The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) announced approximately $384,000 in contract awards to help the city of Hudson and town of Bethlehem increase shoreline resilience and improve recreational access using nature-based solutions. Funding for the two projects is provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund and is administered by NEIWPCC in partnership with the NYSDEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program.
“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,” interim NYSDEC Commissioner Sean Mahar said. “The funding will advance the implementation of projects that will improve waterfront resilience and shoreline stabilization.”
Susan Sullivan, NEIWPCC executive director said, “NEIWPCC is pleased to help the communities of Hudson and Bethlehem become more resilient to flooding, storm surge, and sea-level rise through shovel-ready engineering plans and documents.”
In Hudson, Assemblage Landscape Architecture was awarded $200,000 for a climate-adaptive waterfront park design. This project will create a more accessible waterfront that maintains Hudson’s water-based recreational vitality, while prioritizing nature-based solutions that restore the shoreline to a dynamic intertidal marshland and adapt to projected future sea-level rise and flooding.
A $184,000 contract was awarded to Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. for a shoreline stabilization project at Henry Hudson Park in Bethlehem. The park is the town’s only public access point to the Hudson River and provides a public boat launch, accessible fishing platform, kayak launch, and many other amenities. Commercial ship and barge traffic creates large vessel wakes that contribute to shoreline erosion and damage to docks and bulkheads. This project proposes to replace the bulkhead with a combination of rock riprap layers on the bank and plantings, while balancing opportunities for ecological health, resiliency, and recreation.
The projects are expected to start in late summer.