Sound Shore

The Port Chester Board of Trustees is fielding many questions about the recent collapse of the sea wall along the Byram River behind Costco. Last night, a resident held up this Journal News photo of the wall and  called it an embarrassment to the village.

Then he pitched an idea, as a way to fix Port Chester’s image: Why not include a kayak launch along the rebuilt riverfront? A nice, environmentally-friendly amenity that would attract local kayak clubs and draw customers to nearby stores and restaurants?

Mayor Dennis Pilla responded favorably and said such activities fit in with broader goals for the downtown. The village is contemplating a “waterfront improvement area” where property owners would support repair projects and new amenities.

The mayor passed on another resident’s question about the control and responsibility over the bulkhead: specifically, why Westchester County pays an $840,000-a-year sublease on the property to mall developer G&S. The developer provided the bulkhead as part of the mall. The answers are apparently complex, but as I wrote in a recent story:

Port Chester owns the bulkhead and leases it to G&S, the mall developers, for $1 a year. Westchester County subleases the area as part of a tax-incentive deal, and has paid the developer $840,000 a year under the 20-year lease.

G&S has said the work on the bulkhead was accepted by the village in 2002 and that Port Chester has been responsible for its upkeep.

Retaining walls along Port Chester’s waterfront were built in various stages. To the north of the mall and a rectangular inlet is a steel bulkhead, built by the village in 1994 to replace an old wooden one, village engineer Dolph Rotfeld said. A vinyl wall around the inlet itself was a joint project between the village and G&S, and the portion near Costco was provided by the developer.

Videos of Board of Trustees meetings can be seen on this website.