The chance to skate on the Tarrytown Lakes is often a fleeting one, and some citizens are eager to get on the ice that's formed fast and furiously with this recent spate of Polar Vortex.
However the window of possibility, for this week at least, is closing as the weekend promises much higher temps and a big melt.
Resident Craig Allan has urged folks to ask the Tarrytown Rec Department to open access to the skating for Thursday and Friday nights, but director Joe Arduino responded that "we don't have the sufficient amount of ice needed at this point."
As with everything, there of course are safety regulations to consider and we haven't met the thickness yet, though Allan isn't sure it's even really been tested.
Bill Dugan expressed more caution on the Tarrytown Lakes Facebook group, saying, "I'll do it when it is safe. Years ago a employee went in with the plow when the ice wasn't strong enough they will not let that happen again."
Last year there were several incidents in late January when the ice lured EF students and they paid a price. Police fined each $100 for the trespass.
Then-Fire Chief Eugene Gasparre said it was more than just a nuisance to authorities who kept coming out to keep folks off the ice but a real danger to all when the ice can easily crack. "It is simple: you go in that cold water, you do not move," said Gasparre. "You drown quickly."
There is however a giant frozen puddle I've been eyeing in the GM lot that looks pretty promising...
Over 100 years ago, the Hudson itself was so frozen that hundreds crossed it from Tarrytown to Nyack and back on foot, soon followed by...horse races.
Should we be able to skate the Lakes?
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