Chronological History of the
Development of Pine Grove Lakes

NOTE:  This is a summary of documents and information collected
from various sources (see endnotes) and is not authoritative.  When 
in doubt, the source document should be consulted.  Please submit 
comments, corrections or additions to the .

* * *  1930s - 1940s  * * * 

On October 1, 1935, the Ramapo Heights Corporation (the "Corporation/Developer"), the owners of 225 acres of unimproved land in the Village of Sloatsburg, then known as Ramapo Mountain Lakes, created a sportsman's preserve, called the Ramapo Heights Club, out of a mountain wilderness. The Club was not a homeowners association, it was a private land trust requiring potential members to be "accepted" for membership by a standing Membership Committee.  Members were required to pay fees for the maintenance of the recreational lands and related facilities. The Trustees of the Club Grounds were Robert H. Gittins, the president and principal shareholder of the Corporation;  Etta M. Gittins;  and Hugh E. Gittins.  Robert Gittins was a New York State Senator, a U.S. Congressman, a lawyer (admitted in New York and Michigan) and a New York State Park Commissioner.

On August 4, 1939, Robert H. Gittins and the Corporation abandoned the Club and executed a Declaration of Restrictions, Grants, Trusts and Charges, subjecting part of Ramapo Mountain Lakes, specifically, the "Plat I" property -- the northwest area of the community near Seven Lakes Drive, including Mirror Lake (the Lower Lake), The Green, and The Grove -- to the following conditions and restrictions: 

(i) restrictive covenants on the use of the land and manner of construction in the initial stages of building and development (these restrictions automatically expired in 1965);

(ii) a commitment to establish a non-profit community association; 

(iii) a commitment that the Corporation would hold hold title to the roads and recreational lands until the homeowners association was formed, at which time it would transfer title to the association;

(iv) an obligation that the Corporation or Association, as the case may be, will maintain, repair and administer the common properties through the assessment and collection of annually accruing land maintenance charges from all property owners;

(v) a provision that no unnecessary impairment of the lakes or streams, or the waters thereof, may be caused or consented to by the Corporation or the Association, and that they will endeavor to prevent any such impairment as they may know to be threatened by others;

(vi) every subsequent purchaser of the land, by taking title to it, would be obligated to pay annually accruing maintenance charges to the association, for the care and preservation of the roads and common properties.

The groundbreaking for the new development took place on February 23, 1939 and was attended by Gittins and Sloatsburg's first Mayor, David Henion.  Most of the development and initial home sales within Pine Grove Lakes Plat I , then known as "Ramapo Heights," occurred during this time frame.

In September 1948, Ramapo Heights announced its intention to sell all of its land at auction.  Included in the sale were three homes and a club house, in addition to all of the common properties (the actual homeowners association had not yet been formed).  Ramapo Heights was sold on September 15, 1948 to real estate developer Irving Maidman of Suffern, New York, for $60,000.

* * *  1950s  * * * 

On November 7, 1951, the Association of Property Owners at Pine Grove Lakes, Inc. (the "Association") was formed. Also during that year (the exact date is not known), the Corporation/Developer was succeeded in interest by Pine Grove Lakes, Inc. ("PGL, Inc.").  On November 12, 1951, less than a week after the Association was formed, PGL, Inc. transferred all of the Plat I roads and recreational lands to the Association, including Mirror Lake (the Lower Lake), The Green, The Grove and certain other properties.

The 1939 Declaration contained a provision allowing the Corporation/Developer to file supplemental declarations subjecting additional areas of land to the benefits and restrictions of the Association.  On September 14, 1954, PGL, Inc. filed a supplemental Declaration of Restrictions, Grants, Trusts and Charges adding another portion of Ramapo Mountain Lakes to the Association, specifically, the southeastern area of the community near Pine Grove Lake (the Upper Lake). This area of the community, known as the "Plat II" land, was mostly undeveloped in 1954.  PGL, Inc. retained ownership of Pine Grove Lake (the Upper Lake) and the Plat II roads, promising to transfer them to the Association once the residential plots in Plat II had been sold and developed.

Mr. Gittins continued to live in Pine Grove Lakes, residing at 5 Allen Place (on The Green) until he passed away on December 25, 1957.

By 1958, PGL, Inc. had become insolvent.  On March 25, 1958, Edward Senft, a real estate investor, purchased all of the Plat II lands, along with certain Plat I lands that hadn’t already been assigned to the Association in 1951, in a foreclosure proceeding for the sum of $2,000.  Mr. Senft's purchase included Pine Grove Lake (the Upper Lake), all of the undeveloped roads in Plat II, and many residential plots.

* * *  1960s  * * *

The 1939 Declaration contained a provision allowing the Association to dedicate its roads to the Village of Sloatsburg.  In the early 1960s, the Association dedicated its Plat I roads to the Village.  Mr. Senft continued to hold title to the unimproved roads in Plat II, which remained mostly undeveloped throughout the 1960s.  (Some of the Plat II roads were later built by the Village and private developers.)

On January 31, 1961, pursuant to a provision in the 1939 and 1954 Declarations, Mr. Senft amended them to permit the Association, for the first time, to elect its own Trustees.

* * *  1970s - Present  * * *

In December 1974, Mr. Senft subdivided and sold the land surrounding Pine Grove Lake (the Upper Lake).  In 1975, he transferred ownership of the Lake to the Association and simultaneously filed two amendments to the Declarations waiving assessments on all properties still owned by him, as long as they remained in his name or that of his family. 

For some reason, even though the Plat I common properties had already been deeded to the Association by PGL, Inc. in 1951, the Association believed that Mr. Senft also owned Mirror Lake (the Lower Lake), The Green, The Grove and the other Plat I common areas. As a result, the Association asked Mr. Senft to transfer ownership of those properties, as well, and in 1976, he executed a deed granting those properties to the Association, even though we already owned them.

As of 1975, about half of the Plat II land had been developed. However, there were still many undeveloped roads (paper roads) and lots which were, at the time, considered to be unbuildable and/or the cost of paving the roads was prohibitive.  At this point, Mr. Senft sold whatever he could, and let many properties go in tax sales to the Village of Sloatsburg.  Many of those lots remain undeveloped, today.

In the 1980s, some of the Plat II roads were constructed by private developers, who then dedicated them to the Village.

Mr. Senft, who lived in New York City, passed away in 2003.

Source Documents

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