BETHLEHEM — The bulkhead at Henry Hudson Park, the town of Bethlehem’s only access to the river, will be repaired with a $184,000 grant from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
At the same time, the city of Hudson in Columbia County, further downstream, received $200,000 from the DEC to build a waterfront park.

The awards are to “increase shoreline resilience and improve recreational access using nature-based solutions,” according to a release from the DEC announcing the grants.

 Funding for these projects is administered by NEWIPCC, which was originally called the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission and now is a regional commission that helps the northeastern states preserve and advance water quality, in partnership with DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program and supported by New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund.

Greenman-Pedersen Inc. was awarded the $184,000  to replace the bulkhead with a combination of rock riprap revetment and plantings to stabilize the park’s shoreline.

The 51-acre park, located off Route 144 in Cedar Hill, has a public boat launch for motorized craft;  a boat launch for kayaks, canoes and other hand-powered craft; an accessible fishing platform, picnic areas with grills, softball field, playground, volleyball court, horseshoes, gazebo, and a pavilion.  

The park’s shoreline was built up by federal dredging initiatives in the 1860s where the dredged soils were placed upland and contained through the use of timber cribs containing riprap stone, according to a 2011 Henry Hudson Park Shoreline Stabilization Study.

In the 1900s, concrete capping was built on top of the cribbing. The study, prepared for the town of Bethlehem, was undertaken by Ocean and Coastal Consultants.

The Hudson River shipping channel, the study notes, is used commercially for access to the Port of Albany from points south; large vessels and tankers are often seen passing the park. Conflict arises between recreational boaters and the wakes created by large commercial boat traffic, the study says, adding that large vessel wakes have caused damage to docks and bulkheads in the park.

The study also says that the park is located in a flood zone, designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as A13, indicating the area has a 1-percent annual chance of flooding to an elevation of 12.242 feet. The study includes a picture of flooding at the park’s gazebo.

Preliminary designs for the $184,000 project will be shared with the public and the town, and feedback will be incorporated into the final engineering plans and bid documents, the DEC said.

“New York is bolstering sustained efforts to help flood-risk Hudson River communities adapt to climate change-driven extreme weather while protecting the State’s natural resources,” said Interim DEC Commissioner Sean Mahar in the release.

The DEC release also said, “Following an onslaught of drenching rain, furious storms, sweltering heat, and bitter cold, New York state continues to advance resiliency initiatives and investments that are helping to protect communities.”