July, 2001 issue

Gov. George Pataki joined local officials at a ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the park June 28. The site is the first project funded under New York's 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act Brownfields Program for the investigation and remediation of former industrial sites.

Scenic Hudson acquired the property for $5.4 million in 1997 with funding from the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Fund for the Hudson Highlands, which was established by the founders of the Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

Since 1997, the State has provided more than $4.6 million for the project, including $4.3 million for the investigation and cleanup of the property and a grant for $342,000 for design and construction.

As part of the remediation, soils contaminated with petroleum and high levels of lead were excavated and removed from the site. The deteriorating bulkhead along the river was replaced with filter fabric and stone revetment to prevent any contaminated fill from washing into the river.

Finally a soil cover was installed to prevent any possible contact with residual contaminants at the site. The project received a Gold Medal Award for Engineering Excellence by the New York State Consulting Engineers Council.

The newly completed Scenic Hudson Park includes the following amenities:
* Two lighted ball fields. One for softball/baseball (north field), the other for Little League (south field). Also, a lighted soccer/football field overlaid between the two ball fields.
* Senior citizens community center. To be used for senior citizens programs such as arts and crafts, music, internet access, line dancing, exercise and other active and passive programs. An 1800 square foot addition to the senior citizens center is scheduled to begin in August.
* Hundreds of feet of pathways winding around the ball fields and through the "passive" southern end of the park overlooking the Manhattan skyline to the south and the Tappan Zee and Hudson Valley to the north.
* Two children's playgrounds. One for younger children (roughly under three years old) and one for older children.
* A boat launch for non-motorized car top boats, kayaks and canoes.
* Over 40 benches and 100 landscape boulders throughout the site to allow enjoyment of the Hudson River, athletic events, or just the daily newspaper.
* A bulkheads promenade overlook area.
* Hundreds of trees/bushes throughout the 12 acres of the park.

Plans for future improvements to the park may include a community/recreation center, a community swimming pool, a large open space for recreation, a boat launch facility, and a pavilion for community events.

Village of Irvington Mayor Dennis P. Flood said, " Our partnership with Governor Pataki and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as with Scenic Hudson, has been a wonderful once in a lifetime experience that has resulted in a magnificent facility on the Hudson River that will be enjoyed for generations to come.