Public Spaces Initiative June Board Update
Mission To develop and facilitate the creation of public park, art, and community spaces throughout the Village of Red Hook
Public Meetings are held the 4th Saturday of each month at 10 am, in person at the Village Hall unless otherwise noted (email the PSI chair Ash Bradley‐Rickard for the meeting location). The fifth meeting of the year was held at 10am on Saturday May 25[th] at Village Hall.
Key Topics
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Seed Library : The seed library is currently hosted at the Red Hook Community Center
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Work is underway with the Community Center leadership to relocate the library from the
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Concurrent with the planned move will be a redesign of the library as well as installing new signage which will be donated by a local artist
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Ideally the move will be completed by the June 15[th] “Hello Blooms” event at the RHCC
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Abraham’s Park : As part of the ongoing redesign visioning, work is underway to produce a survey that will capture public input from Village residents and other park users
- The PSI has reached out to Bard College to initiate conversations on a possible collaboration for a studio art program outdoor exhibit
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Events
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Apple Blossom Day, May 11 and Historic Red Hook “Then & Now” event, June 1[st] at the Elmendorph Inn: PSI members tabled at both events which were well attended and many visitors stopped by to learn about the PSI, its mission and activities
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Hello Blooms, June 15[th] , 11:30am – 2:30pm will be held in partnership with RHCC. Activities will include a give‐away of donated plants, informational tables, crafts for kids, music, and tours of the Community Center pollinator garden and seed library. Activities will be outdoors, weather permitting, or inside the Community Center in the event of rain. This event helps promote the health, safety, and welfare of the Village residents by raising awareness of the many benefits of pollinator plantings. In addition, the Climate Smart Community task force will be present to share information about this important Village initiative.
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Oct 19[th] – Pumpkins in the Park Event
Planning Update
The firm of Nelson Pope and Voorhis (NPV) was hired to support the Village in addressing zoning for the Village Gateway (Cookingham East) project zoning that encourages and supports development while adhering to the overall character of the Village. On May 23[rd] the Village Board held a special workshop meeting attended by Bonnie Franson of NPV and several members of the community to review an initial draft report. The report has been made available to the public and community comments are encouraged. There will be additional forums including a public hearing to capture vital community input. RUPCO, the presumed developer of the Gateway project, recently received notice from New York State that they were awarded a nearly $3.5 million Momentum Fund grant to support infrastructure on the site.