Along a mile and a half, 53-acre porton of the eastern shore of the Hudson is Peekskills Southern Wa-

terfront. Portons of this waterfront have long served a variety of public uses, providing space for sports,
community events, and docking recreatonal boats. Riverfront Green Park and Charles Point Pier Park
are very popular among the residents of Peekskill and
surrounding areas, and both have excellent views of the
Hudson Highlands.
The area just north of Riverfront Green Park, Peekskill
Landing, was an industrial area and brown eld site,
and is being developed as a park extension
to the Southern Waterfront area.
P R OJ E C T B AC KGR OUND
In January of 2004, the City of Peekskill Common Council
adopted a Local Waterfront Revitalizaton Program (LWRP)
for the citys entre waterfront under the guidance of the
New York Department of State (DOS) Division of Coastal
Resources
i
. While the waterfront was already a successful
public space, sectons of the shoreline had eroded over tme
and city o cials thought some of the parks amenites could
be improved.
In 2006, the City of Peekskill was awarded an Environmental
Protecton Fund grant from the DOS to fund a master plan-
ning eort for the Southern Waterfront secton of the Citys
waterfront, which was the Central Planning Area of the
Citys LWRP. This grant required the City to follow a specic
set of steps and procedures in developing the plan, including
requirements to specify the types of shoreline stabilizaton
to be implemented. Many of these procedures went beyond
what the City itself had included in its LWRP.
The City was awarded the grant in early 2007, and issued a
Request for Proposals for a rm to lead the master planning
eort. By the end of the summer, they had selected Synthe-
sis, a landscape architecture and environmental planning
rm from Schenectady, NY. In the RFP, and in inital discus-
sions with Synthesis, city planners focused on three primary
goals for the future use of the space (1) to stabilize several
sectons of eroding shoreline, (2) to incorporate a mult-use
trail that would be part of the Westchester RiverWalk trail,
and (3) to improve the amenites in existng waterfront parks,
thereby increasing public use of the riverfront overall.
Riverfront
Green
Park
Riverfront
Green
South
McGregory
Brook
Peekskill
Landing
Charles
Point Pier
Park

Image 1: Peekskill Southern Waterfront Park

Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail
C A S E S T UDY
Travis
Point
S I T E A S S E S S ME NT
In late 2007, Synthesis conducted a site assessment,
which combined visual inspecton, GIS and survey map-
ping, a Phase 1 Archeological Survey, and a literature
review of shoreline stabilizaton methods. From this
assessment, the Synthesis sta found the site to be de-
veloped fairly extensively, but without much shoreline
stabilizaton (i.e. a moderate amount of rip-rap and only
some stabilizing vegetaton). The Riverfront Green South
shoreline exhibited the most substantal degradaton of
the original stabilizaton material, comprised of mostly
stone, boulders, concrete and slag.
Many areas had eroded over tme due to wave acton
from storms and boat tra c
ii
. The areas of shoreline
erosion for the Southern Waterfront fall into three sub-
areas Riverfront Green Park, Riverfront Green South,
and Travis Cove. Synthesis created a map for each sec-
ton with images of the shoreline conditon at each.
Synthesis also found that the park was part of the
states Scenic Areas of Statewide Signicance and that
there were a variety of threatened and endangered
species that might inhabit the area. From reviewing
state surveys of the waterfront, Synthesis found sub-
merged aquatc vegetaton (SAV) beds in the adjacent
riverbed, which could potentally inhibit development
of the proposed elevated walkway across Travis Cove.
Synthesis wrote up their full assessment in an April
2008 Site Reconnaissance Report and used it to de-
velop the shoreline stabilizaton optons they began to
discuss with city planners, state agencies and others.
T I ME L I NE
2004
Peekskill adopted their Local Water-
front Revitalizaton Program (LWRP)
2006
Peekskill applied for the Environmental
Protecton Fund grant from the DOS
2007
The City was awarded the grant and
started inital site evaluaton work
with Synthesis that fall
2008
Synthesis published their Site Recon-
naissance Report in April, conducted
public meetngs on the design, and
negotated the shoreline treatments
with the state agencies
2009
Synthesis published the Final Design
Report in July
C A S E S T UDY: Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail

Image 2:
Example of
shoreline
assessment
diagram from
Synthesis
Recon Report
PA G E T WO
S I T E P L A NNI NG A ND D E S I GN
Synthesis and the city sta then worked with com-
muSynthesis and city sta then worked with com-
munity residents and state agency o cials to develop
a variety of ideas and possible shoreline stabilizaton
approaches for the park. They had to comply with
minimal local building codes regarding development of
the park, and while the city had an already established
LWRP, those working on this project largely came to
the eort without specic preconceptons of how the
shoreline should be stabilized, and the Synthesis team
generated a broad set of possible alternatves.
The lack of specicity in the LWRP for how the shoreline
should be stabilized created some inital some inital
challenges for the NY Department of State (DOS), the
agency responsible for ensuring consistency between
the LWRP and specic site designs. To help the team
clarify these issues, DOS sta invited an advisor from
the Department of Environmental Conservaton (DEC) to
review the shoreline alternatves that Synthesis and the
City had developed. All involved were working toward
determining the most appropriate shoreline treatment
for protectng property and habitat, however specic
solutons were not immediately apparent. The design
review process also involved the State O ce of Parks,
Recreaton and Historic Preservaton. The Federal Army
Corps of Engineers was not yet involved in the process,
since they prefer to engage at the point of reviewing
preliminary constructon documents, which had not yet
been prepared.
Discussions between Synthesis, the city, DEC, and DOS
over the course of 2008 focused largely on what kind of
shoreline stabilizaton methods to implement along the
various portons of the park. The City was most inter-
ested in implementng the most cost-eectve solutons
that would protect the waterfront parks and trail from
erosion, while also supportng ecological consideratons.
Early on DOS recommended that the draf plan incorpo-
rate stabilizaton strategies from the 2006 Hudson River
Shoreline Restoraton Alternatves Analysis
iii
. DOS ini-
tally encouraged completely biodegradable approaches
to shoreline stabilizaton, to the point of allowing some
contnued erosion of parkland if need be. Synthesis
reviewed the 2006 Alternatves Analysis document, and
found that all the alternatves incorporated hard com-
ponents along with vegetaton, most notably, rip-rap
treatment up to the high tde elevaton.
Upon reviewing inital designs, DEC sta advised DOS
to support Synthesis approach to adopt moderately
hard (bio-engineered) solutons in the interest of mini-
mizing erosion and maintaining parkland. DEC sta
C A S E S T UDY: Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail
PA G E T H R E E

Image 3:
Diagram of
the shoreline
stabilizaton
plan for
McGregory
Brook

also raised the issue of sea level rise due to climate

change and suggested adding ll to raise the grade up
to two feet higher than current elevaton in several
sectons of the park to reduce site vulnerability. Afer
some discussion, it was determined that while raising
the park would limit ooding of the new trail, it would
likely not prevent more widespread ooding of existng
structures and railroad tracks, so raising existng grades
became optonal and would likely be utlized in order
to protect any future buildings sited on the parkland.
By the end of 2008, and afer several rounds of dis-
cussion, DOS, DEC, Synthesis, and the City setled on
a mixed approach to shoreline stabilizaton for the
park. Most of Riverfront Green Park, including the
small McGregory Brook area on the north end, would
be stabilized through the additon of fast-growing
trees and shrubs planted in biodegradable coir rolls.
Existng rip-rap below the high-tde line would be
supplemented with additonal stone. The boat launch
area in Riverfront Green Park would have pea stone
for landing kayaks and other non-motorized boats.
Following guidance from DEC, a retaining wall would
be built adjacent to the future mult-use trail, which
will require periodic re-nourishment of the pea stone
beach in order to maintain the existng gradual shore-
line transiton of the pea stone (rather than a more
natural but steeper alternate).
The shoreline stabilizaton design for the Riverfront
Green South area consisted of adding coarse-sized
ll to existng boulders, rip-rap, broken concrete, and
other debris to construct a sloped surface to slightly
above the high tde level, ve feet above mean sea
level and sloped to meet the 100-year oodplain level.
The slope from the high tde line to the 100-year ood-
plain would be stabilized through a bio-engineered
combinaton of heavy coir geotextle wrapped topsoil,
shrub and tree plantngs. These treatments would con-
tnue above the 100-year oodplain to blend with the
existng landscaping
iv
.
The plan for the Travis Cove area consisted mainly
of a proposed elevated walkway along the existng
shoreline, so no signicant changes to the stabilizaton
treatments for that area were proposed. The exact
placement of the walkway was challenging given the
submerged aquatc vegetaton (SAV) growing nearby in
the cove. The group nally agreed upon a walkway de-
sign that placed it close to the shore in order to avoid
impactng the SAV beds.
C A S E S T UDY: Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail
PA G E F OUR

Image 4:
Shoreline
stabilizaton
plan for the
launch area at
Crescent Beach
P L A N I MP L E ME NTAT I ON
A ND E VA L UAT I ON
The Various iteratons of these plans were put forward
before the public throughout 2008, but there was litle
public feedback on the shoreline stabilizaton porton
of the designs. Synthesis published the Final Design
Report for the entre Southern Waterfront in July of
2009. The Final Design Report includes a Phasing Plan
and preliminary cost estmate to guide plan imple-
mentaton. As of September, 2010, the preparaton of
constructon documents for Riverfront Green South,
Travis Cove and Travis Point have begun, but nal per-
mit applicatons have not yet been submited to ACOE
or the state agencies for approval.
City o cials are generally satsed with the plan result-
ing from this process and say they feel it strikes a good
balance between ecological interests while creatng a
lastng waterfront that can protect the on-shore public
amenites.
There is stll some discomfort with the Riverfront
Green stabilizaton method, however, with ongoing
debate as to whether the chosen method will protect
the future mult-use path and park amenites from
erosion due to regular wave and ice acton. Potental
funding agencies have expressed concern about losing
some park area and the possibility of an ongoing need
for costly maintenance due to erosion. During the con-
structon document phase, the city may open up a dis-
cussion to evaluate the chosen shoreline stabilizaton
method at Riverfront Green Park. The city is not advo-
catng a hardened sea wall approach, but may argue
for a sofer and more secure stabilizaton method such
as the turf reinforcement mat technology initally sug-
gested by Synthesis. The primary concern of the city
is funding. They are afraid that the sofer approaches
for Riverfront Green Park stabilizaton may make that
area less appealing for constructon funding due to the
potental loss of parkland and increased maintenance
costs. While the design of the stabilizaton method is
satsfactory, the agencies preferred method may be
less xed or long-term than what funding agencies are
comfortable with.
C A S E S T UDY: Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail
PA G E F I V E

Image 5:
Shoreline
stabilizaton
plan for the
Riverfront
Green South
area
K E Y TA K E AWAY S
Advocacy for sofer shoreline approaches by the
Department of State, supported by knowledge-
able sta at the Department of Environmental
Conservaton and the work of a well-informed and
creatve landscape architect, resulted in plans for
a much sofer and ecologically focused waterfront
than is generally found at similar locatons along
the Hudson.
Funding and permit ng agencies yield great inu-
ence upon shoreline design in both the inital mas-
ter-planning phase and in subsequent constructon
planning.
The developer was willing and able to create a
much more thorough analyses of shoreline design
alternatves than was completed in any of the
other case studies.
Prospectve funding agencies and local authori-
tes needed additonal documentaton about the
eectveness of bio-engineered shoreline protec-
ton measures in order to allay their concerns and
increase their comfort with innovatve solutons.
C A S E S T UDY: Peekskills Southern Waterfront Park and Trail
PA G E S I X
i
City of Peekskill Local Waterfront Revitalizaton Program, 2004.
ii
Synthesis, Final Site Reconnaissance Report for: Peekskill Southern Waterfront, April 2008.
iii
Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. and ASA Analysis & Communicatons, Inc., Hudson River Shoreline Restoraton Alterna-
tves Analysis, March 2006.
iv
Ibid.
All other informaton in this case is from interviews with Michael Hale (8/12/10, MHale@synthesisllp.com), Director of
Environmental Planning at Synthesis, Jean Friedman (8/13/10, JFriedman@cityofpeekskill.com), City Planner for the City of
Peekskill, and Daniel Miller (11/22/10, demiller@gw.dec.state.ny.us), with the Department of Environmental Conservaton.
All three interviewees reviewed drafs of the case.