The elephant in the room (and on the river)Since 2012, the Seastreak has brought visitors to Cold Spring. The Village Board contracted for these trips, partly due to the revenue it contributed to the village’s general fund as “critical village revenues.” Over the past few years, the village board has voted to limit passengers on each boat to 400 and has managed the schedule in an attempt to minimize impact on the village. Nonetheless, there are increasing levels of anxiety over its docking at the village and whether or not village attempts to control crowds by limiting passengers or docking dates are working. Worries have been expressed to the village board during meetings, in letters and comments in The Current, and on social media. Problems have included the boat polluting the air and water; quality of life issues for residents, especially those who live near the river; and passengers adding to visitor overcrowding on weekends. Despite these burgeoning complaints, the Village Board is planning on continuing the Seastreak contract for FY 2024-2025.
Facts• Since Covid, village streets have been overwhelmed (and sometimes overrun) by visitors, even on days when the Seastreak does not dock. There have been weekends where the public facilities cannot keep up, excessive wait times at eating and drinking establishments, and overflowing trash bins. We’ve all seen this, despite the village’s best efforts to manage the crowds, facilities and trash receptacles. • The Seastreak’s carbon footprint is enormous. Even with state-of-the art carbon emissions reduction systems, the multiple diesel-powered engines per boat spew contaminants into the Hudson Valley’s air and into the Hudson River.• To address villagers’ quality-of-live concerns, especially those who live by the river where the Seastreak impedes their views when docked, previous Seastreak contracts have included provisions for docking elsewhere while visitors are in Cold Spring; once the Seastreak drops off its passengers at Cold Spring, it drives to either West Point (if the dock is operational), or as far away as Bear Mountain, to temporarily dock. This adds to its daily carbon footprint.• Cold Spring is among the leaders in New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) clean-energy programs. The village has received grants and equipment, all of which will add to mitigating the village’s carbon footprint. Interestingly, pollution caused by the Seastreak is not included in Cold Spring’s clean-energy program calculations.• Unlike the Fjord Trail construction, the Village Board has complete control over whether or not the Seastreak docks in Cold Spring.
Fiscal Realities• Recent implementation of the residential and Main Street parking programs has added significant additional revenue to Cold Spring’s FY 24-25 budget; in fact, parking meter fees alone are projected to add over $290,000.00 to the village’s coffers. These parking revenues are in addition to property tax, water and sewer increases.• For the FY 24-25 budget, Seastreak revenue to the Village is projected to be $35,000.00, which is less than 1% of the total general fund revenues. The case can no longer be made that Seastreak revenue to the village is “critical revenue.”
Speculation• “People either take the Seastreak or drive to Cold Spring.” There has been neither a study nor data to support the assumption that if the Seastreak does not run to Cold Spring, those who would have taken the Seastreak will drive to Cold Spring anyway.• “The new parking regulations will turn away customers.” It is too early to assess the impact of the parking regulations on Cold Spring businesses; so far, there is only an anecdotal conjecture that the new Main Street parking regulations will drive away visitors in the long term and that the Seastreak will be needed to replace lost business revenue from those visitors who will no longer drive to Cold Spring. • “There are only a few who oppose the Seastreak.” Many who do oppose the Seastreak feel that their opinions have been marginalized or even ignored; others are hesitant to state their opinion for various reasons. Perhaps a survey would be helpful for capturing opinions about the issue.
“There is nothing permanent except change.” – HeraclitusSometimes, progressiveness requires returning to an earlier state, especially in the case of environmentalism, where less can be more. So it goes with the Seastreak. It is apparent that Seastreak revenues are no longer “critical revenues:” certainly the village board can find a 1% savings somewhere in the FY 24-25 budget. This is a small price to pay for cleaner air and water, fewer crowds and the welfare of villagers, whether they be residents living by the water or businesses who are overwhelmed by the additional visitors when the boat docks.
“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” – Albert EinsteinThe Cold Spring Village Board has a unique opportunity to send a courageous and progressive pro-climate message in its fight against “climate collapse,” as well as to set an example for other municipalities. Perhaps most importantly, the board can demonstrate that it is not only listening to, but making decisions on behalf of the broader community.
Be a climate activist! Resist the Seastreak! Let your voice be heard!Let your voice be heard! (always respectfully and appropriately). Even if the Seastreak docking does not affect your quality of life directly, it does for many villagers and as we all know, it “takes a village.”If you oppose the Seastreak, now is the time to let the village leadership know how you feel about the Seastreak docking in Cold Spring. Contact the mayor and trustees and encourage them not to contract in FY 24-25 for Seastreak docking and to Stop the Streak!