Rivers center choice praised

By Larry Fisher-Hertz and Rob Seetoo
Poughkeepsie Journal

Beacon and Dutchess County will benefit when the state builds the Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson River south of the city.

That was the reaction Saturday from elected officials, educators, environmentalists and local residents to the news the facility will be built on Dennings Point. Gov. George Pataki is expected in Beacon Monday to officially announce the news.

''I've fished the river at Dennings Point and I can tell you it's the perfect spot for a facility like that," said James Bopp, a Beacon act-ivist involved in environmental projects. "I've seen seals and every kind of fish you can name at that spot.''

Bopp said his only question regarding the site is how adequate parking can be provided.

The research center, which Pataki proposed in 2000, is to be a worldwide hub for research on the Hudson and other rivers and estuaries.

The research center is expected to employ 500 and draw as many as 7,000 visitors each year, according to the governor's plan.

Good fiscal news

Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson, a local environmental group, said he had received no official word Beacon had been chosen as the site for the center. But if those reports are true, Sullivan said, ''then that's terrific news.''

''Beacon would be an ideal location for the project,'' he said. ''And what's exciting is that the project is moving forward in these fiscal times."

Thomas Baldino, a member of the Beacon Sloop Club, agreed.

''Many different communities have been vying for this, so if we have been picked, that's an honor,'' Baldino said. ''This is all about protecting the river and that's one of the things we in Clearwater are all about.''

Erik Kiviat, director of the Red Hook environmental group Hudsonia, said the new center was bound to spur more awareness of the value of the Hudson River and environmental issues in general.

''It's always a good thing if there's a place that excites the lay public about learning more about the river,'' Kiviat said.

He had some concerns about erecting a building on open riverfront. And he said he hoped funding for the center would not drain public money from other environmental groups.

Education possibilities

Carol Salvas, a teacher at Forrestal Elementary School in the Beacon school district, said she planned to find out what educational opportunities the new center might have for her students.

State Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan, whose district includes Beacon, said the rivers center would fit in well with the cultural development along Beacon's waterfront -- Dia:Beacon, a modern art museum, is slated to open in May -- and also with the commercial development on the river's western shore, the restaurants and boutiques of Newburgh.

''It would be a nice marriage,'' said Kirwan, R-Newburgh.

To Beacon Councilman Steve Gold, the project is a coup for the small city.

''It's very positive that the economy has transcended from being a factory city to a center of art, culture and natural resources,'' Gold said. ''The selection of the Denning's Point peninsula is ideal because of its beautiful, natural setting on the Hudson River. And (it's) only one minute from Main Street, Beacon amenities.''

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