This question is on my mind almost everywhere I go. I know I’m not the only one thinking about this, because when I talk to people in Hastings, so many have something to say about our downtown. It’s a topic that distills the work of local government, and raises a whole set of related questions—about what goals we share for the Village, how to find solutions that serve the diverse needs of Hastings residents and businesses, and the need to gauge our success, looking out for any unintended consequences from the decisions we make. 

What comes to mind for me is a planning concept called “placemaking”.  

Placemaking is a participatory process that engages a community in transforming its public spaces into places of pride for all to enjoy. Thinking about our downtown prompts questions like:

• What are the factors that bring people to our downtown—including all of us?

• What do we value most about our downtown, and what does it need most?

• Have we best utilized our existing assets?

• Do we have enough public spaces? If not, how would we create more?

• How would a placemaking process work best for the Hastings community?

Here are some key factors for me:

Free Parking. I support this.

This is the number one request we hear from local business owners, and they are the engine of our community.

The good news is that informal discussions are already underway with support from Mayor Armacost and all the Trustees. Irvington has done something similar, and we are evaluating how it’s working for them. We just need to get the details right before presenting a proposal to the community, and that includes getting the Administration and stakeholders aligned on the specifics.  

Enforcement regulations will need to be rewritten to set time restrictions. The goal is for free parking to make the downtown more inviting and easy to visit, while setting fair limits that promote turnover throughout the day.

Neighborhood.  Let’s make it easier for people to live downtown.

I support reducing the minimum required apartment size, so that we can attract younger residents and help downsizers stay in Hastings. We can look to our neighbors in Dobbs Ferry as they test out this idea through a process that encourages community input and a public-private partnership with an experienced developer. Their efforts may prove a good model for Hastings to address our own downtown improvement and affordability goals.

Of course, this would have to move forward with public input and care to preserve the Village’s charm and character, meet our parking needs, and not over-burden our critical infrastructure.

Nature. A neighborhood is not just about buildings.

Integrating parks into our downtown cools and cleans the air, invites people to linger, and creates a more welcoming space for residents and visitors alike. As a Trustee, I have proudly supported initiatives to develop parks in our downtown and will continue to do so, like the renovation of Wagner Plaza at the northern gateway to Warburton—I am a fan of its wonderful panels describing the important Revolutionary War battle that took place nearby—and the Five Corners Pollinator Garden at Chauncey and Broadway. My wife, Margie Lavender, helped initiate the project and manages it with the members of the Hastings Pollinator Pathway, and I’ve pitched in to help maintain it, too. I also met with designers and contractors at Vest Pocket Park on Warburton Avenue to develop a great park on a limited budget: I am always open to new opportunities to introduce nature into our downtown.

Culture & Fun!  

Going forward, I‘d like to see the Village give people even more reasons to spend their days here. Let’s keep up the momentum with Friday Night Live, outdoor movie nights, and Spring Thing—where I hope to see you on June 8th! Let’s keep our traditions going, while looking for new ways to celebrate Hastings and the people who live here. And let’s augment our park offerings with pickleball, tennis, skateboarding, bike paths, and art installations to get more people outdoors throughout the Village.

Can we build on Hastings’ rich cultural legacy—from Edgar’s Lane Revolutionary War history, the Old Croton Aqueduct and industrial waterfront, to civil rights pioneers Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark, Eliza Hamilton’s connection via the Graham School, Billy Burke’s estate (once home to bears, a buffalo, and an elephant), and the artistic legacies of Jasper Cropsey and Jacques Lipschitz?

Why not turn this rich legacy into even greater living opportunities—perhaps with an artist residency, a cultural hub, a museum outpost, or a sculpture park that could all attract visitors and energize our downtown? We can honor our past while building a vibrant energized future for Hastings.

Old Places/New Places

Architects like to ask themselves, “What if…?” We’re trained to look at the way things are, learn why they became that way, and ask what the future might bring. Some places change according to our plans, such as the building of a new park or community center.

Others change with the times, requiring us to adapt as a community. Nowhere is this more true than on our Waterfront.

Hastings’ industrial past left us with a place both profoundly polluted and rich with possibility. Through several Village administrations, significant progress has been made on the clean-up. We have compelling questions to consider about the future of the Waterfront, once BP ARCO’s work is completed:

• What if… the Waterfront included new housing? How would it relate to the rest of the Village?

• What if… new businesses came to the Waterfront? What would complement what we have in the downtown, without competing with it?

• What if… we increased our engagement with the Hudson River, perhaps with boat building & repair shops, kayak and boat launches, maybe even shells for our high school students to have a rowing team?

• What if… a new park wove all this together, connecting either side of the train tracks, so that the downtown and Waterfront flowed seamlessly together?
  
  

Another way of putting it is that the Waterfront will be our biggest placemaking opportunity. And whatever decisions we make, we know our downtown needs people and a diverse business sector to thrive. A vibrant downtown benefits everyone—strengthening our community ties, easing our tax burden, and making it easier for people to move here and stay here. With a good process, careful planning, and the right partnerships, we can find the solutions to achieve these goals and more.