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Unique Loan Lets Scenic Hudson Move Forward with Land Acquisitions
 | | Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan and 100-year-old kayaking philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis on a jaunt this month to survey development along the shores of the Hudson River. Photo by Vicki Muller |
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Through an interest-free loan from The Pew Charitable Trusts, Scenic Hudson now has immediate access to $5 million of a $20-million bequest it received recently from 100-yearold kayaking philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis. The environmental group will use the money to buy land to create public parks up and down the Hudson River. To date it has created 40 such places where people can experience the river's inspiration, sightseeing and recreation. Amid a land rush of developers wanting to create massive housing projects along the river, Scenic Hudson has identified 65,000 acres of the "land that matters most" that must be saved along the river's shore. This riverfront land, according to Scenic Hudson, should become community assets that help improve the region's quality of life and economic prosperity. With an estimated cost of $500 million to complete the land program, the group is seeking private and public funding to build on Mrs. Davis' investment.
Urgency for the land program is key because of escalating development pressure - an estimated 75,000 new houses will be built in the region in the next 10 years, 15,000 alone along the Hudson's shoreline. Timeliness is further an issue as Scenic Hudson wants to achieve strong progress by 2009 and the celebration for the 400th anni- versary of Henry Hudson's historic sail up the river.
One million dollars will be used along with funds contributed by the Village of Tarrytown, Westchester County, Scenic Hudson, and developer Ferry Landings LLC to create Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park at Tarrytown. The same private-public partnership along with residents worked to remove from the waterfront an unsightly asphalt plant that blocked access to the river for nearly 100 years. This new riverfront park will provide a critical link to Westchester County's RiverWalk, a ribbon of recreation and economic development that will extend from the southern tip of Yonkers to the northern end of Peekskill.
The remaining $4 million is targeted for Sleepy Hollow, also in Westchester County, for renovating the historic bathhouse at Kingsland Point Park and for adjacent parkland buffering the park from a new development.
Kathryn Wasserman Davis recently drew up a five-year plan. If the years ahead are anything like her past few, she will meet with world leaders and enjoy an incredibly active lifestyle that includes kayaking in her beloved Hudson. She also will keep track of how Scenic Hudson uses her $20 million to improve parks in Westchester County and create new parks up and down the river to enrich the lives of those who live in and visit the valley.
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