Poughkeepsie Journal - Long Dock Park opens on Hudson River in Beacon

News Article

By Larry Hertz

A portion of Beacon's waterfront that was largely contaminated less than a decade ago was the site of a celebration Saturday.

The land, purchased in 2001 by the nonprofit group Scenic Hudson Inc., has been transformed into a multi-use arts and recreation area called Long Dock Park.

The 15-acre park officially opened Saturday afternoon, and hundreds strolled the grounds just south of the Metro-North Railroad Station. Some paddled kayaks in the Hudson River, while others enjoyed food and live music near a new dock that juts out into the river, offering views of the Catskill Mountains to the north and Storm King Mountain to the south.

Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan called the new park a "demonstration of the power of partnership." The land, once a major rail yard and more recently used as a bulk oil storage facility, was restored with $8.5 million in public and private funding, Sullivan said.

"We bought the land, then we asked the people of Beacon what they'd like to see here," he said. "What we're seeing is the result of that collaboration."

A 150-year-old building on the site has been transformed into a gallery and other facilities run by Mill Street Loft, a Poughkeepsie-based arts group that runs cultural and educational programs for children and adults.

Mill Street Loft Executive Director Carole Wolf called her agency's partnership with Scenic Hudson "a logical marriage of the arts and the environmental movement."

Improvements continue
Sullivan said plans have been drawn up for a hotel and conference center on part of the site that will employ "the latest green technology" in its building methods.

The project is on hold pending the region's economic recovery, but Sullivan said he was confident it would be built.

U.S. Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, whose district includes parts of Dutchess County, was one of the first to enter the park when the festival began Saturday afternoon.

"This park shows why Scenic Hudson is such a special organization," Hayworth said as she toured the Mill Street Loft art gallery. "It will be a benefit not only to the people of Beacon but to the growing number of tourists who are coming to the Hudson Valley."

Beacon resident Kevin Sheffield called the new park "just the latest example" of improvements to the quality of life in the city.

"I moved here from Queens three years ago, and ever since then I've seen one amazing thing after another happening here," Sheffield said. "I tell everyone I know they really have to come to Beacon and see what's going on."

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