Hudson River Improvement Fund
In 1985, the Hudson River Foundation received $1.5 million from the State of New York to create the Hudson River Improvement Fund from monies originally paid to the State to settle litigation concerning the out-of-state export of Hudson River water by oil tankers. Through the combined efforts of Hudson River environmental organizations, including Scenic Hudson, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association (now Riverkeeper) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Improvement Fund was created to support projects that promote the enhancement of public use and enjoyment of the natural, scenic and cultural resources of the Hudson River and its shores - with an emphasis on physical projects that require capital construction, development or improvement.
Improvement Fund projects have included:
- PUBLIC ACCESS-- Development or improvement of facilities that increase public physical or visual access to the Hudson River, including but not limited to docks, boats, piers and shorefront access points. The Fund has a special interest in projects that promote accessibility.
- HABITAT -- Repair, restoration or creation of habitat.
- EDUCATION FACILITIES -- Development or improvement (and equipping) of facilities suitable for Hudson River education programs -- such as interpretive centers, marsh boardwalks or waterfront classrooms.
2008 HRIF GRANTS
| Organization | Project | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Rowing Center | To purchase floating docks for the Corning Preserve Public Boat Launch | Albany, NY | $5,000 |
| Arm-of-the-Sea Productions | For materials to produce a new performance piece, "Mutual Strangers: Henry Hudson & the River that Discovered Him" | Malden-on-Hudson | $5,000 |
| Battery Park City Parks Conservancy | For interpretive signage and outreach for the Conservancy's Marine Education Program | Manhattan, NY | $3,500 |
| Beacon Sloop Club | To replace the centerboard trunk of the Woody Guthrie | Beacon, NY | $5,000 |
| Beczak Environmental Education Center | To create a plan for future maintenance and for current upkeep of Beczak's wetland area | Yonkers, NY | $3,000 |
| Building Bridges, Building Boats | To refurbish a donated Whitehall rowboat | Coldspring, NY | $2,000 |
| Children's Museum of Science & Technology | For publication and exhibit costs to develop a new exhibit, "Horseshoes and Waterwheels: New York's Tech Valley in the 1800s" | Troy, NY | $3,000 |
| Hudson River Sloop Clearwater | For repair and maintenance of the Clearwater in connection with its 40/400 Restoration Project | Poughkeepsie, NY | $10,000 |
| CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities | Support for a three-day conference, "Environmental Legacy of the Half Moon and the Sustainability Challenge: Nature & Environment of Metropolitan New York: 1609-2109" | New York, NY | $3,500 |
| Friends of Clermont | For trail restoration and interpretive panels for the Clermont State Historic Site | Germantown, NY | $5,000 |
| Friends of Palisades Interstate Park Commission | To construct a pavilion adjacent to the Bear Mountain State Park boat dock | Bear Mountain, NY | $5,000 |
| Going Coastal, Inc. | To create a Waterfront Information Center in the Erie RR Caboose on Pier 66 Maritime in Manhattan | Manhattan, NY | $4,500 |
| Governors Island Alliance/Regional Plan Association | Toward the development of Estuary discovery programs and exhibits for two Harbor events on Governor's Island in 2009 | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| Historic Hudson Valley | To develop and distribute a newspaper supplement, "Sail and Steam: New York Celebrates Henry Hudson and Robert Fulton," and to produce two lectures at Historic Hudson Valley properties | Tarrytown, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society | To create a curriculum celebrating Hudson River history and ecology, build additional docks, and subsidize transport of 160 students to the Light House | Athens, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson Crossing Park | Funding toward a Native American Quadricentennial/Hudson Crossing Park Festival | Schuylerville, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson Highlands Nature Museum | To create the exhibit: "A Sturgeon Swims Through Time" | Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson Opera House, Inc. | To purchase equipment and supplies, and for lecturer and artist fees for Hudson Opera House's "Hudson River Educational Program: Quadricentennial Activities" | Hudson, NY | $3,000 |
| Hudson River Environmental Society | To convene a symposium and produce an accompanying book examining the effect of recent humans on the environmental history of the Hudson River Valley | Altamont, NY | $3,500 |
| Hudson River Park Trust | For interpretive signs, printed materials and plantings for a Native American Interpretive Path along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Village of Irvington | To underwrite a Native American storyteller, music and crafts, and programs on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater for the Village's Quad July 4th celebration | Irvington, NY | $3,400 |
| City of Kingston | For improvements to the Rondout Lighthouse boat dock | Kingston, NY | $3,845 |
| City of Kingston Parks & Recreation Department | To purchase kayaks, life verst and to produce brochures for the City's guided kayaking tours | Kingston, NY | $5,000 |
| Town of Lloyd | To purchase lab equipment for a new environmental education classroom in Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park | Lloyd, NY | $7,000 |
| Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance | To organize a charrette to design the model "town dock" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Mid-Hudson Children's Museum | To create and install a new exhibit, "River of Life/River of Change" | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| Mid Hudson Rowing Association | Toward the purchase of a four-person rowing shell, presentation of a history program, and overhead costs | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| National Museum of the American Indian | For design and implementation of the educational program series, "Waters That Are Never Still" | Manhattan, NY | $10,000 |
| City of Newburgh | For interpretive signage to describe the Newburgh waterfront during the past 300 years | Newburgh, NY | $3,150 |
| New York/New Jersey Trail Conference | For signage and materials to educate visitors to Georges Island about sensitivity to Bald Eagle roosting sites | Montrose, NY | $5,000 |
| The Olana Partnership | To conduct six classes that present the environmental history of the Hudson River via Hudson River School paintings | Hudson, NY | $3,000 |
| Village of Piermont | For educational signage and kiosks for the interpretive center on the Piermont waterfront | Piermont, NY | $5,000 |
| Rensselaer County Historical Society | To exhibit at the Rensselaer County Historical Society, "Up River: Man-Made Sites of Interest on the Hudson from the Battery to Troy" | Troy, NY | $2,000 |
| Riverkeeper | To upgrade the fuel tank and steering system on the Riverkeeper's research vessel | Tarrytown, NY | $8,500 |
| The River Project | To create a mobile exhibit, "Oysters Then and Now" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Rocking the Boat | To continue the reenactment program at Phillipsburg Manor and complete a tender for the Onrust replica | Bronx, NY | $8,000 |
| Rogers Island Heritage Development Alliance | For advertising and performers' stipends for a one day celebration of Quadricentennial themes | Fort Edward, NY | $3,671 |
| Scenic Hudson, Inc. | For interpretive signage, extension of a walkway, and renovation of the Esopus Meadows Environmental Center | Ulster Park, NY | $5,000 |
| Shorewalkers | For printing and distribution of rack cards to promote the Batt-to-Bear Trail | New York, NY | $2,500 |
| South Street Seaport Museum | To develop Quadricentennial themed education materials and to support teachers' half-day sails aboard the Pioneer | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| SS Columbia Project | Toward the first phase in the restoration of the passenger steamer, SS Columbia | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| Transart & Cultural Services | To expand the touring exhibit, "Somebody's Calling My Name" highlighting contributions of African Americans to the Hudson Valley | West Park, NY | $5,000 |
| Tug Pegasus Preservation Project | Funding toward the "Tug & Barge Tour" 2009 along the Hudson River | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| County of Ulster | For signage for the ADA trail and for trail and storage improvements at Ulster Landing Park | Saugerties, NY | $2,500 |
| Waterfront Museum | Funding to allow the Waterfront Museum to tour and make performance stops at cities from Yonkers to Kingston in celebration of the Quadricentennial | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 |
| Young-Morse Historic Site | To purchase trail markers and benches for the trails at Locust Grove | Poughkeepsie. NY | $5,000 |
2009 Grants
| Organization | Project | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Park City Parks Conservancy | For speakers' and performers' stipends and advertizing for Quadricentennial related programs in Battery Park City Park along the Hudson River | Manhattan, NY | $4,500 |
| Beacon Sloop Club | To replace the centerboard trunk of the Ferry Sloop Woody Guthrie | Beacon, NY | $6,000 |
| Beczak Environmental Education Center | For pre-development of an outdoor interactive classroom on the Beczak Center property | Yonkers, NY | $5,000 |
| Children's Museum of Science & Technology | To create a walkway from the Kline Plantasies Killitie trail to the DeFreest house and barn | Troy, NY | $2,500 |
| Children's Media Project | Toward the development of "Walking History," an interactive hand-held game focusing on the Poughkeepsie waterfront district | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| Hudson River Sloop Clearwater | To update and reprint the "Clearwater Hudson River Guide to Fishes" | Poughkeepsie, NY | $5,000 |
| Columbia Land Conservancy | To complete the trailhead and connection between the Greenport Town Park and the Greenport Conservation Area | Greenport, NY | $4,000 |
| Earth Celebrations | To provide partial funding to produce a Quadricentennial commemorative "Hudson River Pageant: Art & Ecology Project" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Going Coastal, Inc. | To create a Wiki type web site that would allow contributors to post information on all aspects of the Hudson River | Manhattan, NY | $1,000 |
| Governors Island Alliance/RPA | To assist in funding the "Yankee Pier" dedication and celebration on Governors Island | Manhattan, NY | $4,000 |
| Groundwork Hudson Valley | For classroom amenities, signage and equipment for the Science Barge docked in Yonkers | Yonkers, NY | $3,000 |
| Historic Hudson Valley | To complete production and distribution of the educational supplement, "The Hudson-Fulton Celebration: New York's River Festival of 1909 and the Making of a Metropolis" | Tarrytown, NY | $2,500 |
| Hudson Highlands Nature Museum | To produce a series of eight Quadricentennial focused programs: six for the general public and two education programs offered to school groups at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum | Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY | $3,000 |
| Hudson Highlands Land Trust | To replace the lighting along the waterfront in the Village of Cold Spring | Cold Spring, NY | $2,000 |
| Hudson River Park Trust | To create and install a replica Native American dugout canoe exhibit at the northern point (14th St) of the Hudson River Park's Native American plant trail | Manhattan, NY | $4,000 |
| Hudson River Community Sailing | To purchase safety equipment to be used during Hudson River Community Sailing's programs | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Town of Lloyd | For a new roof for the Environmental Education Center at Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park | Lloyd, NY | $5,000 |
| Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance | For site selection and planning costs in connection with dock site location studies for proposed town docks in New York City | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| Mid-Hudson Children's Museum | To construct a peregrine falcon monitoring station as part of the Museum's "River of Life River of Change" exhibit | Poughkeepsie, NY | $3,500 |
| National Museum of the American Indian | To produce a three day public education initiative, "One River-Many Journeys" to serve as a companion to the permanent exhibit "Infinity of Nations" | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Newburgh Rowing Club | To provide free after school and summer environmental education and rowing programs to young people and adults, for youth leader training and materials | Newburgh, NY | $3,000 |
| The New York Public Library | For programming geared towards young adults related to the exhibit "Mapping New York's Shoreline from 1609 to 2009," to be presented at libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| New York Harbor School | To construct an Eco Dock for use on Governor's Island, the new home of the New York Harbor School | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| New York/New Jersey Baykeeper | For oysters and equipment to expand the Baykeeper's Oyster Gardening program in New York City | New York, NY | $3,000 |
| Palisades Interstate Park Commission | For two interpretive signs to be placed along the New Jersey section of the Palisades Interstate Park | Alpine, NJ | $3,000 |
| Rensselaer County | For amenities, interpretive signage, trail maps and improvments to the parking lot at the Papscanee Island Nature Preserve | East Greenbush, NY | $5,000 |
| Riverkeeper, Inc. | To replace the fuel tank on the Riverkeeper's vessel | Tarrytown, NY | $5,000 |
| Rocking the Boat | To purchase equipment to outfit Rocking the Boat's On-Water Job Skills Classroom/Laboratory | Bronx, NY | $5,000 |
| Save Our Ships New York | To repair the heat exchangers on the historic fireboat John J. Harvey | Manhattan, NY | $4,500 |
| South Street Seaport Museum | To purchase an AC electric generator for the Pioneer, needed for refrigeration and hot water and for science lab equipment | Manhattan, NY | $5,000 |
| Tug Pegasus Preservation Project | For engine room work to prepare the Tug Pegasus for the "Tug and Barge Tour 2009" | New York, NY | $8,000 |
| Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy | For operating expenses, outreach, and supplies for the EnviroMedia Mobile | New York, NY | $5,000 |
| Walkway Over the Hudson | For bike racks for the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge | Poughkeepsie, NY | $2,000 |
| Waterford Maritime Historical Society | For repairs to the Tug Chancellor to allow it to take part in the "Working on Water" historic vessel tour | Waterford, NY | $2,000 |
| Waterfront Museum | For repairs to the Waterfront Museum's Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 |
| Wave Hill | To produce a companion catalogue for the exhibition, "The Muhheakantuck in Focus" | Bronx, NY | $5,000 |
