Thruway Authority Discussions with South Nyack Making Progress on Bike/Pedestrian Path Parking

For immediate release: April 6, 2015
Contact: Brian Conybeare 845-705-3302

Thruway Authority Discussions with South Nyack Making Progress on Bike/Pedestrian Path Parking

New York State Thruway Authority Acting Executive Director Robert Megna today announced that renewed discussions with the Village of South Nyack on parking options for the New NY Bridge project’s shared-use bike/pedestrian path (SUP) in Rockland County are progressing.

The Thruway Authority and Federal Highway Administration are undertaking an Environmental Assessment to study the parking options generated by the public and other stakeholders.  Formal public hearings will be held as part of the process, once a draft Environmental Assessment is complete.

“The renewed talks with South Nyack are making substantial progress,” said Acting Thruway Authority Executive Director Robert Megna. “We want to continue working proactively with Mayor Bonnie Christian and the South Nyack Tappan Zee Bridge Task Force to find solutions for the shared-use pathparking areas and connectivity to the community that will work for all the parties involved while protecting New York taxpayers and tollpayers at the same time.”

“We continue working together on the location of the shared-use path and hopefully we will be able to come to an agreement that benefits the residents of South Nyack, the Thruway Authority and the people who will use the path in the future,” said South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian.

The New NY Bridge Community Benefits Program has approved a $250,000 grant for the Village of S. Nyack to study the feasibility of redesigning and redeveloping interchange 10 on I-87/287.  The village is now considering several proposals from engineering firms to design and recommend economically sustainable redevelopment concepts.

The Thruway Authority and the village have agreed to continue working on these issues together as the New NY Bridge project moves forward.

For more information on the SUP parking options currently being studied in both S. Nyack and Tarrytown: http://www.newnybridge.com/documents/sup/index.html

PROJECT UPDATE FOR BOATERS

update

NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT ESTABLISHES SAFE CHANNEL FOR PIERMONT BOATERS

Following collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the New NY Bridge project team has installed channel markers near Piermont to help guide recreational boaters to and from the Hudson River Main Channel.

Soil borings will begin in South Nyack near the intersection of S. Broadway and Cornelison Ave. during the week of August 11 to inform preliminary design options. The samples of material will be taken in different areas to help designers understand subsurface conditions that may be experienced during construction. Some survey activities are also being performed to support these design investigations. These operations require temporary lane closures and traffic control measures including flaggers to maintain safety and movement of local traffic.

Construction will continue in the Hudson River as crews place the foundation for the New NY Bridge. Work will include pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

A second shift of workers will also continue pile welding, pile cleanout and concrete placement operations associated with permanent foundations.

Sheet pile driving at locations on land and near the Rockland landing is temporarily on hold due to high noise levels from the operation. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) continues to implement additional noise-reducing measures at sheet pile driving operations at the Rockland Landing and in the river at one of the closest piers to the shoreline. Sheet pile driving operations will continue as soon as noise is at an allowable level.

Work will continue on the Rockland work trestle near the shoreline, including pile driving. The trestle will support equipment used for the construction of the western-most section of the new bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard has established a Safety Zone surrounding 16 construction barge mooring locations at the project site. No unauthorized vessels are allowed in the Safety Zone. In addition, marine law enforcement will be enforcing the rules of the expanded Regulated Navigation Areas (RNAs) east and west of the Safety Zone. The RNAs stretch 500 yards north and 500 yards south of the existing bridge. Boaters are urged to transit the main channel with no wake at a maximum speed of five knots, and to use extreme caution on the river at all times.

More New NY Bridge boater safety information, including the U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners, and construction site maps, can be found here at NewNYBridge.com. An interactive map showing vessel locations on the Hudson River is also available here for recreational and commercial boaters to get updated information on this very active construction zone. The GPS tracking map is for informational purposes and not intended for navigation.

Mariners should be aware that TZC will continue work in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge. Additional temporary navigational lights have been installed to further define the 600-foot navigation channel under the main span. Permanent elements of the new bridge are lit per U.S. Coast Guard requirements, as are all moorings, barges and other equipment.

Lane Closures for New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287):

Monday Aug 11 Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday Aug 11 Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Tuesday Aug 12 Southbound, Left Lane approaching the Toll Plaza and Left hand EZ-Pass Lanes. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday Aug 12 Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Wednesday Aug 13 Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday Aug 13 Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Thursday Aug 14 Southbound, Right Lane near Exit 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday Aug 14 Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Friday Aug 15 Southbound, Right Lane near exit 9 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday Aug 15 Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Ongoing Operations:

  • Permanent pile installation, including pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays
  • Pile Cap foundation construction
  • Main Span foundation construction
  • Rockland Landing construction
  • Westchester Landing construction
  • River Road utility work
  • Rockland trestle construction, including pile driving
  • Survey inspections on existing bridge

Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle

T.Z. viewing areas in Nyack, Tarrytown to open this fall

The public will be able to see construction up close and learn all about the mega-project.

The two designated spots from which people can watch the new Tappan Zee Bridge get built are likely to open in October.

The sites will be at parks in Nyack and Tarrytown and feature view finders, seats and detail-rich panels about constructing the world’s widest bridge.

Even though the river villages share a common goal, they are working separately to build their respective viewing areas.

Local officials anticipate the spots will prove to be tourist draws, and entice people to spend money at village shops and restaurants.

Nyack

Rockland’s viewing area is piggybacking on a long-planned conversion of the fishing pier at the southern end of Memorial Park.

The village is planning to hold a groundbreaking during the first week of August, Mayor Jen Laird-White said. It had already secured a $150,000 grant from New York’s state department when Tappan Zee project officials approached it about using the 90-foot long pier as an official vantage point.

Laird-White called it “frosting on the cake” since the village would receive $50,000 to make the pier even more of an attraction.

Village trustees last Thursday awarded a contract for installation of the piles for the pier.

Pile driving is expected to begin in late August followed by decking, Village Administrator Jim Politi said.

“Once you set the pilings, which I’m sure will take a couple of weeks, then building the actual structure is another couple of weeks,” he said.

From that point, Politi said it was just a matter to adding the decorative lighting, fancy wood railings and the bridge-related materials.

The viewing area should be ready in October, he said.

Tarrytown

Village trustees last week authorized a $50,000 contract with the state Thruway Authority to move forward on the viewing area at RiverWalk Park at the end of West Main Street, Village Administrator Mike Blau said. Both Tarrytown and Nyack are receiving funding through a special $20 million community fund set up for the project. The Thruway Authority and bridge builder Tappan Zee Constructors are jointly contributing to it.

Once the village receives the technical specifications from the Thruway’s design consultant, it will put the project out to bid, likely in mid-August.

After the bids are received and one selected, Blau expects work will begin in mid- to late September.

“It shouldn’t take that long to actually do the construction end of this project,” he said, anticipating an early October opening date.

According to project renderings, a tiered timber bench will be added to the existing round deck that’s largely enclosed by a stone wall. A pergola will provide shade for visitors.

Three colorful interpretive panels will offer a bevy of information: from an overview of the construction site to design and features of the $3.9 billion bridge to a project schedule. A “spotter’s guide” for the different types of equipment being used on the river may prove most popular of all.

Besides describing what each vessel does, the guide also offers a factoid about each one. For example, the super crane registered as the Left Coast Lifter is longer than a football field while one floating concrete batch plant can produce enough concrete to fill 100 cement trucks in a single day.

There is no mention of tolls.

Twitter: @ksaeed1

Neighboring community takes sound-proofing offer; 2 more complexes consider funds to mitigate noise

Lohud;  June 25, 2013  Written by Theresa Juva-Brown

Neighbors want more than noise reducing windows

http://www.lohud.com/videonetwork/2507049237001/TZB-neighbors-offered-noise-protections

Nearly a week after Tappan Zee Constructors offered to spend $4.2 million on noise-reducing windows and doors for some bridge neighbors, only one community has officially accepted the proposal.

Bradford Mews has agreed to Tappan Zee Constructor’s offer to shell out $1 million for special doors and windows in the South Nyack rental community, project officials confirmed.

Meanwhile, Salisbury Point in South Nyack and The Quay in Tarrytown continue to mull the offer; leaders from both groups met separately with the project team on Tuesday. The money being offered is part of a $20 million fund split between the state and Tappan Zee Constructors to pay for community improvements during construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

When Tappan Zee Constructors announced the $4.2 million deal last week, leaders of Salisbury Point and The Quay slammed it for not addressing all their concerns. At The Quay, an 89-unit condominium complex, residents had asked for a pool enclosure and new fencing, in addition to the window and doors.

“It looks like it’s not going to happen and that’s very frustrating and depressing for us all,” said Alice Goldberg, president of the board.

Tuesday’s meeting with project officials focused on the types of windows Tappan Zee Constructors would pay for, she said. Goldberg said she is confident residents will reach an agreement with the builders.

The Quay’s proposal calls for windows with varying degrees of sound proofing based on the condo’s distance from the bridge construction.

Tappan Zee Constructors also denied Salisbury Point’s requests for security fencing and a pool cover. Thruway Authority spokesman Daniel Weiller criticized residents for expecting a pool dome.

“Some of the groups are asking for the project to pay for extras that have nothing to do with noise, such as a swimming pool dome, and it would be irresponsible to use the budget for the new bridge to pay for things like that,” he said in an email. “The goal is to find a fair and reasonable solution to help them install quality noise-reducing windows and doors, not to write a blank check.”

Goldberg disputed Weiller’s claim, arguing that “we have been cautious and very conservative” with the requests, adding that a cover for the pool would protect it from construction pollution.

The Quay’s residents, along with other Tarrytown and Rockland residents, are also considering designs for permanent noise barriers on the new span and around it. Officials have scheduled public meetings this week to explain options to Westchester and Rockland residents who received ballots in the mail.

Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at 303 S. Broadway in Tarrytown and 7 p.m. Thursday at the Best Western in Nyack.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20130625/NEWS/306250099?gcheck=1

 

Nyack Grants Variances For Proposed Luxury Hotel

April 30, 2013 Lohud ; Author Alex Taylor

NYACK — A proposed $19 million boutique hotel on High Avenue came one step closer to reality after the Nyack Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday issued zoning variances for the project.

The developer, WY Management LLC, had sought the village’s approval to convert a vacant manufacturing facility at 400 High Ave. into a 132-room hotel with a steakhouse, radio station and conference center.

The variance was needed to add two floors to the existing structure: a two-story, 40,000-square-foot corrugated metal building next to Oak Hill Cemetery and Exit 11 of the New York State Thruway.

Because the area is zoned as a manufacturing district, a special permit was also needed, officials said.

“Our land use board has done its usual good work,” Nyack Mayor Jen Laird-White said Tuesday. “A great idea looks like it may be coming to fruition as a great project.”

Michael Yanko and Kerry Wellington, co-owners of WY Management, declined to comment Tuesday.

Once built, the hotel will be managed by Nylo Hotels, a boutique chain with hotels in Texas and Rhode Island, with another planned for New York.

Architectural renderings of 400 High Ave. show a stylish, loft-like design, including brick and glass siding and extensive outdoor landscaping. In addition to the 184-seat restaurant, the hotel will feature a bar and fitness center.

The site was formerly occupied by Stoffel Seals Corp., a plasticsand metal manufacturer that relocated to Congers about five years ago. WY Management bought the property for a reported $4.2 million.

A Best Western — the only other hotel in the village — is a block away on Polhemus Street.

The village Planning Board will meet Monday to vote on final site approval — the last step before construction.

“Once the Planning Board gives a final they can commence the building permit process for construction,” Nyack Village Attorney Walter Sevastian said. “They’re getting close.”

The hotel is expected to open late 2014, according to the developer’s website.

Earlier this year, the Rockland County Industrial Development Agency approved exemptions on the sales and mortgage recording tax to help the project. Developers are also negotiating a payment in lieu of taxes on the site.

WY Management recently opened an office at 79 Main St. in Nyack. The developer also is converting the former MetLifeFinancial Services Building in Broxville into multifamily apartments.

Some property information provided by CoStar, Loopnet, HGAR, Yelp, Rand Commercial Services and other public sources.