While many people regularly drive down the twisting Saw Mill River Parkway, few have seen the waterway after which it is named. For decades this tributary to the Hudson River was neglected, strewn with trash, and had sections covered with concrete. Today, the riverway is coming back as a result of joint community action.
For several years, The New York Community Trust – Westchester provided grants to Groundwork Hudson Valley to build community-based stewardship of the Saw Mill River and its watershed. In 2001, the organization created the Saw Mill River Coalition—which included municipalities, community groups, and environmental organizations—to work together to restore and protect the river corridor. A significant early Coalition victory “daylighted” the river in Yonkers, persuading the city to remove a parking lot that had covered the river since the 1920s. The city completed daylighting at two additional sections of the river in downtown Yonkers and is currently making plans for one more.
Groundwork has been advising municipalities on an action plan to improve the health of the river and its ability to absorb stormwater after heavy storms, such as the intense flooding after Hurricane Ida. It helped Yonkers develop its stormwater management next to municipal housing sites and collaborated with the city engineer on a flood-control berm to protect the riverbank and recent native-species plantings. It also advised Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, and Mount Pleasant on their river action plans.
Groundwork is strengthening local stewardship groups—including emerging ones in Pleasantville and Thornwood—to advocate for the watershed and conduct invasive-plant and riverbank cleanups that have cleared away everything from fast-food wrappers to an old bathtub.
“Because restoring a river and its watershed is a long-term project, there needs to be consistent funding over the years and sustained community stewardship,” said Tara Seeley, the Foundation’s senior program officer. “Groundwork has helped all of our communities work together to restore aquatic habitat and elevate the visibility of the river as an urban and suburban amenity.”
