Village of Rhinebeck residents are outraged after the removal of a park pathway, saying it was torn up without any notice and it leaves people within the disabled community there without access to the park.

What used to be a wheelchair-accessible pathway to Crystal Lake Legion Park has now been replaced with grass.

Rhinebeck resident John Rossi recently noticed the change. That’s when he went to village officials with his concern that removing the pathway could be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The village — without any public awareness, without any public notice — abruptly tore up the past, making this park now completely non-accessible,” said Rossi.

Spectrum News 1 has reached out to Mayor Gary Bassett, but has yet to receive a response.

Rossi volunteers with Taconic Resources for Independence, a nonprofit organization that advocates for people with disabilities. Lisa Tarricone, the executive director of Taconic Resources for Independence, went looking for answers.

“I’ve been informed that there was no plan to make it accessible in the future. They don't know what that might look like, and it's going to be contingent on a budget process,” Tarricone said. “I've also learned that the budget for the village of Rhinebeck has, I believe, a surplus of over $150,000. This would certainly be an opportunity to utilize that money to reinstate that path.”

Tarricone says this is just one of many issues involving wheelchair accessibility in the area, and she wants to see changes.

In 2017, Rhinebeck received a $100,000 grant, funded through Dutchess County, to make the park ADA-accessible.

“I mean, we would like to be able to partner and provide input to the village and hope that they're receptive. This is common sense,” Tarricone said. “They were appropriated money, by the way, as I mentioned earlier, to the CDBG grant. So they did have funding for this. And again, I think it was communicated that they do have plans, they just don't have a date yet.”

Rossi has also reached out to the village asking about a resolution or plans to bring the pathway back, but he has not received a response.

“The only thing worse than a municipality, a village not providing accessibility for people with disabilities, is to have provided those facilities and then take them away,” said Rossi.