Cleanup and Rehabilitation of DPW Yard Gets Underway

Spreaders, shredders, bulldozers and loaders were put through their paces on Friday as the cleanup and rehabilitation of the Department of Public Works yard off Sandford Blvd. got underway.

The DPW yard off Sandford Blvd. is used for a variety purposes, including storing fuel for trucks, salt for roads and recycling materials awaiting shipment to the county’s recovery plant in Yonkers.

For 14 years, it has also been part of federal Environmental Protection Agency consent decrees that have targeted the yard and other areas along the Hutchinson River for violations of the Clean Water Act.

Friday’s clean up marked a major step forward in bringing the city into compliance with EPA regulations and starting the revitalization of the 241 acres of waterfront property, which hold the promise for bike lanes running from the yard to Willson’s Woods park, refurbished ball fields and a boat launch.

“Today is a real and positive step toward the rethinking, repositioning and rejuvenating of the Hutchinson River waterfront and the Port of Mount Vernon,” said Mayor Richard Thomas. “There is a lot of work ahead. But the critical thing is that the work is now underway. Years of inaction are being replaced by action.”

The plan is to consolidate DPW activities into a smaller space — two acres as opposed to the entire 20-acre yard — and deploy them in much more environmentally sensitive ways to prevent pollution of the waterway. Salt mounds would be moved away from the river. Recycling activities would be placed adjacent to the waste transfer station and the yard would be walled off with fences and greenery.

Working with the new comptroller and city council, the hope would have the improvements done to the yard within two years. We are also looking for broad community involvement to shape as well. “Today, we put the trucks in gear to start the cleanup,” Mayor Thomas said. “Now is the time for the community to get in gear as well and help shape the future of the waterfront.

Click here to see Mayor Thomas at the DPW yard.