FRW Mission:

  • Maintaining native plantings and amenities along Tarrytown's Scenic Hudson RiverWalk through hands-on volunteer work and fundraising
  • Teaching Friends and community members about the Hudson River environment and the skills required for stewardship of the greenway and its amenities
  • Promoting cooperation and shared investment in the success of the RiverWalk by Hudson Harbor and other Tarrytown residents; by middle and high school-age youth, officials and leaders of the community.
  • Developing a model for the maintenance and stewardship of the RiverWalk as the founding chapter of the Friends of the RiverWalk
  • Creating an organizational template and replicable manual to be made available to all RiverWalk communities.
Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park, Tarrytown, New York - Friends of the RiverWalk
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Kathryn W. Davis

Philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis provided the donation that served as the foundation for the creation of Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park. A brief history of Mrs. Davis, written by Linda Viertel for The Hudson Inedependent following her death in 2013 at the age of 106, appears below. Included in the article is a quote of Mrs. Davis's from which the motto of Friends of the RiverWalk Tarrytown is taken: "We don't know what tomorrow holds. And therefore let us take advantage of today to be as useful as possible."

Kathryn Wasserman Davis 1907 - 2013 (PDF)

About FRW - additional links

FRW Board
Plant species info
Map
Slidshow - photos

About the RiverWalk Park

  • The formal name is
    "Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park."
  • Created through a public-private partnership of Westchester County, the Village of Tarrytown, Hudson Harbor developer National ReSources and Scenic Hudson.
  • The land is owned by the Village of Tarrytown.
  • Adjacent to Tarrytown's Pierson Park and the Hudson River.
  • A short walk from the Tarrytown Metro North station.
  • Part of a planned 51 mile RiverWalk extending from Yonkers to the Town of Cortland border with Putnam County.
  • Occupies 5.2 acres and features a 0.6 mile riverside esplanade and greenway that includes terraces, lawns, native and naturalized plants.
More about the RiverWalk Park
  • The planted area is about 130,500 square feet (sf) distributed as follows:
    • 55,000 sf of lawn
    • 61,000 sf of meadow
    • 14,000 sf wetland basins and swales:
      • Both filter stormwater
      • Basins retain water to drain level due to bentonite linings, providing wetlands.
  • The project stabilized 3000 linear feet of shoreline with rip-rap or repaired bulkhead.
  • The northern part of the project is located on property previously used for industrial purposes. That area was capped with a minimum of two feet of clean fill as remediation.
  • Planting area types include: wetland, shrub and riverside.
  • Water access is built into the greenway every 100' to accommodate 50' hoses. In the fall of 2017, FRW donated the repair and extension of the irrigation system including additional lines, sprinkler heads and electronic controls to service the north lawns.
  • Five interpretive panels explain the history of the site and the natural and cultural histories and settlement of the Hudson River Valley.
  • The Park was entirely replanted and moderately reconfigured in the summer of 2017.
  • Robert Welsch, former owner of Westover Landscape Design, a Tarrytown resident and board member, has donated the design, plants and labor for the circle on West Main Street.
  • Since 2013, FRW has donated:
    • 2 picnic tables with chairs at the south section of the RiverWalk.
    • 2 ADA accessible picnic tables with game boards along the west RiverWalk.
    • 2 high-top tables with chairs at the Overlook viewing platform.
    • 5 additional dogipot stations.
    • 1 Message Center sign near the east side of the Overlook viewing platform.
    • 1 additional viewscope on the fishing pier honoring Kathryn W. Davis.
    • An outline for a RiverWalk Maintenance and Stewardship Manual.
    • The design and purchase of FRW T-shirts that will be offered for sale during workdays and events to support the Friends of the RiverWalk Tarrytown.
  • Arriving in 2018:
    • Courtesy and botanic signs for planting beds.
Future plans for the RiverWalk and Waterfront
  • The Village will extend the RiverWalk south to include the river's edge adjacent to Losee Park between the parking lots on the north to the boat/kayak ramp on the south. The work should begin the summer of 2018.
  • The Tarrytown Comprehensive Plan, a draft of which was released on June 1, 2018, will bring yet to be defined changes to the station and waterfront area.


Friends of the RiverWalk
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