OSI Donates Glenville Woods Preserve to Town of Greenburgh

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Residents in the Town of Greenburgh will have 18.3 acres of land forever to enjoy walks, hiking, a playground, and for just relaxing thanks to a recent donation of the land from the Open Space Institute.

More than 18 acres of the Glenville Woods Preserve has been donated to the Town of Greenburgh by the Open Space Institute.
Photo Credit: *File*

K Reakes

12/23/2016 8:00 a.m.

The transfer of the land in the Glenville Woods Preserve allows the town to take ownership of a crucial recreational access point while protecting critical forest and wetland habitat.

Valued at $800,000, the 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.

“The Town of Greenburgh is thrilled to have acquired this diverse and ecologically significant open space from OSI,” said Paul Feiner, Greenburgh town supervisor. “Local residents will enjoy the property for generations to come.”

The transfer is the latest in a series of five 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 Greenburgh and Westchester County to protect 44 acres of critical forested and wetland habitat from development, creating the Glenville Woods Nature 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.”

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