Section: Croton-on-Hudson All Politics Aside
January 28, 2008
This Just In...
Crotonblog has just received the following words of praise from Bill Burton, Westchester County Legislator representing District 9. His unsolicited blurb is reprinted here with his permission:
I am mesmerized by the articles on zoning in Croton written by “businessperson.” I intend to copy them into a paper format for reading and annotating.
You really ought to congratulate yourself for getting the sort of person who will spend the time writing this material. He or she really knows the issue and can write very clearly.
All best, Bill Burton
Editorials from “Businessperson”:
- “The Historical Roots of Croton’s Planning Problems,” January 17, 2008
- “Trouble in Paradise: Croton’s Rocky Romance with the Automobile,” January 18, 2008
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September 9, 2006
Why Crabs Never Leave Croton on Hudson...
What crawls on six legs; has two paddles but no canoe; and has the ability to make a lasting “impression” on residents? You knew all along—the blue claw crab!
Officially the blue crab is Callinectes sapidus Rathburn (Callinectes from the Greek for “Beautiful Swimmer”, Sapidus from the Latin for tasty, Rathburn for the late Dr. Mary J. Rathburn of the Smithsonian Institution who first named the species).
Croton River Tide Runner: A healthy male blue crab waves at us.
Each year in late spring and summer, blue claw crabs in this area of the Hudson River enter the Croton estuary to mate, spawn and ambush small minnows among the eel grass and milfoil which affords protection from predators. The Croton’s abundance of reeds and grasses and lightly saline water offers the ideal habitat for Blue Claw Crabs.
Male versus Female: Whose side are you on? Females reach maturity at two years old with their last molt, males slightly earlier, which may occur anytime between early summer and late fall. About two days before the female sheds her shell for the last time, a male invariably finds her. Facing each other, the male raises himself on his walking legs to his full height; fully out stretched arms waving; with his rear paddles vertically extended. She will feint left and right and back and forth and up and down, waving red-tipped claws. After this brief courtship ends he will grasp the female with his walking legs face forward and gently carry her waiting the day or two for her to exit her shell.
Immature female crab belly with the triangular “German helmet” marks emerging.
Upon backing out of her shell in a well protected shady portion of the Croton River for the last time, the female will mate with the male. With the female now very soft and vulnerable to predators, our male friend will stand guard over her with out-stretched legs at his full height, forming a fence, protecting her for at least two days until her shell hardens. The females’ apron now resembles what the locals call a German Helmet or a half circle with a point on the top. It is easy to tell male from female. Males have only blue claws. Females have red tipped claws. Males have an inverted T on their belly (see photo below) versus the half circle or wide triangle on mature and immature females. Grasping crabs by one of the rear paddles prevents a painful pinch, as the crabs arms will not reach your fingers. The rear swimming paddles propel the crab at surprisingly high speed when required; forward, backward, left, right,up,down.
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August 31, 2006
Tides, Wakes and Buoys in Croton River
The Village has marked “SLOW—NO WAKE ZONE” for the portion of the Croton River that navigable and influenced by Hudson River tides. This section of the river is indicated on the attached aerial map below.
Four new “no wake zone” floats have been installed by that the Croton Police Department’s dive team at four locations in the Croton River in response to resident complaints of speeding jet skis and motor boats on the river. The locations are;
- Just north of the Rt.9 “Crossining” bridge.
- Across from the Van Cortlandt Manor dock.
- The south end of Paradise Island.
- The north end of Paradise Island.
The benefits of a speed restriction include protection of the shoreline from wake erosion, safety of kayakers, canoeists and swimmers, reducing disturbance to neighbors and wildlife, and limiting damage to submerged underwater vegetation.
For ease of installation and removal, Village Police Department members mixed concrete at home in five gallon containers instead of using the usual 125 pound mushroom anchors for the No Wake Zone buoys.
At a well-attended open meeting about the Croton River on August 29, residents praised the calming effect of the new Croton Police Boat in bringing about more responsible behavior on the river in July and August.
What is a No Wake Zone?
“Nationwide, any vessel operating in a speed zone posted as “Idle Speed - No Wake” must operate at the minimum speed that allows you to maintain steering and make headway. (This means no wake whatsoever. Possibly 600-900 RPMs depending on your boat).” (Source)
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August 13, 2006
Preserving the Croton River Gorge: A Flashback and Look Ahead
“In a world where more is being wrecked than saved, we can at least locally reverse the trend, to the benefit of the river, ourselves, and those who follow after.” — Robert Boyle
Imagine a Republican president advocating bold new environmental legislation to protect thousands of square miles of wetlands, forests, estuaries, and prairies.
(Click to enlarge picture…)
Imagine a bi-partisan Congress voting in favor of landmark new standards for cleaner air and water. Imagine a nationwide laboratory of local environmental initiatives that build on this momentum from the grass roots to the corridors of power. Imagine an energy crisis unfolding with spiraling oil prices amidst unrest in the Middle East.
Everything described above did happen…in 1972. Richard Nixon was president. The nation suffered a severe energy shortfall with cars lined up around the block for rations of gasoline, while the Mideast oil powers exercised the power of their near monopoly on ‘black gold.’
Meanwhile, the first Earth Days were held amidst the student activism fueled by protests over Vietnam War. The Congress passed and Nixon signed into law the landmark bills that created the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
Back here in New York, Hudson River fisherman banded together to defeat the Storm King proposal that would have leveled that mountaintop for the sake of a few kilowatts of surplus electricity. And here in Croton, a handful of river lovers prepared a plan to preserve the Croton River.
In Croton in 1972, Bob Boyle typed the simple words that open this letter in his Foreword to a report with a long, but simple title, “Use and Preservation Study for the Lower Croton River.” That year, the five villages and towns, led by Croton, announced “The Croton River Compact.”
This plan called for cooperation among the five villages and towns who share the Croton River from the Cornell Dam to the Hudson River: the Towns of Cortlandt, Yorktown, New Castle, and Ossining and the incorporated Villages of Croton-on-Hudson and Ossining.
(Click to enlarge picture…)
The 1972 Croton River Compact was a response to an environmental disaster. During the 1960’s property owners in the Black Rock section of the river operated a dredging operation that removed sand and gravel aggregates from the riverbed. Up to 100 feet deep, these deposits were trucked to various locations for sale as roadbed and paving materials. During this operation fine silt from the deposits were released down stream in huge quantities, suffocating trout and other fish along with other aquatic life that these fish depend on for survival.
Though only three and one half miles long from the Dam to bay and estuary on the Hudson, the Croton River gorge contains two entirely distinct ecosystems. For about two and one half miles—in the “upper Croton River”—freshwater flows downriver from the Croton Dam over and around immense boulders, through placid pools, under the oldest steel bridge in Westchester County.
The river tumbles down runs past Firemen’s Island to meet brackish Hudson inflows that reach about one mile upstream from the railroad trestle bridge across the its mouth. Mayo’s Landing and Paradise Island lie within this upper reaches of this tide influenced section. The brackish inflows—in the “lower Croton River”—intrude every twelve hours on an incoming tide. This tidal action supports a thriving spawning and nursery area for Atlantic Ocean ocean-run species in this broad part of the river. Striped bass, shad, and herring all thrive along the gravel-strewn streambed today. This brackish water is its “chicken broth” that nurtures all the tiny flora and fauna at the bottom of the estuary’s food chain.
(Click to enlarge picture…)
New York State, Westchester County and some of the surrounding municipalities have taken proactive steps to protecting this resource. These steps have included the state’s designation of a Croton Gorge Unique Area, the securing from New York City of a constant water flow over Croton Dam to maintain a minimum water level in the river and Croton’s designation of some of the Village’s land along the river as parkland, thus avoiding development or another dredging operation.
Initiated by Croton residents including Robert Boyle and Joel Gingold, among others, the original Compact included numerous specific recommendations. Yet, thirty-five years after the landmark year of 1972, most of the original Compact’s recommendations remain unimplemented: inventories of land owners and land use policies, a multi-use facility for Mayo’s Landing and Paradise Island, a concerted effort to obtain conservation easements along the gorge’s shoreline, a public access point on the Ossining side between Paradise Island and the Route 9 bridge.
A few of the Compact’s suggestions have come to pass. Principally, a steady flow of water over the Dam now ensures a measure of shelter and food for the aquatic insects and fish and birds the prey on them. Public hiking trails have been established on both sides of the river gorge. Croton’s Silver Lake beach has been steadily improved for swimming. And, as of this past month, regular police boat presence has reinforced positive behavior by river users.
With the ever increasing pressure for development that stems from the rising value of properties in the Croton watershed, a new compact agreement between municipalities along the Croton River to enact coherent and mutually consistent regulations for its protection is now long overdue.
— Ann Gallelli, Charlie Kane, Leo Wiegman
Trustees, Village of Croton-on-Hudson
P.S. Can anyone enlighten us on how Croton’s municipal swimming beach on the river, “Silver Lake,” got its name?
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