In the four centuries since the Half Moon plied its waters ”“ and for a hundred centuries before that ”“ the Hudson River has been a ribbon of commerce and a self-generating kaleidoscope of history. But years of neglect along many stretches of shoreline have tarred its beauty and left its economic potential tattered.
Now, a fresh appreciation of all the river has done and can do is flowing on the tide.
Historic River Towns of Westchester has been active for 114 years, but its chairman, Phil Zegarelli, mayor of Sleepy Hollow, felt the time had come to expand the vision and get more communities involved. The group is now officially Historic Hudson River Towns, and whether it”™s a town, city or village, every municipality on the waterfront from Yonkers to Albany is welcome to join.Â
Meeting at the Thayer Hotel at West Point on Nov. 12, HHRT”™s executive director Nancy Gold, president of the Gold Standard in Katonah, welcomed dozens of municipal officials who attended the all-day session to learn more about grant money, working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reclaim brownfields and to ask sister river communities to consider public-private partnerships when deciding to spruce up their waterfronts.
The HHRT has established a nonprofit organization that will serve as its fundraising arm and assist those municipalities who want to revisit their shorelines. To help jumpstart the new fund, Martin Ginsburg, principal of Ginsburg Development Cos., pledged to donate $100,000 per year for the next three years to ensure its success.
“We have a rich history that goes back to the time that Henry Hudson made his first voyage up the river,” said Yonkers director of the City Office of Downtown and Waterfront Development James J. Pinto, saying Hudson”™s original expedition began in Yonkers in 1609. “We feel the Hudson is an integral part of our community and we should make the most of its appeal. The Yonkers waterfront has made a tremendous comeback and we are working with developers in a public-private partnership which has helped revitalize our entire city.”
Andrew Maniglia, vice president of development for Ginsburg Development Cos., told listeners that developers understand communities want to preserve their waterfronts, but many sites are decaying and in need of remedial work. He used GDC”™s project, Harbors at Haverstraw, as an example: “It was a brownfield site for several years. We worked with the DEC and several other state agencies to remediate the property. Today, we have a beautiful development and linear park open to the public, and are in the process of building over 400 rental apartments. Plans are ongoing to build a new park and move the ferry that goes from Haverstraw to Yonkers to the new location, which will allow us to bring in more commuters. We are also investing in downtown Haverstraw to help it grow economically, but with the challenge we are facing with the economy, we are going to work with communities that want us there. If they don”™t want development there, we and other developers are going to look elsewhere.”
Jean-Ann McGrane, city manager of Newburgh, said that city has had to overcome several negatives in its quest to rebuild. “We had historic challenges to overcome: a tumultuous political environment: 22 city managers in 42 years. In one administration, the city manager didn”™t even talk to the mayor. Imagine trying to get anything done with that kind of poisoned atmosphere. The community was divided racially. The constant change in leadership got nothing accomplished for the city. On top of all that, we”™ve had to overcome the negative perception people have of Newburgh.”
One of the ways Newburgh helped bring its community together was by getting a group of citizens going door-to-door, asking residents both in English and in Spanish to fill out questionnaires about what they”™d like to see happen in the city and to come to meetings to meet local leaders. The second key was getting people involved in the design and development of the last 30 acres of waterfront in Newburgh through a series of “charrettes” held by architect Andres Duany and developer Leyland Alliance in Tuxedo. Leyland Alliance was chosen by the city to rebuild its waterfront.
“So many people turned out for this weeklong charrette, I think our city planners were a bit overwhelmed,” said McGrane. “But the positive results that came out of it have helped to foster a sense of renewed vitality for all our residents, no matter what their color or income. We also wanted to ask residents not what they wanted to see in 2008, but what they hoped to see 40 years from now. Everyone got involved; at the end, we had nearly 1,000 members of the community at the high school who were sold on making Newburgh a better place to live. For us, the key was community involvement and rebuilding trust.”
Pinto agreed, saying Yonkers is transforming old brownfield sites and formerly abandoned properties into attractive apartments, retail and commercial space and pointed to what he called one of the jewels of Yonkers”™ waterfront: Peter X. Kelly”™s Xaviar”™s X20 Restaurant. “You have to wait weeks to get a reservation on the weekend at X20, something many would never thought happen anywhere on Yonkers waterfront,” said Pinto. “And this is only the beginning. There are many projects on the drawing board for Yonkers, and it is because of the relationship between the public and private sector that it has been possible to achieve our goals.”Â
Gold told the audience that she and others hope those communities with access to the Hudson will take advantage of the opportunity they may be neglecting.
Tara Sullivan, the event”™s keynote speaker and executive director for the region”™s quadricentennial celebration for 2009,  urged communities to get involved at whatever level they can afford. There is some grant money available through the quadricentennial program, although it may be jeopardized due to Gov. Paterson”™s budget cuts.
“We are going to have some great events all through 2009, and even in this downturn economy, each community can become involved and do something positive,” Sullivan told the group.Â
For more information, visit www.HudsonRiver.com and www.exploreNY400.com.
