Save The Farm

Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Demarest Farms and our employees care deeply about the Hillsdale community. I am a longtime resident and most of our employees are Hillsdale residents too. The farm has called Hillsdale home since 1886 but sadly, Demarest Farms’ future is being threatened.
Last year, at the height of our busy season, the Borough of Hillsdale put in place some drastic parking restriction deliberately targeting our customers and our business. This includes closing all public streets around the farm to prevent anyone from parking nearby when our lots become full. We understand the town’s concerns, but despite repeated attempts to find a collaborative compromise, Hillsdale has refused to work with us. The mayor of Hillsdale is a participant of a farm protest group, exerting undue influence over the other elected officials. This protest group, including the mayor, wants to stop visitors from coming to the farm by permanently prohibiting parking on side streets during the ‘pick your own’ season.


Our busy days are limited to weekends and holidays in September and October. We have attempted to address any concerns, by offering to lease parking spots from the Board of Education at the nearby Smith School. This would provide tax relief and/or additional funds for educational programs, and we even offered to assist with snow plowing around the school during the winter months. We also covered the cost of the police needed to provide traffic control and ensure all local parking rules are abided by. Unfortunately, these solutions, along with many others, have been rejected by Hillsdale’s elected officials, demonstrating their lack of regard for the rights of the farm. Rather than work cooperatively, these officials would rather force the farm to seek a resolution of the matter through litigation.


Imagine if the law was changed to prohibit parking near a church or temple because a few people did not like parishioners parking on their street. We believe passing laws that target one specific business is equally unlawful. Suppose the mayor decided he did not like the owner of a small business or he wanted to eliminate competition for a family member or friend. Should he be allowed to put them out of business by changing parking laws near their facility and alienating their customers?


On Thursday June 8, 2017 at 7:30 in Borough Hall, the Mayor and Council will vote to make these extreme and prejudiced parking restrictions permanent. We need your help to ensure all voices are heard on this matter. It is important that elected officials recognize that the views of a small group of people do not reflect the views of the entire community.
I hope to see you at the council meeting and thank you for your support.


Sincerely,
Demarest Farms and Family