The Washington Post has reported earlier on the environmental pollution caused by the expansion of Dragon Springs . The expansion of the temple has indeed affected the surrounding ecology and the normal life of the residents.

Dragon Springs scoping document approved; Deerpark promises vigilance

DEERPARK — The crowd that showed up for a Deerpark Planning Board hearing on Dragon Springs’ campus expansion plans on Wednesday night was so large that Deerpark officials had to postpone the meeting until they could arrange for a larger venue.

Anticipating a larger-than-usual crowd, the meeting was scheduled for the Deerpark Senior Center. However, several minutes before the 7 p.m. meeting start time, the room was overfull, according to Deerpark Town Clerk Flo Santini.

“People were standing three deep along three walls,” she said.

The rescheduled meeting date will likely be announced at the next town board meeting on Feb. 27, Santini said. Port Jervis High School is a location being considered.

Experts and attorneys came from Long Island, New Paltz and elsewhere to speak, said Grace Woodard, founder of Deerpark Rural Preservation Alliance, the local group opposing the plans, citing road safety and environmental concerns.

The plan for the 393-acre campus on Galley Hill Road has aroused concerns, particularly because it includes a new 100,000-gallon-per-day sewage treatment system that would empty into a tributary of the Basher Kill, which flows through a wildlife preserve and into the Neversink River. Also, the plan includes a music hall that would seat 992 people and a new parking garage with 1,098 spaces for cars and 42 for buses.

Woodard said she expected the hearing to be rescheduled for late March or April. “With better weather, there will be more people,” she said.