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CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. The bulkhead that surrounds the Croton Yacht Club has reached the end of its life, according to Croton officials. The 50-year-old structure protects the property, which juts into the Hudson River, from erosion. Replacing the bulkhead is estimated to cost about $3.3 million in total, village officials said.
The village may have to issue a bond for the money, said Abraham Zambrano, village manager, about the nonprofit yacht club, which was built on a piece of village property. The specter of raising money prompted a prolonged discussion at the board of trustees work session on Tuesday night about ways to raise revenue from the property. The discussion included a suggestion to add a restaurant to the property.
The restaurant came as a suggestion after Trustee Greg Schmidt said the village needed to generate more income down there. Schmidt added that theres no more land in Croton. The village has applied for a $1 million federal grant to help rebuild the infrastructure, located between Senasqua Park and Croton Landing.
According to Schmidt, while Croton theoretically has as good a chance at getting the $1 million federal grant as any other municipality, he said, Hurricane Irene did a lot of damage to yacht clubs and theyre all going to be looking for this.
Although original designs for the club requested the building have two stories, they were denied because it would interrupt views of the Hudson River from Brook Street. The point essentially became moot after the monolithic walking bridge over Route 9 blocked those same views from Brook Street.
Nonetheless, trustees acknowledged a restaurant would encounter several problems, the biggest being the groundwork for the current building may not allow for a second story to be built. Other troubles could arise from liquor licenses, parking and crane operations.
The life of the bulkhead, when replaced, would likely be another 50 years, the board said. The only impediment to that life span are stray currents coming from the MTA Metro-North train lines, which promote metal erosion, and can significantly lessen the life of a bulkhead.
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