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Audio Feature: Hudson River stories

Oct 07, 2017 8:34 am
Here are some stories from the Hudson River this week. Click here to hear an audio version of this report. (4:52)

The Stevens Institute reports temperatures this week in the Hudson River at Schodack Island have been between 68 and 72 degrees.

Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union that the BASF Corp. will begin cleaning dangerous chemicals out of the Hudson River this fall. The company will begin a $41 million dredging project near a former Rensselaer dye factory installing a steel bulkhead to strengthen a seawall near Riverside Avenue. They will remove PCBs, volatile organics, and toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper, mercury, zinc, and arsenic, that got into the river from production sewer and storm water discharge pipes. The former factory, closed in 2000 and torn down in 2010, was not responsible for the PCBs, which flowed downstream from other sites. But PCB levels in the river in this part of Rensselaer County have been measured at up to 270 parts per million, well above the safety standard of 1 part per million. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

CurbedNY reports that the Whitney Museum revealed a rendering for its proposed public art installation on the Hudson River. Artist David Hammons designed the installation titled "Day’s End," that would sit on south edge of Gansevoort Peninsula, directly across from the museum, a tribute to Pier 52 which was once on the site. “We think 'Day’s End' is an inspiring idea that celebrates the history of the Hudson River waterfront,” said Hudson River Park President and CEO Madelyn Wils. “We look forward to hearing the community’s thoughts, and, should the project move forward, to working with the Whitney to make this a vibrant addition to Hudson River Park.”

Paul Kirby is reporting in the Daily Freeman Bard College officials are considering what the college can do to help bring the floating concert hall Point Counterpoint II to Kingston. Bard hopes to persuade some of its institutional contacts to aid in the effort to make the Kingston waterfront the concert barge's new permanent home, according to a college representative. Bard is a member of a group seeking funds to buy the Point Counterpoint II from its owner, Robert Bourdeau. The group is led by composer Peter Wetzler, a Kingston resident. Wetzler said last month the barge will not be able to come to Kingston this year once winter sets in. The Point Counterpoint II is 195 feet long and opens like a clamshell to reveal a concert stage, with an estimated price tag of $4 million. Wetzler has said if funding can be found soon, the barge could be brought to dock at the Hudson River Maritime Museum along the Rondout Creek in Kingston. There, Wetzler said, the heated barge could be open for events such as art exhibits even during the winter months. Note: Wetzler is a former WGXC programmer. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Eric Anderson is reporting in the Times Union the Port of Albany looking to add 110 acres on the Rensselaer County side of the Hudson River to its existing port operations. The decision to pursue the purchase was made after a plan to acquire an 80-acre parcel in the town of Bethlehem, on the Albany County side of the river, fell through. Port officials have been working on expansion plans since at least 2010, Richard Hendrick, the port's general manager, said. The property on the Rensselaer County side being considered lies in the Town of East Greenbush, immediately south of the nearly dormant Gold Bond/National Gypsum property, and close to rail lines and highways. "We'd welcome the expansion" of the port, said Robert Pasinella, the county's economic development director. Read the full story in the Times Union.
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