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Contents:
Why Focus on Preserving the Parkway?
Preservancy Seeks Full National Register Listing for the Henry Hudson Parkway
State Historic Preservation Officer's Determination of Eligibility (sidebar)
Planning Reports for Preserving the Parkway
A comprehensive plan for the parkway – The Scenic Byway effort
2006 State of the Parkway, by Hilary Kitasei
Link to the Henry Hudson Pkwy. Scenic Byway Task Force web site
Update - June 2011
Why focus on preserving the Parkway?
Preserving a Parkway in New York City has proven to be a tremendous challenge.
The Henry Hudson Parkway was conceived by Riverdalians George C. Perkins and William E. Dodge as a way to conserve the landscape, protect views, and create parks in Riverdale. It was modeled after the successful preservation of the Palisades across the Hudson by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
When the Henry Hudson Bridge and Parkway opened in the late 1930s, the Parkway was hailed as a stunning achievement of engineering and beauty—one of the finest examples of the American Parkway Movement.
Time and changing visions have taken a toll on the Parkway’s design. Since 1977 Riverdalians, first as Friends of the Greenbelt and later as the Riverdale Nature Preservancy, have sought to mitigate the impacts on the Parkway from a variety of modernizations. Wider lanes, entrance ramps, huge signs that mar the stone bridges and loom from overhead stanchions even on local service roads, incremental disappearance of the parkland buffer due to paving or erosion, loss of the landscaped median to miles of Jersey barriers; each small change dismantles a bit more of the parkway’s purpose. Each small change alters the parkway to more expressway-like standards.
Now the City is reconsidering its ban on commercial traffic, which would increase noise and air pollution for all Riverdalians, and the State is set to roll out new, even larger signage.
An overall approach is needed 
Years of experience have shown the danger of responding to projects piecemeal and at the eleventh hour. “Mitigation” is not the same as good planning. Individual design conflicts, which result in long delays that waste time and money, don't need to be a constant occurrence. For these reasons the Preservancy designated a Henry Hudson Parkway task force whose charge was to enlist the State’s support for designating the parkway as a NYS Scenic Byway. Scenic Byway status would give the Parkway a corridor management plan and access to special funds to carry it out. That effort was unfortunately sidelined by the City, while it considers “re-purposing” parkways like the Henry Hudson. Undeterred by this setback, the Preservancy turned to a more powerful tool—listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Parkways and Conservation provides a fuller account of Perkins’ and Dodge’s efforts to create the Parkway and of the community’s unwavering commitment to preserving the Henry Hudson Parkway as the linear park and scenic drive it was meant to be.
Preservancy seeks National Register listing for the Henry Hudson Parkway
- At the Preservancy’s request, the New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation (SHPO) agreed to evaluate the parkway’s eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
- SHPO determined in 2009 that the parkway does indeed retain enough of its design integrity to make it eligible (see sidebar), and urged the Preservancy to sponsor its nomination.
- At this writing in June 2011 the Preservancy continues to work with the State Parks Office and the National Park Service to prepare the nomination.
- The work draws upon community outreach and research reports (see the table below) sponsored by Preservancy since 2001.
- The Preservancy has also consulted with the Merritt Parkway Conservancy and similar organizations to take advantage of their experience in developing the most effective nomination.
Planning Reports for Preserving the Parkway
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Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Report on the Henry Hudson Parkway, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), 2006.
The report includes a contextual history, and inventory and maps of the Parkway's engineering and historic features. It is the centerpiece of the documentation for the National Register nomination. This work was funded by NYMTC (New York Metropolitan Transportation Council).
HAER Report  (5.55 MB)
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Putting the Park Back in Parkway: A proposal for greenway and landscape recommendations, New Yorkers for Parks Community Design Internship program, 2004.
The New York City Environmental Fund, in partnership with the NYC Departments of Transportation and Parks, identified a Class III bicycle and pedestrian route along the Parkway, making use of the service roads and overpasses to link the parks of the Parkway.
The New Yorkers for Parks Community Design Internship program funded a design study for landscaping along this route. The study considers ways to transform the discontinuous sidewalks along the parkway service roads into a safe and green haven for pedestrians. Developed with extensive input of neighborhood residents, the report identifies technical improvements that are necessary for safety, ways to incorporate elements of the parkway's historic design, and ways to bring green to the greenway, including places for pocket parks and a planting plan. The report's recommendations were displayed at Wave Hill in January 2005.
-Greenway Design Report
(29.71 MB)
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Stormwater Capture Parks Along the Henry Hudson Parkway: Developing Endor Garden as a Watershed Model, Gaia Institute, 2003.
The report analyzes the potential of the parkland along the parkway to absorb stormwater runoff and divert it from city sewers. Endor Garden was created by the community to make active use of some of the parkland buffer along the road, in the face of incremental loss of the parkland buffer to paving, erosion, and new fencing that restricted access.
The report discusses economic and environmental benefits of managing the parkland buffer for stormwater capture. It was funded by the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Stormwater Capture Report
(665 Kb)
Map 1 (1.44 MB)
Map 2 (843 Kb)
Map 3 (4.36 MB)
Map 4 (967 Kb)
Map 5 (4.8 MB)
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Henry Hudson Parkway (9A) Scenic Byway Initiative - Report on Phase One of Public Outreach, Riverdale Nature Preservancy Scenic Byway task force, 2004.
The report summarizes comments received from the public through July 2004, on Henry Hudson Scenic Byway planning.
-Public Outreach Report (495 KB)
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Understanding Jurisdiction Along the Henry Hudson Parkway, Sam Schwartz LLC, 2003.
Siting, design, and construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Bridge were under the authority of Robert Moses, who at one time headed both the state departments of parks and transportation. His intermingling of responsibilities between the two agencies, as well as the assignation of responsibilities to NYC departments of parks and transportation, the TBTA and others has resulted in a complex mixing and overlapping of ownership and operations responsibilities along the roadway, parkland, overpasses, and other features of the Henry Hudson Parkway.
This report attempts to sort out the various jurisdictions, a necessary step to improving project review and implementation along the parkway. The report was funded by a grant from the J. M. Kaplan Fund.
- Jurisdiction Report (1.82 MB)
Read highlights of the Report on the Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway website. |
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A comprehensive plan for the parkway – The Scenic Byway effort
The Scenic Byway initiative was spearheaded by the Riverdale Nature Preservancy as offering a means to halt the degradation of the parkway and restore its original vision. That effort was unfortunately sidelined by the City, while it considers “re-purposing” parkways like the Henry Hudson.
What is a Scenic Byway?
A scenic byway is a road, but not just a road. It's a road with a story to tell.
A scenic byway might offer magnificent views or fascinating historical sites or amazing wildlife. It might offer access to an exhilarating array of outdoor activities or reveal captivating cultures, spellbinding art or spectacular structures...
Whether a scenic byway offers one or many of these things, it always offers a great experience. A scenic byway is a "win/win" arrangement for the travelers who use it and the communities that adjoin it. Travelers are treated to an uncommonly exiting, educational or entertaining trek. Communities profit by an organized management plan that protects and enhances the byway corridor while encouraging increased tourism. (from the NY State Scenic Byways homepage)
2006 STATE OF THE PARKWAY
January 31, 2006
By Hilary Kitasei
Chair, Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway Task Force
Transportation money is about to rain down on the Henry Hudson Parkway. Millions of dollars in earmarks for the parkway were tucked into the State Transportation Bond Act and the Federal Transportation Bill. But where will it go? Descriptions in appropriation bills and budgets are vague. There is no plan for how this parkway should look or function. And the plan to make a plan is quashed. Our regional planning organization, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), informed the community boards and other stakeholders that the Corridor Management Plan has been put on hold.
When we began the effort to designate the Henry Hudson Parkway a scenic byway five years ago, we had hoped to have a Corridor Management Plan in place by now. The New York State Scenic Byways Advisory Board gave its preliminary approval two years ago. NYMTC, whose members include the city and state departments of transportation, approved funding for the plan and agreed to cooperate in its development. The Historic American Engineering Record of the National Park Service was commissioned to document and map the parkway's historic and cultural resources and their current condition, including an inventory of billboards. Their report is to be left half-finished.
When NYMTC approved the corridor management plan, it took over the public outreach function for the Scenic Byway initiative. With the plan now tabled, there is now no forum for pursuing a coherent vision for the corridor. There is no way of stimulating creative ideas to integrate this highway with the parks and neighborhoods it bisects. We will have projects - some good, some bad, most banal, but all of them piecemeal.
Most projects will be presented to a community board for its advisory opinion. They will also be presented to the NYC Arts Commission, whose approval is required. Like the community board, members of the Art Commission are volunteers. They do not have the expertise to challenge assertions by transportation engineers and they are reluctant to send a design back to the drawing board. So they suggest ways to mitigate the aesthetic injury.
Other developments will happen with no review. Maintenance of the landscape and infrastructure falls under "replacement in kind," even when it is not. Billboards are permitted.
In the last five years, the corridor has benefited from major investments by the city and the state to clean up the Hudson River, extend the Greenway, revitalize the waterfront, refurbish parks and protect landmarks. Communities have invested years to produce plans that balance environmental, economic development, recreational, and other goals. All of these investments, public and private, have been planned under, over, and around the highway. But the consequence of leaving the highway to the mercy of ad hoc, project-driven design, is clear. Changes in the highway sabotaged improvements in its surroundings. Concrete jersey barriers now cover miles of stone walls. Billboards are larger, louder, and spreading throughout the corridor. Eroded and paved-over landscape has exacerbated flooding, which further degrades the landscape and pollutes the river. A major piece of infrastructure, the great stone wall, remains a pile of rubble, with its owner and the city at a stalemate over its restoration.
"Every scenic byway tells a story." Every scenic byway also has a story. They are inevitably about building trust among the communities who share a corridor, and the city and state agencies who share jurisdiction. They are about building creative partnerships with private property owners.
The Arroyo Seco Parkway is an 8.2-mile highway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena that was built shortly after the Henry Hudson Parkway. When residents proposed it as a National Scenic Byway several years ago, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was an enthusiastic partner in developing the required Corridor Management Plan. The designation brought $1 billion in federal money to restore its historic landscape and bridges. Like many scenic byways, the plan focused on protecting the resource that underlies the landscape - the watershed.
When we started this effort, people said it couldn't be done in New York City. The vested interests are too great. But aren't the interests of New Yorkers far greater? If Los Angeles could do it, why can't New York?
Chronology
2001 - Preservancy Task Force is formed; public outreach begins
The Preservancy’s Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway Task Force is formed. The task force begins dozens of meetings, large and small, with civic groups, community boards, agency representatives, and other interested parties along the Parkway corridor.
2003 - public meetings in Riverside Park, Washington Heights, and Riverdale; symposium
The task force holds public meetings to begin to define important features of the Parkway corridor. The task force also holds a one-day symposium for design and parkway professionals.
2004 - NYMTC agrees to sponsor corridor management plan; four planning studies are funded through grants
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) agrees to fund and oversee the development of a comprehensive corridor management plan--the crux of the application to the state for byway designation.
The task force obtains a number of grants for scenic byway studies: the potential for stormwater capture, jurisdictional issues, and two complimentary studies of the potential for a greenway along the byway corridor. These reports can be viewed by clicking on the links in the Reports section of this page.
2005 - NYMTC funds HAER study and begins process of hiring a planning consultant to develop corridor management plan
NYMTC provides funding for the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), a division of the National Park Service, to inventory and document the full length of the parkway. The project includes three phases:
- Summer 2005: HAER historians will compile an inventory of resources related to the parkway. The inventory will describe the location and condition of bridges, ramps, interchanges, viewsheds, lighting, medians, billboards and all the other components that together make up the parkway. This three-month project will be completed by the end of September.
- Winter 2005 - 2006: The team will assemble a history of how the parkway was built and its relationship to the landscape and city. A team will also use a geographic information system to map the resources.
- Summer 2006: HAER architects will create measured drawings of select parkway features.
NYMTC also begins the process of hiring a planning consultant to develop the corridor management plan.
December 2005 - NYMTC indefinitely postpones all activities
NYMTC informs the Task Force, Community Boards and other affected parties that the Corridor Management Plan is indefinitely postponed while the City DOT completes a safety report on the Parkway. Funding for the HAER project is also halted; phase 3 remains unfunded.
March 12, 2007 - In a letter dated December 27, 2006, the Bronx Borough Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) informed the Preservancy that the DOT's study of city-owned retaining walls is expected to be complete in April 2007. The Commissioner said that the DOT will inform the Preservancy of its findings and recommendations at that time.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Commission (NYMTC) has stated that it will consider moving forward with the scenic byway nomination process once the DOT study is complete.
June 2011 – At this time, the scenic byway project remains dormant.
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