This site will serve as a virtual toolbox of ideas, techniques and real world examples to help you plan, design, implement and maintain simple LID/Better Site Design stormwater management practices for the home or local municipality.
December 14th, 2010 by stormeditor
Bringing the Saw Mill River back into the “light of day” (hence the term “daylighting”) in downtown Yonkers was an idea shared by many people over the years and finally a plan made “shovel-ready” in the last five. On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, at 12 Noon, Mayor Amicone, the City of Yonkers Mayor, will officially hold groundbreaking ceremonies at Larkin Plaza for the new Saw Mill River park in Larkin Plaza. Groundwork Hudson Valley, a non-profit organization located in Yonkers, has been the City of Yonkers’ environmental partner on the daylighting, bringing in grant resources to provide a top-rate habitat restoration plan and involving the public in interpreting the history and ecology of the park. This will assure continuation and enhancement not only of Saw Mill River fisheries, but the central role the Saw Mill has played in the history and future of Yonkers.
“We are ecstatic that the City is going to bring this river back above ground,” commented Ann-Marie Mitroff, Director of River Programs for Groundwork, “it will become a jewel around which Yonkers will thrive.” Rick Magder, Groundwork’s Executive Director, who established the Saw Mill River program in 2001, agreed, “The newest asset for challenged urban communities is being able to use their rivers to spur rebirth and redevelopment. We are pleased the City is so forward thinking.”
A lot has happened to the piece of land now known as Larkin Plaza. It was a wide bay and mouth of the Saw Mill River in 1609 when Henry Hudson explored the river now bearing his name and was known as the “fishing trap” to Native Americans living in the vicinity. In the late 1640′s Adriaen Van der Donck received grant of land from the Dutch East India Company built one of the first saw mills in the New World at the junction of the Hudson and Nepperhan (Saw Mill) Rivers-at the top of Larkin Plaza. The bay was filled in for the railroad and a station was built in 1848. Industry was built alongside and over the river in the plaza area. In the 1920s, due to localized flooding and sanitary conditions of the river, the US Army Corps of Engineers banished the river underneath a 20-foot subterranean flume, built a parking lot over it, and it was named Larkin Plaza.
It will look much different after construction is finished in December of 2011. A new river park with two freshwater pools and one tidal pool will replace the paved parking lot. Meandering paths will be located on both sides of the “new” river, an area for public concerts will be constructed, ample benches for viewing will be installed, and educational interpretive signs will cover the ecology, history and engineering of the park. Groundwork received funding support from the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program to support the development of the habitat restoration plan for the park, additional funding from the US EPA also in support of the daylighting work, and grants from the Hudson River Foundation and the NY Department of Environmental Conservation to support the interpretive plan for the park.
For more information about the ecology of the new park and the habitat plan, contact Ann-Marie Mitroff at Groundwork Hudson Valley, (914) 375-2151.
Additional information will be posted on the Groundwork Hudson Valley (www.groundworkhv.org), Saw Mill River Coalition (www.sawmillrivercoalition.org), and on www.daylightyonkers.com.
December 2nd, 2010 by stormeditor
October 24th, 2010 by stormeditor
Saturday’s roundtable was quite a success. Thomas Madden, Commissioner, Department of Community Development and Conservation, Town of Greenburgh, presented a detailed and thoughtful presentation on how to make LID/BSD practical in local government. An enthusiastic question & answer session followed. (His presentation will be available here for download sometime this week.)
During the break, County Legislator Tom Abinanti spoke to attendees about the proposed Stormwate / Flooding Management legislation under consideration by the County. The current draft is under review this Monday, October 25 by the Environment & Energy Committees. (Please see right side-bar Special Events listing with details.)
The two breakout sessions, one on LID/BSD Principles and the other on a LID/BSD Checklist, generated lots of discussion and valuable feedback. Updates to the draft handouts will be available here for download soon. (Session drafts are still available in the right side-bar Downloads section.)
Special thanks to Anne Jaffe-Holmes of the Greenburgh Nature Center for her support and help in organizing this roundtable.
October 20th, 2010 by stormeditor
Incorporating
Low-Impact Development & Better Site Design
in Our Municipal Ordinances & Processes
Held Saturday, October 23, 2010 at the Greenburgh Public Library, 300 Tarrytown Road, Elmsford, NY.
KEYNOTE: Thomas Madden, Commissioner, Department of Community Development and Conservation, Town of Greenburgh will talk about the “practical” side of incorporating LID/BSD principals in an comprehensive plan, ordinances, and processes.
Breakout Session at Workshop #2
BREAK-OUT SESSIONS:
- Watershed-Wide Principles On Which We Can Agree
- Defining an Effective Stormwater Implementation Worksheet
Download draft versions of the Principles and the LID/BSD Checklist for your review and discussion. (See right sidebar file list).
Sponsored by: Groundwork Hudson Valley / Saw Mill River Coalition, Greenburgh Nature Center, Greenburgh Environmental Forum, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.
Funding provided by: US EPA, NYS DEC/Hudson River Estuary Program, and Westchester Community Foundation.
October 20th, 2010 by stormeditor
Please help us to determine the most useful information and resources to include in our upcoming Toolkit site by taking a short online survey.
The survey is also available as a .pdf file in the right sidebar under Downloads & Resources.
October 19th, 2010 by stormeditor
First roundtable May 9, 2009 at the Irvington Library
Peter Q. Eschweiller, Chair of the Westchester County Flood Action Task force and former Westchester County Planning Commissioner, talked about “A Watershed Approach for Greenburgh & Its Villages” – which included maps of watersheds in each village and in the unincorporated areas. He also spoke about Westchester County’s Flood Action Task force and the need for a comprehensive county-wide flood action plan. Download it here (.pdf).
Second roundtable January 23, 2010 at the Irvington Library
Low Impact Development/Better Site Design Roundtable
During this roundtable Sandeep Mehrotra, Vice President, Hazen & Sawyer P.C., and past Chair of the Hastings Environmental Commission, made a presentation on LID/BSD Principles and Practices with a focus on those appropriate for our area. As part of the break-out sessions, groups worked together on re-engineering sample site plans according to Better Site Design principles. Mark Gilliland, landscape designer, Principle of Garden Artistry and a member of the Irvington Environmental Conservation Board, and two local engineers, Paul J. Petretti, Principle of PJP Engineering, and Shannon Rooney, Principle of SR-Engineers, helped facilitate the breakout sessions.
Handouts from workshop:
All About Water – keynote presentation by Sandeep Mehrotra. Download it here (.pdf).
Low Impact Development / Better Site Design Pros, Cons and Planning Considerations – handout by Shannon Rooney. Download it here (.pdf).
Rain Garden Maintenance Guide by Low Impact Development Center. Download it here (.pdf).