Yorktown to Get $1M from Pipeline Co. for Park Closure
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The company that operates the Algonquin Gas Pipeline will be paying the Town of Yorktown $1,050,000 as compensation for the three-month closure of Woodlands Legacy Fields due to a sinkhole created in December.
Yorktown Supervisor Tom Diana negotiated the compensation with Enbridge, the pipeline’s operator.
“Enbridge is making a good-faith payment to the people of Yorktown for inadvertently depriving them of the use of this popular park,” Diana said. “I thank Enbridge for its corporate responsibility to communities that are hosts to the company’s pipelines.”
The park, located on Stony St. in Shrub Oak, closed on Christmas Eve when a sinkhole formed in the park at the pipeline right-of-way. After an analysis, Enbridge subsequently poured fill materials into the sinkhole to ensure the support for the pipeline.
Enbridge officials are scheduled to attend a Town Board meeting on April 18 to report on their response.
As part of Enbridge’s safety monitoring, the company will conduct semi-weekly aerial patrols of the gas line right of way, monthly site visits and electrical resistance surveys to ensure that new sinkholes do not form.
The reopening of the park on April 1 coincided with the beginning of Little League baseball games at the park.
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