STONE RIDGE – Ulster County Executive Michael Hein continued his fight to change the way New York City manages its Ulster County reservoirs in an open forum he put together Monday night, January 23, with city Department of Environmental Protection and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials. At the SUNY Ulster event, Hein's opening comments took the combative tone of the campaign trail, and most of the dozens of people who filled the college's student lounge, where the meeting was shifted from a previously-planned location in the large Quimby Theater, were not in the mood to negotiate. In public commentary, they said loudly that they wanted more money spent to solve problems, and wanted things done faster.

Likening New York City to an "occupying nation" because it has its own police force, pays below-market prices for natural resources, and imposes its will upon the "indigenous people," Hein opened the forum by laying out what he sees as the region's biggest areas of conflict. The buyout program for Wawarsing homes flooded by a leaking aqueduct is insufficient, he said. The Esopus Creek has been radically changed by growing levels of sediment, he added. And city lawyers aggressively pursuing lower property tax assessments on properties owned by the municipality, a reoccurring problem now focused in the Town of Hurley, is lending the city a bad name.

"Let's not talk about how much they pay in taxes without talking about how much they avoid paying," he told the crowd. "Let's not talk about the jobs the DEP creates without talking about the jobs crushed by their regulations."

Despite his initially belligerent tone, though, Hein encouraged DEP Commission Carter Strickland to enter into a partnership.

Strickland, for his part, answered many questions from the audience, and did in fact focus much of this response time on the amount the DEP pays in taxes and the number of jobs it pays for in the area. He also stressed the 9 million people who get their water from the NYC reservoir system, including residents of New Paltz and High Falls.

Strickland insisted that repair work on the leaking aqueduct, slated to begin in 2020 but now expected to start next year, could not move faster because of the "complex engineering issues" involved.

Of the chocolate-brown Esopus Creek, Strickland maintained that an interim protocol which regularizes the release of excess water should be given time to take effect.

That protocol, however, was itself the subject of critics, because the DEC approved it without any public comment or notification.

"If I were to spill one drop of gasoline in the creek, I could be fined up to $500,000," claimed Jay Martin of Accord, who was one of many people who said that the DEP is held to a different standard.

"My town doesn't receive money from New York City," noted Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman, who questioned why the Ashokan Reservoir was at 97 percent capacity just prior to Hurricane Irene's arrival. "We only receive the excess water."

Linda Brandt of Kingston said, "I wish I could work up some sympathy. What has happened to my eagles? They can't fish. What you have done is criminal. You should be ashamed."

Although he took to the sidelines for most of the session after his fiery introductory speech, Hein kept a microphone at the ready to interject.

At one point, when Strickland explained that the falling water demands of city residents could lead to a greater need for discharge of surplus H20 from upstate reservoirs, Hein snapped, "We didn't build the reservoir system, you guys did. If it's faltering now, you have to manage your water system."

Speakers ranging from sportsmen to supervisors all took their shots at the DEP, and at the DEC for failing to regulate the city's activities. Many also encouraged Strickland to ask Mayor Michael Bloomberg to accept Hein's invitation to visit Ulster County and see the problems for himself.

At one point, when Strickland remarked, "We at the DEP take our role very seriously," the room rippled with groans and laughter. Asked later if he felt that Hein's characterization of New York City as an "occupying nation" was fair, Strickland said, "No, I don't. That falls in the category of rhetoric, and doesn't advance the dialogue in a meaningful way."

Hein concluded the event by asking about the next steps to take.

"There is a need for fundamental change, and there are still many unanswered questions," he said. "Where we go from here depends on those answers.