Lights Illuminate, Trees Line Springy Kensico Dam Park
By Jon Craig
Dog walkers have been grumbling and runners have been rumbling around a “no trespassing zone” that sealed off most of Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla this winter.
While a Harrison woman walking her dog assumed the park was to reopen in November after $3.2 million in electric lighting upgrades, a county Parks, Recreation & Conservation sign clearly states a “spring 2014’’ opening is planned. Lights and poles were replaced throughout Kensico Park. Security cameras also were to be mounted on the dam as part of the project. New York City owns the dam and the bridge. The plaza, park and pathways straddle the towns of Mount Pleasant and North Castle.
Peter Tartaglia, deputy commissioner of the county parks department, said the electrical project is only slightly behind schedule due to “one of the worst winters in a long time.”
“People are anxious,” Tartaglia said on Monday. “I don’t blame them. But people will be happy with the results.”
When Kensico Dam Plaza reopens in late May, Tartaglia said joggers, bicyclists and other park-goers will be pleased to find a new network of bright, energy-efficient lights, which will allow them to use the area until 10 p.m. Kensico Park previously closed at dusk unless a special event was taking place.
The “red brick” pathway to the top of Kensico Dam remains open, but the stairwells at either end of the dam are closed, and the park is fenced off and marked with yellow caution tape with warnings that trespassers will be prosecuted.
An earlier phase of the project involved removal of diseased trees. Tartaglia said dozens of new trees were planted in their place.
People also still have access to a 10-station fitness course next to the Kensico Plaza entrance built with a $25,000 grant from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. The Bronx River pathway to the south also remains open. There is limited parking just across from the closed park gates marked by signs and caution tape.
Tartaglia said the county also recently reopened the main boardwalk at Rye Playland – a county-owned park, which was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. That work, which included installing ipe wood planks that last 30 years, was partially funded with federal storm relief money.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.