and well-loved nature preserve, and prouder still to donate this recreational treasure to the residents of Greenburgh for their permanent enjoyment.”
In 2001, OSI and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) partnered with the Town of Greenburgh and Westchester County to protect 44 acres of critical forested and wetland habitat from development, creating the Glenville Woods Nature Preserve. Today, OSI’s donation of its 18.3-acre portion gives the town complete management and ownership of the entire preserve.
“Bringing OSI into the project was the key to protecting Glenville Woods from development and establishing it as a park preserve,” said Jon Flores, a member of the Greenburgh Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and one of the original neighborhood activists who organized to save the property. “We had been working to save the property for seven years, and without OSI’s involvement it never would have happened.”
“The Town of Greenburgh is thrilled to have acquired this diverse and ecologically significant open space from OSI,” said Paul Feiner, Town Supervisor in Greenburgh. “Local residents will enjoy the property for generations to come.”