Robert Astorino takes credit for being an avid cost cutter, a conservative, almost Tea Party, Republican who values every tax dollar, yet he continues to build RiverWalk. Yesterday, to celebrate its one year anniversary, I decided to walk the South Tarrytown section of this 51.5 mile undertaking. This one mile stretch was completed last year for $3.65 million after eight years of effort -– just in time for a photo before the Democratic primary featuring local politician Tom Abinanti.
Local Polticians Reveling in the "Pork"
A quick look at the RiverWalk map highlights the absurdity of the project; http://planning.westchestergov.com/images/stories/RiverWalk/riverwalkmap11x17.pdf Most of the RiverWalk offers no views of the Hudson River and is just a zigzag up and down the hill bordering the Hudson River to the Old Croton Aqueduct or some congested local road. The path, if it does get anywhere near the river, has its view cut off by the thick canopy of trees that run parallel to the noisy railroad tracks that have cut Westchester off from the Hudson River since the 1840’s.
RiverWalk Bench Facing the Leaves
Periodically, the RiverWalk hits a man-made obstacle like a xenophobic neighborhood , an old person’s home {e.g., Kendal on Hudson] or an interstate highway and it is shuttled all the way back up the hill to Route 9. The section near the Indian Point Nuclear Power plant follows its perimeter fence topped by barbed wire. The section in lower Yonkers skirts the fragrant Ludlow Waste Treatment Plant. To call the RiverWalk a greenway or an open space initiative is political hype at its most delicious. My guess is that the politicians figured that no one would ever use the RiverWalk and realize it is a boondoggle.
RiverWalk Overgrown With Weeds
Building a recreational trail next to a busy a railroad track, water treatment plant, nuclear power facility, VA hospital, not withstanding good intentions, is not “the most scenic and historical sights the villages have to offer” as reported by Sean Roach, a correspondent for Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Patch, a unit of AOL. But then Patch correspondents are paid by the word, not for actually knowing what they are writing about.
$693 per LInear Foot to View the Railroad Tracks
The South Tarrytown Section of RiverWalk is nearly impossible to find or access. Access is denied from the north on Van Wart Avenue. This neighborhood didn’t want “to bring communities together through non-motorized networks” as evidenced by the sign at the entrance stating the “Not A Park Entrance. Enter at Lyndhurst Estate”.
The entrance to the RiverWalk at Lyndhurst is only open from 10AM to 4:15PM and is not posted until you are at the trailhead, ½ mile west of Broadway. The south entrance is through a charming chain link gate bordered by a 8’ foot fence with “Private Property, No Trespassing” signs every 100 feet.
See If You Can Find the No Trespassing Sign
Here and there one can glimpse a patch of water through the thick canopy bordering the train tracks next to the river. Once on the RiverWalk, one is greeted by expensive stone retaining walls crowding the path and ID card readers offering egress to the Kraft Corporation compound. There is nothing relaxing or inspirational about this ‘pork barrel’ project that was probably only built so that local politicians could get a photo opportunity for the local "Green" contingent.
I happened upon a couple walking their dog near Van Wart Avenue. They look startled to see another human being. The lady remarked after a short ‘meet and greet’ that “very few people know this is here”. No fooling.
Good thing there is a Call Box just in case I get is assaulted in this claustrophobic, isolated place which cost $693 per foot to build. I bet it’s a great place for teenagers to drink beer after dusk when the gates are locked and the middle-aged men on the Alcohol Task Force aren’t able to climb the fence.
Don’t get me wrong. I am for hiking and greenways and open space, just not wasting $3.65 million on one mile of under-used RiverWalk with limited access. The South Tarrytown section of RiverWalk is "pork" in its purest form.
Since I pay the County of Westchester about $5,000 per year in real estate taxes and my home is assess at $1 million; this project absorbed the taxes of the equivalent of 730 $1 million dollar homes. Mr. Astorino is quick to cut funding for pre-school programs in Fairview, but supports a dumb project like Riverwalk. His priorities don’t make sense.
Westchester County needs a citizen’s budget committee like the one in Dobbs Ferry (Dobbs Ferry was a AAA rating, higher than the United States). Such a committee could take the political heat that politician like to avoid criticizing wasteful projects like RiverWalk.
“$693 per linear foot and used by less than a 1/2 dozen people per day. Bob Astorino stop building RiverWalk.” Ronald Reagan, if he were still live and living in Westchester.