Imagine . . .

Six months ago, at the dedication of Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, Mayor Richard Scalera shared a vision for the future of the park and Hudson's waterfront. The dedication was the kickoff to the Namesake Celebration, Hudson's Quadricentennial festival, and the replica Half Moon was docked on our shore. For everyone who wasn't there on that occasion, here's an excerpt from the text of that speech:

As I said earlier, the river is not just our heritage but also our future. Quite literally so in terms of the improvements this riverfront has witnessed in just the past five years, and, most excitingly, in terms of the community-planned development that will follow in the next five years, and beyond. While reminding us of the past, this great Quadricentennial can give us glimpses into the future and point to creative new windows of opportunity. For instance, just imagine that instead of being here for only a few days, the Half Moon had good reason to spend more time here--coming and going, as if from a home port. Imagine one of the slips on the Henry Hudson Park grounds being reengineered to comfortably accommodate historic vessels like the Half Moon. Imagine the old brick warehouse building there, just across Water Street, as the Henry Hudson Maritime Museum, a perfect land-based complement to the floating museum that is the Half Moon. And, finally, imagine what something like this could mean for Hudson and its waterfront: a powerful new magnet for tourism, education, recreation, investment, commerce and quality-of-life. Just an idea, born of the river . . . that always has been and always will be a key to our future.

Photo by John Cody