By Kim Anderson
STONY POINT, NY – Orange & Rockland Utilities (ORU), and Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) are both drawing sharp scrutiny in Stony Point as the local impact becomes painfully clear for businesses and residents alike.
As reported by Rockland Biz Journal on Tuesday, local retailers are suffering up to and over 40% in lost revenue over the past 8 months of construction by both entities on route 9W. Rocky Alexander, the longtime healthy meal and smoothie store owner of Rock’s Kitchen, confirmed to RC Biz Journal that his business revenue has suffered a significant downturn.
A letter sent to New York State officials today by Stony Point Town Supervisor Jim Monaghan to Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senator Pete Harckham, and Assemblyman Chris Eachus reveals mounting frustration over ongoing construction projects that are crippling the town’s small business community.
Stony Point Supervisor Urges State Leaders to Intervene
According to the letter, the simultaneous Orange & Rockland Utilities’ (O&R) gas main relocation along Route 9W, and the execution of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project and has created near-constant disruption in the town’s main commercial corridor. CHPE aims to operate at night – but O&R conducts its work during the day, presumably as follow-up to CHPE’s work, resulting in construction activity nearly 24 hours a day, six days a week.
CHPE is a massive energy infrastructure project aiming to deliver hydroelectric power approximately 339 miles from Canada to New York City. Orange & Rockland is the utility provider for Rockland County residential, municipal and commercial properties.
Monaghan describes the current situation as a crisis. “Residents are exhausted. Businesses are reporting revenue losses of up to 75%. Some may not survive,” he warned in the letter. He added that the Town was initially informed that CHPE work would occur overnight to minimize disruption, but was not notified that O&R would begin simultaneous daytime construction that would severely block access to local businesses.
“This is a failure of coordination and oversight at the State level,” Monaghan stated, “and it is crushing our local economy.”
Rockland News received the following statement from a CHPE spokesperson on 8/14/25:
“We understand that CHPE cable installation and Orange and Rockland gas line work happening along 9W in Rockland County is causing disruption to residents and businesses along 9W from Congers to Stony Point and we work daily with police departments, emergency services, elected officials and individual businesses and residents to make any adjustments we can to reduce those impacts and to improve communication and traffic flow. We do have a hotline (800) 991-CHPE (2473) and an email address (publicoutreach@chpexpress.com) for concerns, as well as a Rockland specific newsletter that is published monthly to provide residents and businesses with construction updates.
There have been instances where CHPE has secured easements from property owners when construction activities have encroached on private property, but those easements can only be negotiated with owners, and conversations about accommodations for specific business interruption or impacts would need to take place between tenants and their landlord.
While construction activities have resulted in some short-term impacts CHPE will deliver significant long-term benefits to the county’s business community through a $31 million Rockland Community Benefit Fund, including funding for a fully repaved Route 9W, $9 million for a new reimagined streetscape along 9W and $22 million for new capital projects that will be selected by local leaders. This is in addition to nearly $300 million in taxes that will be paid to local governments and school districts along the route in Rockland County over the first 30 years of the project’s operation.
The letter from Supervisor Monaghan outlines a three-point call to action for NY State:
- Stop overlapping work by rescheduling CHPE and O&R to avoid simultaneous construction.
- Provide financial relief to businesses suffering revenue losses due to the disruption.
- Enforce stronger State oversight to prevent similar conflicts from arising in future infrastructure projects.
Monaghan emphasized that Stony Point has cooperated in good faith with State energy goals but stressed that this cooperation should not come at the cost of the town’s economic health. Without immediate intervention, he warned, the damage to small businesses could be long-lasting—even after the last construction crew leaves.
“The State permitted these projects. The State must now step in to protect the community it serves,” Monaghan wrote. “Without action, we will lose decades-old businesses, local jobs, and the economic heart of Stony Point.”
A Traffic Jam 10 Years in the Making
While originally proposed over a decade ago, CHPE has notably become a center of attention in North Rockland, particularly in Stony Point, where construction has turned Route 9W into a daily traffic nightmare.
The plan to bury the high-voltage power line was originally intended to follow the Hudson River. However, environmental advocacy led by groups like Riverkeeper, and later pushback from CSX Transportation regarding the proximity of the pipeline to sturgeon, then to its land-based rail lines, which forced CHPE developers plan a reroute of the line through Stony Point.
To add more pressure to the reroute, members of SPACE – The Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment, advocated for years to ensure that the pipeline was not built near a historical cemetery in Stony Point. As CHPE was left with few options based on these restrictions, they subsequently spent the next 10 years (from 2012 to 2022) creating a new route for the line, on 9W. Susan Figueras, longtime member of SPACE said in a quote to LoHud in 2017 – “If they’re going to reroute, I believe 9W is the best of a poor choice.”
Representatives for CHPE stated that installation in Rockland County will be completed this fall.