City of Hudson Site Visit

On August 17, 2022 FRN members old and new gathered in the Gallery building of Basilica Hudson in Hudson, NY for the first in-person meeting and site visit since 2020. As a new member of FRN, the City of Hudson was able to showcase 1) the progress being made along their waterfront in Advancing Climate-adaptive Designs (Phase II), and 2) how they’ve been utilizing and strengthening the community’s connection with the waterfront through their summer Waterfront Wednesday events. Before the afternoon site visit, attendees gathered to have lunch, network, and participate in a strategic roadmap exercise, and learn about new opportunities for Climate Smart Communities technical assistance.

• Communities represented: Kingston, Ossining, Saugerties, Poughkeepsie, Rensselaer, Germantown, Hudson, and Rockland County

• Partner groups: Scenic Hudson, NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program, Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Hudson Valley Regional Council, Capital District Regional Planning Council, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell University

• Key themes from cross-community conversations:

  • Wastewater treatment plant and other infrastructure risk - including the long process of implementing upgrades and the need to fortify when unable to relocate.

  • The importance of education and keeping people engaged.

  • Jurisdictional issues.

  • The value of networking!

• Value people gained from attending (from evaluations & discussions):

  • Networking and sharing successful initatives

  • Learned about a new tenant right-to-know law passed in Westchester for rentals in the floodplain

  • Learned about the new HR Invasive Species Task Force

  • Learned about Hudson’s new design for adapting their waterfront (CaD Phase

  • Requests for future programming: wastewater treatment, sustainable shorelines, more case studies about how other communities are approaching climate resilience, funding opportunities, intermunicipal efforts, and more time for networking

• Requests for future programming:

  • wastewater treatment

  • sustainable shorelines

  • more case studies about how other communities are approaching climate resilience

  • funding opportunities

  • intermunicipal efforts

  • more time for networking!

This program is sponsored by the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program and the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University, and funded by the NYS Environmental Protection Fund.

Hudson Valley Flood Resilience Network programs are open to Members and Partners. Members are representatives from municipal and county governments in the Hudson River estuary watershed. This includes elected and appointed officials, staff, and volunteers. Partners are staff from agencies, regional organizations, or private-sector consulting firms working in the Hudson River estuary watershed that support Members’ flood resilience goals.

To join the Network and gain access to the upcoming programs, visit https://www.hvfloodresiliencenetwork.org/join and complete the Member or Partner form based on your role. The Network is free to join.