On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the award of approximately $322,000 in funding for four waterfront projects in the New York City metropolitan area. The grants are expected to support a wide range of initiatives, including enhancing recreational areas, expanding river access, and protecting the Hudson River ecosystem.
In Manhattan, the Downtown Boathouse received $75,000 to expand its free kayaking programs, and the New York Restoration Project received $47,364 for phase two of The Living Shoreline at Sherman Creek Park, a project focused on restoring a tidal mudflat on the Harlem River waterfront. Outside of Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Inc. received $100,000 to improve its Environmental Education Center.
Across the broader metropolitan area, the City Parks Foundation was awarded $100,000 to support its Coastal Classroom program. The program is focused on educating students about the city’s waterways and environmental stewardship.
Map of the Hudson River Estuary Program focus area, via nyc.gov
Funding received for each initiative is part of a larger $1.8 million grant package for 26 projects. Other grants focus primarily on watershed communities along the Hudson River, with a particular focus on the Capital and Mid-Hudson Valley regions.
The Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Grants Program, now in its 21st year, has awarded 643 grants totaling more than $28 million since its inception. Grants are funded by New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund, which Governor Hochul’s proposed budget plans to maintain at a record $400 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“Thanks to Governor Hochul’s sustained efforts to bolster community resiliency to climate change’s impacts, $1.8 million in grants awarded today for 26 projects will help Hudson River Valley communities develop plans to both protect residents and natural resources from severe weather driven by climate change while strengthening ecosystems,” said Basil Seggos, Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner. “These grants build upon local conservation efforts and priorities to sustainably improve water quality and protect the Hudson River.”
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Watershed communities along the Hudson River, looking at the map there are a lot of them. So this river is important to the city: Thanks.