The proposal, said Planning Board member John Roberts, is in the early stages, with the board "just getting going on the environmental review."

"The first time, he applied for a permit for a race track. . . . This time he is applying for a site plan review of a track as a recreational use," Roberts said. The board will discuss the project during a meeting Wednesday, December 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall.
 
The proposal is similar to a plan put forth by Wilzig in 2007 to construct a track on his more than 250-acre property near the Taconic State Parkway. That proposal was rejected by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled the track is not a standard accessory use on a residential property. That decision that was upheld in state court.

Additionally, a lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court by the Granger Group, an organization of neighbors who oppose the racetrack, has also blocked the development.
 
Wilzig is seeking to pave the track so that he can ride his Ducati motorcycles there. A Ducati is a classic Italian motorcycle. Wilzig owns about fifty of them. They are street bikes, and it’s not safe to ride them on dirt.

Diane Rodriguez, a member of the Granger Group, said, "This is the same exact proposal he put forward before. It's not scaled back in the least bit."

Rodriguez, who describes herself as a neighbor of the New York City banker's, said she is concerned about the noise and impact the track would have on property values in the town. "The track is still in its gravel state, and they used it all summer long. The noise was continuous," she said.

The Granger Group has mailed petitions to town residents opposing Wilzig's renewed proposal and has also has posted a petition at grangergroup.cc. So far, the online petition has gathered about 200 signatures.

Photograph by Diane Rodriguez