This article originally appeared in the July issue of the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County's newsletter.
Reinventing the Riverfront in the 21st Century
by Deborah Meyer DeWan
As we embark on a new millennium, the waterfronts of Hudson River cities, towns and villages are at a turning point - many with vacant or underutilized waterfront sites available for redevelopment. How they are redeveloped will determine the nature of those waterfronts and their environmental integrity, the extent of access the public has to the Hudson River, the appearance of the waterfront from those communities and from the River, and the future of the region as a whole. To ensure this future, citizens need to become informed and involved early, and engage with private interests and public agencies in a meaningful collaborative process to articulate a plan for the riverfront that reflects the community's vision.
The Hudson has long evoked the romantic fantasies of writers, painters and travelers - and played a pivotal role in the birth of the nation. It has also been the premier passageway for trade dating from prehistory through the 19th century when waterfront cities developed into major urban industrial centers. Although development of the railroad provided rapid transit for goods and people, it also physically and psychologically severed the link between the communities and the river and virtually turned the waterfront into a linear industrial zone.
Subsequently the loss of industry and investment in cities in the 20th century brought Hudson River urban centers to the brink of disaster, with miles of degraded waterfronts and contaminated sites, urban blight and deteriorated structures. Today, these cities, towns and villages are attempting to turn the neglect and hard times into a renaissance, to come back to life with economic and cultural revitalization, public access and recreation, once again focusing on the Hudson River.
Public investment in Riverfront Renewal
In Westchester County, carefully planned waterfront revitalization that provides river access to underserved populations, that creates parklands, vibrant mixed use development, and new live-work environments tied to Main Streets and intermodal transit can be a powerful antidote to sprawl. Regionally, it has been bolstered by state and federal action and by innovative public-private partnerships.
State programs like the Hudson River Valley Greenway, the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, and Governor Pataki's Quality Communities Initiative, along with the federal designations of the Hudson Valley National Heritage Area by Congress and President Clinton's American Heritage River Initiative, have brought new promise and possibilities to the Hudson Valley, with planning tools to catalyze this process at the local level, and resources to reinvest in urban waterfronts based upon sound environmental and land-use practices.
Planning is key to attracting reinvestment
Locally generated plans developed with significant public input and all parties at the table are the foundation of these reinvestment strategies. In the 1980s and 90s many Hudson Valley communities wrote Local Waterfront Revitalization Plans (LWRPs), a powerful proactive tool providing a detailed road map to identify and protect waterfront resources and promote appropriate use based on the state's Coastal Management Plan policies. Scenic Hudson's Riverfront Communities Program has served as a watchdog and ally of citizens and municipalities seeking to develop LWRPs: our program works to ensure that development occurring on the riverfront is protective of views and public access to the river, complements and strengthens existing town centers, and is based on sound planning principles through a meaningful public process among stakeholders.
The 13 municipalities along Westchester's 49 miles of Hudson River shoreline are engaged proactively in regenerating the economic and social fabric of their communities, restoring their downtowns, and revitalizing their waterfronts. Many have LWRPs at various stages: for example Dobbs Ferry and Hastings-on-Hudson have received state grants to prepare their LWRPs. Peekskill's Draft LWRP has recently been distributed for the 60-day public comment period, and Tarrytown is preparing its Final LWRP. Yonkers' completed a Draft LWRP in 1990. The LWRPs of Croton-on-Hudson, Ossining and Sleepy Hollow have been completed and approved by the Secretary of State and are being implemented.
In 1994 these communities began a conversation, led by Croton's Mayor Bob Elliott, forming The Historic River Towns of Westchester (HRTW). This unique collaborative effort has evolved from a tourism marketing strategy into an intermunicipal Greenway planning process called the "Growing Smarter Together" Plan with the themes of heritage tourism, waterfront renewal and downtown revitalization to be incorporated into the Greenway Compact for Westchester County.
Increasing public access and creating linkages
New public access and linkages are being established by HRTW, Westchester County and the Greenway, creating a seamless pedestrian-friendly path the length of the Hudson shoreline. The County Riverwalk project, initiated by County Executive Andrew Spano and assisted by a State grant from the Greenway, will work to link all the waterfronts from Yonkers to Peekskill. In Yonkers, for instance, a mixed use development and esplanade park project has just been finalized, governed by Scenic Hudson's conservation easement that ensures river access, limits building heights and protects views. In Peekskill, Scenic Hudson and the City jointly own an eight-acre former industrial site slated to be added to Riverfront Green Park with a canoe-kayak launch and interpretive center.
The present challenge of cleaning up the past
One serious impediment to success remains: the numerous contaminated industrial property along the river. Reclaiming these brownfield sites in critical to environmental and community health - and to "reinventing the riverfront." Levels of cleanup and appropriate uses, owner liability, cleanup costs and who pays are just a few of the issues being hotly debated at every level of government and among public interest groups - a major topic that warrants a separate but important discussion in its own right.
In Westchester, this debate is being played out on the waterfront in communities such as Hastings-on-Hudson. There PCB hot spots in river sediments have been identified and a designated Superfund site is being analyzed to determine proper levels of remediation to safeguard public health. Meanwhile, the community has developed a vision and a plan for reusing the Hastings waterfront, and awaits the cleanup to realize that vision.
Even without statewide brownfield reclamation policies in place, one Westchester community has just celebrated a success story. This June the Village of Irvington dedicated a new park - Scenic Hudson Park at Irvington (where the meeting that led to Scenic Hudson's creation took place almost four decades ago). In a public-private partnership, Scenic Hudson purchased the land for $5.4 million with the Village and State investing over $8 million more on cleanup and park development. On a former industrial site that had been earmarked for a 300-unit condo project which would have blocked river views and public access, 12 acres of contaminated soil have been transformed into a beautifully landscaped and designed recreational park on the Hudson for generations to enjoy.
A 21st Century Model of Participatory Planning
The closing of the GM assembly plant on 97 waterfront acres in Sleepy Hollow five years ago meant the loss of 5,000 jobs and numerous other financial burdens on this small, historic community. Through the remarkable foresight and hard work of residents, a local law was passed requiring GM to remove the plant and clean up the site. Reflecting Scenic Hudson's waterfront conservation and development values and in partnership with Historic Hudson Valley (which owns and operates Philipsburg Manor next to the GM site), we have initiated a model for redevelopment and land-use decision making based on sound planning principles, resource protection and active citizen participation and collaboration. An active dialogue with Village officials, GM, community groups and others has helped set the stage for a world class 21st century model redevelopment of former industrial sites. With GM's June 21st announcement of Roseland Properties as their developer for the site, a participatory planning process should now begin in earnest. Scenic Hudson, Historic Hudson Valley, community and environmental groups must work together to assure that community and regional goals are met.
Looking into the future and making it happen
Much is needed along the Westchester waterfront to clean up past uses, develop environmentally sound new ones, and create public access to the river. Citizens, federal, state and local governments, the private for-profit and not-for-profit sectors all have a role to play. No one entity can do it all nor do it alone. This is a tremendous opportunity for public education and community action, for bringing environmental protection and economic revitalization into synergy, and for taking the notion of sustainable development from a hope to a reality.
Westchester luminary Washington Irving once passionately exclaimed, "I thank God I was born on the banks of the Hudson...in a manner, my first and last love; and after all my wanderings and seeming infidelities, I return to it with a heart-felt preference over all the other rivers in the world." |
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| Emeline Park, Haverstraw, Rockland County. |
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