Michael P. Hein
[10] In the fall of 2010, the New York City Department of Environment Protection began releasing turbid water from the Ashokan Reservoir via a waste channel which feeds into Ulster County's Esopus Creek.The Esopus Creek became contaminated with turbid water causing major problems to local farmers and residents as well as potentially damaging the aquatic ecosystem.[14][15] In October 2013, Hein included in his budget an amount totaling $642,000 that was to be earned by taking up tracks in an unused section of an almost 40-mile long corridor leased to a local tourist train company, the Catskill Mountain Railroad.[17] The lease with the tourism train was supposed to end in May 2016, and Mr. Hein was working with the Ulster County Legislature and other entities to prepare for future uses of the corridor.Many residents fear that riders may wonder throughout the neighborhood, trespass and damage private property, while waiting for a bus to arrive and pick them up to return them to Phoenicia, the Rail Explorer's base of operations.