The city has been awarded more than $750,000 through a New York State Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program grant to address flooding and promote public access along the edges of the Fall Kill Creek.
The city is partnering with the Northside Collaborative, created by the Poughkeepsie-based environmental group Scenic Hudson and including 20 local organizations working on community projects in northside neighborhoods.
“We are very excited about this project and are pleased to receive this grant,” said Mayor Yvonne Flowers. “The Fall Kill Creek is an absolute gem, but it’s been underutilized for far too long. The creek runs through the heart of Poughkeepsie’s northside neighborhoods and ultimately can serve as a great connector through a greenway along the creek, as well as serving as destinations for educational programs and recreational opportunities.”
The city is receiving $765,150 from the New York State Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program for this latest initiative, known as the Fall Kill Blueway Waterfront Design Guidelines. It will include developing specific design strategies to address deteriorating flood and retaining wall conditions, mitigate flood risk, improve biodiversity and waterway health and increase public space along the creek.
Five sites have been selected for preliminary designs addressing the deteriorating conditions of the walls along the creek’s edges, shoreline stabilization of the Hudson River near the Fall Kill mouth, buffers to mitigate flooding and creek contamination and public access to the waterfront.
Those locations include Waryas Park, Dongan Square Park, Brookside Avenue, The Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn Lot and the City Department of Public Works’ Lot. City officials selected those sites to study a variety of creek edge conditions that overall reflect common conditions throughout the city and region. Read more here.