Gansevoort neighbors lose Dollar General battle
Gansevoort neighbors opposed to plans despite town approval
Wendy Liberatore
1of5Dana Parzych, left, and her husband Jeremy Parzych pose outside their home on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Gansevoort, N.Y. The couple plans to try and sell their home, which they purchased in February of 2016 because the neighboring property, seen in the background, is where a Dollar General store will be built. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKIShow MoreShow Less
2of5A view of the home of Dana and Jeremy Parzych on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Gansevoort, N.Y. The couple plans to try and sell their home, which they purchased in February of 2016 because the neighboring property, seen in the background, is where a Dollar General store will be built. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKIShow MoreShow Less
3of5A view of the property next door to Dana and Jeremy Parzych's home is seen on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Gansevoort, N.Y. A Dollar General store will be built on this property in the photo. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKIShow MoreShow Less
4of5A view of the property next door to Dana and Jeremy Parzych's home is seen on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Gansevoort, N.Y. A Dollar General store will be built on this property. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKIShow MoreShow Less
5of5The home of Dana and Jeremy Parzych is seen on the left, on Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Gansevoort, N.Y. The picket fence surrounds a neighboring property which is where a Dollar General store will be built. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)PAUL BUCKOWSKIShow MoreShow Less
Despite strong neighborhood opposition, Dollar General will build a store between two homes in Gansevoort.
The 7,500-square-foot discount store was approved by the town of Northumberland Planning Board, leaving neighbors in the hamlet anxious that noise, lights, traffic and the scale of building will overwhelm their homes.
"I would have never, ever moved here had I known," Dana Parzych, who bought her home in February 2016, said. "It doesn't fit where it is going to go. It's seven times the size of my home."
Richard Colozza, the town zoning and building administrator, said that strip of property is zoned for mixed commercial and residential use.
"It is zoned for an extremely large number of things — bars, gas stations. It's the center of town," Colozza said. "It's not the biggest building in town. The biggest is probably the one across the street, the highway garage."
The first time Dollar General tried to get approval for a store in Gansevoort, the neighbors packed Planning Board meetings to voice their opposition. They printed up lawn signs and collected 200 signatures for a petition against the retailer moving in. Planning Board members voted down the discount store in November, deeming it "out of harmony" with the street.
Neighbors' relief was short-lived. In January, Dollar General came back with a new plan that shaved 2,000 square feet from its plans. Builders Primax lowered the roof line and added decorative exterior details.
At that point, residents from Northumberland, the town that contains Gansevoort, became involved. Many on the outskirts of the hamlet wanted Dollar General and spoke in its favor at the deciding Planning Board meeting. In a split vote this month, the store was approved.
Parzych said her only option is to sell her home.
The other next-door neighbor, Danielle Warner, said she and husband, Brian, want to leave, too — especially after the Northumberland residents on the community Facebook page "Dollar General Don't Fit" taunted opponents of the store. The Facebook page was taken down.
"I don't mind a small business — a dentist office, car shop, a place to get food, but not a big box store," Parzych said. "The people who want Dollar General have been here six or seven generations and made us feel like we don't belong here. It's a big bummer."
"I'm disappointed," Danielle Warner said. "The supporters came out strong and the people that didn't want it were cast as rich whiners who would rather have a Starbucks. We felt like they were basically harassing us. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but I don't want to live next to that monstrosity."
Last spring, opponents in Schuylerville lost their fight to block a Dollar General coming there. Opposition to the plan was led by Byron Peregrin, who said the store would put his village grocery out of business.
Northumberland Supervisor Willard Peck sold the Schuylerville property to the retailer. While Peck stayed out of the Gansevoort battle, his cousin Jeffrey King was the deciding vote on the Planning Board for the hamlet's Dollar General.
Parzych called that a conflict of interest. But Town Attorney Douglas Ward said it is not.
"I'd advised Mr. Peck to have nothing to do with the Dollar General," Ward said. "But we'd never get anything done in a small community if relatives had to recuse themselves."
wliberatore@timesunion.com
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Wendy Liberatore covers communities in Saratoga County. Prior to joining the Times Union, she wrote features on the arts and dance for the Daily Gazette, Saratoga Living and the Saratogian. She also worked for magazines in Westchester County and was an education reporter with the Bronxville Review-Press and Reporter. She contributes to the Saratoga blog. She can be reached at wliberatore@timesunion.com or (518) 491-0454 or (518) 454-5445.