State Grant Would Let Sleepy Hollow Study Pier

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. – The pier on the Castle Oil site has been used for decades to transfer oil from ships to land, but an anticipated donation of the pier to Sleepy Hollow means trustees are looking at how it can benefit residents.

Trustees approved a resolution at a recent board meeting to apply for two grants to study the feasibility and design of the pier for public recreation use as a fishing pier and mooring for small watercrafts. The grants could be up to $100,000.

“We know we're going to get the pier anyway, and we know that it's not in condition to really do much,” Sleepy Hollow Mayor Ken Wray said during a recent meeting. “We're going to have to put something in to make it a great asset for the village.”

Both grants, one from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the other from the New York State Department of State, require a 50 percent match from the village if the grant application is approved.

Fiona Hodgson, the village's grant writer, told trustees that the donation of the pier could probably be used as part of the village's matching funds, which would lower costs for the village.

The board's decision to file a grant application comes after Hodgson asked them to consider two grant proposals: the pier and a study of the Pocantico River flooding. Both projects fell under the same grants and required a match. Hodgson did not recommend applying for both because the application was long and the village would be competing against itself.

Trustees also noted that the village's water engineer had examined the flooding issue itself and come up with a possible reason behind it. Some trustees thought the Pocantico River study would make more sense.

“We just dumped a boat load of money into DeVries,” said Tom Capossela, deputy mayor, in reference to DeVries Park.

Others said they felt that although flooding was an issue, the village's water engineer was expert enough.

Trustee Barbara Carr said a study wasn't necessary. “I think that if we have experts close at hand, we should listen to what they have to say,” she said.

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