Bringing River Hook To Life

UPPER NYACK, NY — One of the new opportunities surfacing in the post-pandemic summer of 2021 is the chance to enjoy and explore River Hook, the Hester Haring Cason Preserve.

One way you can do that is by signing up for Tuesday's 7 p.m. video presentation about River Hook’s new apiary, followed by a Q&A with the beekeeper-in-residence, Nat Wasserstein.

It was in early 2020 that volunteers with a vision formed the Friends of River Hook to support the 12-acre parcel bought by the village of Upper Nyack as a public preserve.

"Imagine scenic paths winding through meadows and woods; past natural play areas and outdoor sculptures. Imagine repurposing the buildings into gallery spaces, or places to make, learn or gather," they said.

Then the coronavirus shutdown hit.

"What was surprising is that we were able to make a tremendous amount of progress even during the pandemic by having our meetings on zoom and having socially distanced volunteer opportunities," Karen Tarapata, mayor of Upper Nyack and a founding board member of Friends of River Hook, told Patch. "There was always plenty of clean-up and plenty of work to do that was safe."

The primary reason village officials had decided to buy the land, she said, was that the village didn't have a gathering spot. "We needed a central point."

The pandemic even helped. "Everything shut down and everybody was walking. River Hook became a good way to change up your walk — now you could do a figure eight. You had new things to look at," she said.

Post-pandemic, residents have continued to explore the property. "I'd say more than 100 people walk through there every day," she said. "Even in its current state where only the out-of-doors is accessible, it has become the green heart of the community."

As for the buildings, that's one big reason the Friends of River Hook was formed: to raise money for rehabilitation and re-use. "This is a very long-range project," she said.

Meanwhile, a lot is happening that can happen outdoors. "Local Boy Scouts are helping with the worm composting project, and it's been a lot of fun having the beekeeper there," Tarapata said.

The history of River Hook is classic Nyack, with deep history including Gilded Age estate owners and recent memories of meadow-cropping sheep. Bill Batson summed it up in a Sketch Log post: "The land that is now River Hook was once 1 of the 6 major farms that Europeans usurped from the Lenape people, the native inhabitants of the region."

Read about its history in depth in Mike Hays' 2019 article in Nyack News & Views.

The Friends' vision for River Hook focuses on five areas of impact:

• Appreciation of nature & place
• Engagement of mind, body, & spirit
• Cultural encounter & creation
• Community building & shared experience
• Environmental restoration & sustainability.

Wasting no time, during the pandemic they launched River Hook Bookshelf, an exchange of book recommendations. View theirs, and take a picture of your own suggestion on your bookshelf and post it on Friends of River Hook on Facebook and/or Instagram with a sentence about why you made your selection. Use hashtag #riverhookbookshelf.

The Nyack Library is getting in on that, Tarapata said. They're going to be setting up a display of their recommendations for the River Hook Bookshelf, so keep your eye out.

Video production for the Tuesday evening beekeeping workshop is by Flying Films NY Inc. and was made possible through the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust. Click here for registration information.