Message from the Mayor: Infrastructure!, Water Tower, Energy, 52 Demo, Rezone, more
Posted on: June 28, 2017 - 9:55am
Fellow Residents,
A number of updates are in order. A lot of infrastructure work this year, and the first of them are coming to term.
Tennis Court Rehabilitation
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The tennis courts by Chemka Pool have been reconstructed from the bottom up - new drainage, new base, new fencing. The painting is done and now the final touch are the nets and gates, hopefully expected delivery by this weekend. We would like to reopen by the originally planned July 1st date. The courts look gorgeous, and the setting remains magical. It's been 25 years since these courts were last rehabilitated and the upgrade is welcome.
Quarry Trail
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This brand new trail follows the route of a railway that used to go from the old marble quarry (located at the western base of Draper Park, and soon to be a major new addition to Hastings when renovated) down to the waterfront, where the marble slabs went off to clad buildings such as the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. You can access the trail from the Aqueduct a little south of Washington Avenue, and it descends beneath Warburton, down to Southside Avenue. A new staircase from Warburton Avenue descends to the trail as well, so when Quarry Park reopens at some point in 2018 or early 2019, you will be able to walk from Warburton, down the stairs to Quarry Trail, up the Trail, through Quarry Park, through Draper Park, and the only point you cross a road would be at Broadway, before you traverse Burke all the way to the High School - almost half the width of the town on green trails. The trail itself is gorgeous - great, dramatic views as you descend. This is a major missing link in our substantial trail network and will be even more valuable one day when the waterfront is restored.
Sidewalk
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Our next sidewalk project will be on the west side of Lefurgy, leading to the Hillside Elementary School entrance. The "sidewalk" there now is a jury-rigged path that just doesn't suffice and this will be a big improvement. We're going to hold off repaving that length until next year because of the need to sequence the sidewalk work first: that work involves curb and road cuts which would disrupt any fresh repaving, which would likely be done first. The sidewalk will need some design work since there are elevation changes. We would expect the construction to commence once that is done. Way too soon to bet on when it will conclude - but we will push it along as fast as we can. Setting expectations here: not likely by the start of school.
Uniontown Park Design
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A long overdue redesign of Uniontown park is heading toward completion and the work is likely to start later this summer. Kudos to the Parks and Recreation Committee and Little League for working away at this for so long and getting it so right. A plan is (here). The redesign addresses a number of outstanding issues and the result will be a vast improvement. For starters, it will expand parking to 33 spaces, which will remove cars from the side streets during Little League practice and games. There will be a car turnaround, which is missing now, increasing safety. A walking path to the basketball courts will be created and the baseball field itself will be expanded a few feet so it is regulation Little League size. Finally, the playground will shift east a bit, be rehabilitated and made ADA-compliant (accessible to the disabled), so it will remain a local resource for families as well as those visiting for games.
Water Tower
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We now have the estimated costs of cleaning, deconstructing and storing the tower, should we collectively decide to save it. With that, we can now prepare a survey that will go out to every household in the community in a physical mailing that will happen in early September. The water tower has to come down as part of the remediation of the waterfront that is already starting with the demolition of Building 52 this year. The future of this iconic structure will be in your hands. You will be asked if you want to have it cleaned, stored and replaced; or replaced by an entirely new tower that echoes the tower and reflects our industrial past (design to be chosen through a local contest); or be gone with it entirely.
Energy Working Group
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The Board established an Energy Working Group at our last meeting: it will function as a sub-committee to the Conservation Commission. This group will focus on steering the Village's efforts to reach sustainable energy goals, identifying projects to carry out such as community solar, energy-saving steps and electric vehicle charging stations. There are many grant opportunities and potential projects, but we need the capability to select appropriate ones that line up best with the Village's goals. We need help from those who have an interest and, ideally, the background and skills to assess such projects and help us continue to drive the Hastings sustainability agenda forward. For background on the Village's efforts so far, look here. Please forward your resume to volunteers@hastingsgov.org. We have done so much. There is so much more we can do.
Building Department Fees
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We've increased Building Department fees for the various sorts of approval work to industry standard (some of the fees had last been set over 20 years ago and it showed). Most importantly, we significantly increased the penalty fees we charge if you come into us after you have engaged in a undocumented building project and want it legalized after the fact. (There are other fines as well associated with undocumented building work.) If you're tempted to carry out a bathroom or basement or kitchen renovation and avoid engaging our Building Department, it will ultimately end poorly for you. You can't get a Certificate of Occupancy when you want to move if you've done stuff that doesn't match up with what is in our files. Message: just get the building permit so you aren't hammered later. (The point of the inspection is not to collect fees but to make sure the work is done to code and, most importantly, *safe*.)
Building 52 Demolition
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Those who commute are probably noticing ramped-up activity around Building 52 as the prep work for its demolition has begun. Trailers, vehicles, men in yellow hard-hats abound. Wiring, lighting fixtures, asbestos insulation all get removed first from the interior. Then the more serious demolition begins in August and proceeds into September. Rubble to be removed by barge. Finally happening.
Rezoning Effort
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We are enhancing the definition of "nursing home" in our building code with new language to cover more modern uses like independent living, assisted living and other care options. In the interest of giving people more time to review the language, we have extended the comment period to July 21st, another month, and will allow for further public comment at the July 11th meeting. To read the text of the amendment and study, go (here). There's a lot of talk - and misunderstanding - about this rezoning and we will be putting out a note later to address some of the misconceptions.
Deer Management Opinion Survey
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Allison Coates, a student at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, is conducting a summer research project with Dr. Allen Rutberg, director of the Hastings Deer Immunocontraception Study and faculty member at the Cummings School. The goal of the study is to determine resident's perception of the use of immunocontraceptives as a wildlife population control method. Allison is asking residents from Hastings-on-Hudson to take a brief survey. This survey will take 5-10 minutes, and one participant will be randomly selected to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Here is the survey link: www.tinyurl.com/deerpopulations If you have any questions, feel free to contact Allison at allison.coates@tufts.edu or Dr. Allen Rutberg at Allen.Rutberg@tufts.edu.
Finally, “Sustainable Hastings” was kicked off on July 7th, 2007 by Deann Cartwright: join fellow community members for a Community Picnic Pot-luck at Draper Park from 6-9PM this July 7th, Friday, to honor Deann’s legacy by coming together. For more information, write to hastingscsa@gmail.com .
All the best in this summer season,
Sincerely,
Peter Swiderski
Mayor