Vandals Damage RiverWalk Lights

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A Hudson Harbor resident walking the Tarrytown RiverWalk around Pierson Park was saddened by his discovery Tuesday morning of multiple vandalized lights along the southernmost end of the path.

Add to this some bulbs on the northern end near Castle Oil that he noticed have been out for about a year, and there's some pretty dark spots now beginning and ending the span.

Michael Bierut promptly wrote a letter to the Recreation Department and the Chief of Police, describing his findings: four of the bollard lights at the south end of the Riverwalk (facing the marina) had their tops knocked off, the bulbs broken, and the electrical assemblies damaged.

Bierut had replaced the tops so the damage may not be evident by day, but “at dusk it will be clear which lights are broken.”

He also noted the other dead bulbs, which he figured had gone unnoticed so long since maintenance crews aren't out after dusk. “Two are tall poles at the north corner of the Riverwalk (nearest to the Castle Oil dock), and two others are on low bollards near the fishing dock at the Riverwalk’s opposite end. This means that eight lights are out in total.”

'Bollard' lights are lights are on short vertical posts.

This prompted Patch to ask who maintains these lights, is there a police presence at night on the RiverWalk, and what exactly are the rules of the park after dark to begin with?

Officially, the RiverWalk, as all parks across the Villages, are closed at dusk. But the RiverWalk is – except for these dark spots now – gorgeously illuminated by night and very attractive to night strollers. Unofficially, it seems no one will take issue with folks walking along normally, but police will move along loiterers and announce the park is closed.

Jim Hart, Deputy Village Administrator, said there is a police presence there at night and that they do move people along after dark.

As far as vandalism to the RiverWalk, this was the first incident the recreation department's Ralph Nicoletti had seen. He and Hart were out at the site examining the broken lights with the police as Hart and I spoke on the phone. They were in the process of filing a police report.

Nicoletti wasn't aware that there were other bulbs out on the north end of the walk, but said they get replaced by an outside contractor and that the rec department would be the one to tell them.

“The Riverwalk is a wonderful resource for our community. It sends a bad signal about health and safety to have it in disrepair," wrote Bierut. "I assume there are procedures in place for its maintenance, and I hope the Village can attend to this immediately."