Community Corner

Sleepy Hollow Sees Some Pre-Bridge Action This Week

Turns out Sleepy Hollow has a front row seat to the Tappan Zee Bridge rebuild work sooner than anyone -- even village officials -- expected. 

Or do we?

Earlier this week, this barge and crane appeared in the water off Horan's Landing, as workers seemed to be moving red floating dock pieces around. Perhaps they were just testing out the configuration of their coming dock. 

On Tuesday, Sleepy Hollow building inspector Sean McCarthy ventured out to check out what that barge was up to and said they weren't in any village code violation. 

The Village Administrator was aware that floating docks were being proposed, but the Village had not yet received a permit application for this work.

One Sleepy Hollow resident and her granddaughter were on the village dock wondering why the red dock pieces kept shifting locations. By morning they were lined up in a row, nearly blocking the landing inlet. By afternoon, they were all moved to the other side of the barge. 

Finally, by the end of the day Wednesday, the barge itself had moved along leaving behind some of those red pieces in what seems to be their more permanent spot in front of the former Castle Oil site. This site, slated for development, is now a dirt lot with soil-moving operations going on. 

The dock work is all in preparation for the Hudson Harbor home-base station that will live here in offices and on the water for workers to come and go from to on-water construction sites. 

Bridge spokesperson Brian Conybeare confirmed that the barge and crane are indeed there to build a floating dock. Check back on Patch for further details from him later.

The resident there Wednesday, who wanted to remain unidentified, worried for the chaos to come; she also wondered why Sleepy Hollow hadn't appointed a bridge construction liaison to represent our interests and inform the public the way Tarrytown has with David Aukland.

"There'll be hundreds and hundreds of guys parking their cars here," she said. "My friend and I walk here every morning and it's been so peaceful...up until now. It's progress and historic but we're going to lose our serenity."


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