Democratic congressional hopeful Blake Gendebien is campaigning on environmental stewardship while facing detailed allegations that he turned part of his own North Country property into an illegal dumpsite spilling toward a local waterway.
According to Gateway Pundit, a sworn statement filed with the New York State Police accuses Gendebien of allowing his land to deteriorate into what amounts to a private landfill, with refuse sliding toward a creek where local families swim, fish, and draw their drinking water. His Republican opponent in New Yorks 21st Congressional District, Anthony Constantino, convened a press conference to unveil the results of a private investigation into Gendebiens farm and to demand that state authorities open a formal probe without delay.
The investigation produced a supporting deposition submitted to State Police on October 1 by investigator Nathan Couture of Brooks Investigations, summarizing the account of a confidential witness who had worked on Gendebiens farm. That sworn witness alleged that Gendebien personally instructed his workers to haul garbage into a wooded creek area behind the property, a tributary that ultimately feeds into the St. Lawrence River, one of the most significant waterways in North America.
According to the testimony, this was not a one-off lapse but a routine practice carried out for a simple reason: to avoid paying lawful waste disposal fees. Under this account, Gendebien pocketed the savings while Upstate New York was left to absorb his trash, a pattern that undercuts his partys rhetoric about environmental justice and corporate responsibility.
In late July, investigators deployed a drone over the wooded area and creek behind the farm to document what was happening on the ground. The aerial images, described at the press conference, show a dumpsite nearly the size of two basketball courts, packed with garbage and debris tossed directly into the waterway, suggesting not an accidental spill but an organized dumping operation.
A professional waste removal service consulted by Constantinos team estimated that a proper cleanup would cost roughly $200,000 and warned that the site may contain hazardous materials. That projected six-figure bill now hangs over the farm of the man Democrats are promoting to represent NY-21, raising the prospect that taxpayers or downstream residents could ultimately bear the cost of his alleged negligence.
Gendebien has marketed himself to voters as a farmer deeply attached to the land, yet he has repeatedly declined to tell reporters what share of the farm he actually owns, claiming he doesnt know. If the sworn account is accurate, his version of loving the land appears to involve backing a truck up to a creek, dumping the load, and leaving families downstream to deal with the environmental and financial fallout.
At the press conference, Constantino did not mince words about what he believes the allegations reveal about his opponents character and fitness for office. If Blake wont care for his land, we cant trust him to care for us, Constantino said, branding Gendebien a habitual rule breaker with an abusive temperament and warning that such behavior would only be amplified in Washington.
Constantino further condemned the idea that a candidate facing such accusations would seek a seat in Congress while running as an environmental champion. Its shameful that Gendebien would run for Congress knowing he brazenly pollutes the land. I suspect Kathy Hochul knows he did this and demand she go on record stating if she still supports him.
The Republican challenger called on Gendebien to immediately fund the cleanup himself and argued that, if he refuses, Governor Kathy Hochul should personally cover the cost. In Constantinos view, if Albany Democrats insist on propping up this candidate, they should also be prepared to pay to remove his garbage rather than shifting the burden onto ordinary North Country residents.
Gendebiens public response has been to deflect and complain rather than to deny the presence of the trash or pledge remediation. Speaking to a local reporter, he blamed fuel prices and attacked the investigators, saying, Six-dollar diesel is making farming hard enough without this weirdo drone stalking my home and business, and insisting, Ive already been cleared here.
The clearance he cited came from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, an agency controlled by Governor Hochul, whose support for Gendebien Constantino is now openly challenging. In effect, a Hochul-run agency signed off on a Hochul-backed Democrat in the middle of a congressional race, a dynamic that raises obvious conflict-of-interest concerns for voters who expect impartial enforcement of environmental law.
Notably, Gendebien has not claimed that the garbage does not exist, nor has he volunteered to pay for its removal. When confronted with drone photographs showing tires and other debris in a creek on his property, the Democrat aspiring to federal office chose to complain about gas prices and smear the investigators as weird, rather than address the substance of the allegations.
State regulators may have closed their file, but the physical reality on the ground appears unchanged. The drone images still depict a sprawling dumpsite, the waste company still pegs the cleanup at $200,000, and the sworn statement remains with the State Police, leaving North Country voters to decide whether they trust a candidate who blames diesel and drones while refusing to confront what is sitting in his own woods.
Gateway Pundit has reached out to Gendebiens campaign for comment on the allegations and the status of any cleanup efforts. The outlet has indicated that the story will be promptly updated to reflect Gendebiens position should his campaign choose to respond, but for now, the silence from the Democrats side only deepens questions about accountability, environmental responsibility, and who will ultimately pay for the mess.
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