This story was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Stephanie Joseph loves her dream home, a colonial-style house in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. She and her husband stayed within a budget, paid off student loans, and made sacrifices all so that their family could live in the peace and quiet of Cornwall, a placid town of just under 13,000 people situated in the Catskills.
The area is lush and green and dotted with American beech and red maple trees. Joseph regularly sees hawks, foxes, and deer as well as woodpeckers near her house. State parks and a wetlands sanctuary are nearby.
Then came the news in 2022 that land next to Joseph’s home was slated to become a mega-warehouse — just 50 feet from her front door.
Before she purchased the house, Joseph was told the property next door was owned by the state,…