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

April 7, 2015 by

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 path, parking 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

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

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

July 29, 2014 by
Khurram Saeed, ksaeed@lohud.com 12:13 a.m. EDT July 29, 2014
1406317305000-TZ-Tarrytown-Viewing-Platform-1JPG

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

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

New Tappan Zee Bridge spurs interest in nearby commercial parcels; Vacant commercial sites now sold, leased

October 15, 2013 by

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LoHud October 15, 2013 Written by Theresa Juva-Brown

The Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project is giving new life to vacant commercial properties that have languished since the Great Recession.

The site of the former Lovett power plant in Stony Point, for instance, sat unused for years before bridge builder Tappan Zee Constructors recently signed a lease with NRG Energy to assemble bridge pieces there. As part of the deal, Stony Point could collect up to $500,000 in permit fees over the next five years.

It’s been a similar situation in West Nyack, where the former Journal News printing plant at 160 N. Route 303 hasn’t had a tenant in three years, said Timothy Hauser of the Hauser Bros., the real estate investment company that owns the site.

That will change this spring, when state police and the New York State Thruway Authority temporarily move from Tarrytown to the 42,000-square foot warehouse that is currently being renovated.

Tappan Zee Constructors is relocating those operations because it plans to tear down the current barracks/Thruway offices on North Broadway and use the area for bridge construction equipment.

“We’re giving them a piece of property at a fair market value rate, and they are taking the expenses off my lap that I have to struggle to pay,” Hauser said of the parcel on Route 303 near Thruway Exit 12. Just before the deal was reached in April, the asking price for the warehouse was $6.25 per square foot, according to the website of Rand Commercial Services, which was involved with the agreement.

Hauser said the five-year lease could be extended, but for now the site’s future remains wide open.

“It’s one of the best locations in the entire county for any type of business — a car dealer, hotel. It’s a discussion already,” he said.

The recent deals, even if they are for just five years, help the local real estate industry but also the region’s optimism about the overall economy, said Paul Adler, vice president of Rand Commercial.

“People are understanding that this is the beginning of the growth,” he said. “What we’re seeing is just enough to nudge us out of this recession.”

“There is income, and there is enough time to plan what to do after five years now that the landlord has cash flow,” he added. “These 5-year injections of confidence in the market are going to spur smart growth.”

The new bridge, especially the thousands of workers the project will bring, helped convince Howard Josephs to purchase a commercial parcel in Nyack last month.

Josephs, a partner with Josephs Group, bought slightly less than an acre near Route 59 and Waldron Avenue.

A gas station and fast food joint once operated there, but the site has been dormant for years, he said.

After the land is remediated this winter, he plans to build a 5,000-square foot restaurant and retail center.

He declined to disclose how much he paid for the site.

“It’s a very busy corner, and we see it as the gateway to Nyack,” he told The Journal News. “I think the bridge (project) will definitely bring a lot of people for a number of years.”

The project is also giving a lift to property owners in Westchester.

Tappan Zee Constructors moved into its main office on White Plains Road in Tarrytown this spring and is leasing a satellite office on the grounds of Hudson Harbor, a residential complex on the Tarrytown waterfront.

Farrokh Hormozi, an economics professor at Pace University in Pleasantville, said property owners who are leasing instead of selling is a sign that they expect their assets to gain significant value after the new bridge is completed. He said more businesses and people will want to live and work near the future Tappan Zee. “It’s all facilitated by a more comfortable ride across the bridge,” he said.

Read complete article here:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201310142341/NEWS/310140063

 

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

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

June 26, 2013 by

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

 

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tappan Zee Bridge spectator areas may be set up during work

May 4, 2013 by

LoHud ; By Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed

May 4, 2013

bridge

The massive effort to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge will create a grand spectacle on the river that likely will draw crowds of curious onlookers.

While Tarrytown has plenty of public waterfront where official viewing areas can be set up, that’s not the case across the river. Because there are no public spaces along the South Nyack shore, residents there are concerned that people will wander onto their properties to watch the $3.9 billion project take shape.

Trespassing is already a problem at South Nyack’s Salisbury Point, co-op Vice President Judy Hirschhorn said. The 120-unit riverfront complex has a front-row view of the Tappan Zee that often attracts outside visitors who make themselves at home on the complex’s sprawling lawn. Some cyclists are also notorious for urinating in Salisbury Point’s bushes, she said.

Residents worry that when heavy construction starts on the new Tappan Zee, spectators from all over will flock to their parking lots to get a glimpse of the action.

“We think it’s going to be a huge problem,” she said.

Nyack Mayor Jen Laird-White said some people might go to Nyack’s Memorial Park to get unimpeded — but distant — views of the construction.

One resident has proposed getting the project team to help overhaul Memorial Park, including moving the parking lot to Nyack Municipal Marina and building a pedestrian bridge over the inlet to connect the two areas, she said.

Meanwhile, leaders in Tarrytown are already looking at the village’s waterfront for possible viewing stations, including Losee and Pierson parks and the River Walk.

David Aukland, Tarrytown’s liaison to the project, said he envisions an area where people could not only watch construction but also learn about the project.

“We know the public is interested, and we’d rather them have clear information than have them guess,” he said.

The area, which he said would likely be created by the Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors, could include binoculars and signs that explain the work. The signs could also feature tags people scan with their smartphones to get information about local wildlife and history, he said.

That would be similar to the approach taken by another huge public works project, the reconstruction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which has a designated viewing area. The location offers information on the bridge’s history and great views of the self-anchored suspension portion of the new Bay Bridge East Span, said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Brian Conybeare, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s special adviser on the Tappan Zee Bridge project, said the project team is discussing possible viewing sites with officials on both sides of the river.

“The goal is to find safe, accessible, public areas where people can view the project and take pictures once construction gets going, but no final determination on locations has been made,” he said in an email.

In addition to asking the project team for security fencing and cameras, Salisbury officials plan to post more trespassing signs and work with South Nyack-Grand View police to keep an eye out for unwelcome visitors.

Hirschhorn said measures need to be in place soon. Dredging of the river bottom is set to start in August and will likely attract attention, she said.

“We can’t have people walking all over our property,” she said.

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Nyack Grants Variances For Proposed Luxury Hotel

May 1, 2013 by

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.

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

State Cops To Relocate During T.Z. Rebuilding – Tarrytown Barracks Will Move To W. Nyack

April 27, 2013 by

LoHud.com April 27, 2013

Written by  Theresa Juva Brown

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201304262159/NEWS/304260115

Tappan Zee Constructors is finalizing a deal that would temporarily move state police and Thruway Authority facilities from Tarrytown to West Nyack during construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge, state officials confirmed Friday.

TZC is about to sign a lease for a 42,000-square-foot warehouse at 160 N. Route 303. It is the former site of The Journal News Rockland printing operation and is now owned by Hauser Brothers, a construction contracting group.

This latest deal comes just weeks after Tappan Zee Constructors moved hundreds of project employees to new, leased office space on Old White Plains Road in Tarrytown.

“It’s exciting,” said Paul Adler, vice president at Rand Commercial Services, which is handling the West Nyack deal. “Folks, particularly in commercial real estate, have been suffering. … To finally see the light at the end of the tunnel — and it’s not a train coming at you — is critically important.”

As part of the bridge project contract, TZC will tear down the existing state police and Thruway buildings on South Broadway and use the land as a construction staging area.

After the $4 billion project is completed, TZC will rebuild those facilities. In the meantime, it has agreed to pay to relocate those agencies.

The asking price for the West Nyack warehouse was $6.25 per square foot, according to a listing on Rand’s website.

Adler said Rand has been preparing to assist with the space needs of the Tappan Zee project since last year, including setting up a Web page, www.tappanzeebridgeinfo.com, which advertises various types of available properties in Westchester and Rockland.

In addition to commercial properties, Adler expects a growing demand for housing as project workers arrive in the area. That will benefit everyone, he said.

“Everything from the dry cleaners to the pizza shop to restaurants and hotels, all of them get a shot in the arm,” he said. “Coming out of the long, dark, deep recession, this is just the kind of bump people need to restart the engine.”

In fact, Wedged-in Deli and Catering at 605 Old White Plains Rd., not far from the new TZC office, is already getting a bump as occupants of the newly filled office space turn to the family operated business for their food needs.

“They have been ordering some catering from us and coming in during lunchtime,” deli manager Harrison Yu said. “It’s helping us, but we are definitely expecting more as construction goes full on.”

Brian Conybeare, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s special adviser on the project, called such signs “just the beginning of the positive economic impact” the project will have on the region.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , ,
Some property information provided by CoStar, Loopnet, HGAR, Yelp, Rand Commercial Services and other public sources.