Photo Credit: Mandy Huang
Croton Point Mound
Today, Croton Point Park is one of the most diverse and thriving wildlife centers in the Tristate Area—it is the second most active birding hotspot in the county, and it fosters 504 acres of land available to the public for wildlife observation, hiking, and waterfront recreation. However, the peninsula on which the park is situated has not always been so wildlife-friendly.
From 1927 to 1986, the area of the point that once fostered a marshland was converted into a landfill that, at the time of its closing, contained an estimated 280.8 million cubic feet of garbage. The landfill took up approximately 113 acres of land, and was made to service the waste disposal of Westchester County.
Credit: U.S. National Archives, Flickr
Seagulls Scavenge at Croton Landfill Operation along the Hudson River 08/1973
However, once it became apparent that the runoff from the dump was harming both local citizens and wildlife, it was clear that action had to be taken. According to the 1993 Record of Decision to rehabilitate Croton Point, “actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from this site, if not addressed…present a current or potential threat to public health, welfare, and the environment.”
Credit: U.S. National Archives, Flickr
Dump Trucks, Earthmovers and Seagulls at the Croton Landfill Operation 08/1973
Action from citizens also helped to facilitate the rehabilitation of the Point. For instance, in 1987 a local environmentalist named John Cronin sued the county to stop pollutants from the landfill from draining into the Hudson river, nearby private properties, and the western part of the peninsula, which was still being operated as a public park at the time. Cronin would later spearhead the efforts to convert the landfill, along with famed folk singer and political reformer Pete Seeger.
Credit: Wikipedia and Chronogram
Pete Seeger (left) and John Cronin (right), two important figures in the action to restore the park
In order to successfully recover the wildlife haven Croton Point once fostered, the Croton, Westchester, and New York governments were all tasked with a monumental effort. Under funding from the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act, $40 million ($25 million from the state and $15 million from the county) were allocated to the three-year project to see the Croton Point landfill capped and restored. To do this, officials needed to contain and convert the massive amounts of polluting agents that the park emitted on a daily basis. The capping system involved layers of plastic, fabric, and soil that were constructed such that rainwater couldn’t seep through the soil and spread polluted drainage, known as leachate, into the Hudson and other areas of the point. The cap system also contained more than a hundred wells, made to collect the nearly 7.5 million gallons of gas that the garbage emits each day. The collected gas was then used to power lights and other facilities used by the park. In total, the capping system required nearly 5 million square feet of plastic liner, 9 million square feet of geotextile fabric, 5.5 miles of piping, and 8.75 million cubic feet of soil and fill.
Credit: Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable
An example of a capping system used to contain contaminated soil
As construction began in 1992, the public park on the west side of the peninsula was closed; the park re-opened after the completion of the capping project in 1995. The newly restored land was incorporated into the park as well, expanding its area by nearly 30%.
By the end of the restoration, an impressive green mound now stood on the terrain that once contained a flat plain of trash. Nearly five tons of seeds were used to cover the hill in wildlife-friendly vegetation—native wildflowers were planted in designated areas to attract rare butterflies, and rye, corn, and broccoli were planted for local birds. As local avian populations were one of the main focuses of the restoration projects, the park today is one of the most-visited birding sites in the Hudson Valley. In the summer, the park is home to many native birds such as the Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark, and in the winter birdwatchers flock to the former-landfill to see Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, and many other species; some winter birders are even lucky enough to see the Common Redpoll and (even more rarely) the Hoary Redpoll—both of which are remarkable species to see in Westchester County. The species that I have seen while visiting Croton Point Park are listed here.
Credit: Karolyn Lamb
A Hoary Redpoll at Croton Point Park—it was spotted on January 20, 2021, and had not been seen in Westchester County since 1978
As the capping project and Croton Point was such a resounding success for the village, the government, and environmentalists alike, it has been used as a blueprint for similar projects elsewhere in New York. Most notably, the world’s largest garbage dump, the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, was closed in 2001, and a capping project began in 2007. It was completed in 2011 and it converted the landfill into a 233-acre park that fosters thriving wildlife.
For Croton-on-Hudson and the rest of Westchester County, the green hill at the center of Croton Point serves as a monument commemorating one of the most successful environmental projects in recent history. It gives hope to future generations that collective, productive action from citizens, corporations, and governments can help to slow the ongoing climate crisis and preserve the natural environments and biodiversity that are so vital to life on earth.
See the Restoration of Croton Point Park, Told with Aerial Photographs here: https://www.cleanwestchester.org/articles/crotonpointaerialphotos
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croton_Point_Park#cite_ref-1
https://www.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/360001/ROD.HW.360001.1993-03-01.croton_point.pdf
https://www.waste360.com/mag/waste_new_york_county
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/nyregion/hill-of-flowers-sprouts-above-toxic-landfill.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3952619167/in/photostream/
https://frtr.gov/matrix/Landfill-and-Soil-Capping/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/nyregion/freshkills-garbage-dump-nyc.html
https://lavenderlilacdream.blogspot.com/2013/09/wandering-tales-croton-point-park.html