Goldens Bridge has new pocket park

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held at the new park, located at 28 Fairmount Road, Goldens Bridge. Goldens Bridge Hamlet Organization Photos

Asign at the new Fairmount Corner Pocket Park in Goldens Bridge.

By NEAL RENTZ

A four-year effort came to fruition recently when the Goldens Bridge Hamlet Organization held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Fairmount Corner Pocket Park, located at 28 Fairmount Road, Goldens Bridge.

“The mission of the Goldens Bridge Hamlet Organization is to preserve the historic and natural beauty of the hamlet; drive initiatives that provide a positive impact for its residents and work closely with public officials and local merchants to ensure the future progress of Goldens Bridge,” the group states on its website. 

The park project is an example of the organization’s mission.

GBHO chairman Jonathan Monti outlined the approval process for the pocket park last week. The group made a presentation to the Lewisboro Town Board in early 2021, which was tabled. But GBHO reproposed the idea for the small park later in the year, he recalled. 

The park was created through donations and built through volunteer labor on a site that was host to a derelict house the town had razed years before, Monti said. 

The park is located on town-owned property, and GBHO put in the infrastructure and is committed to maintaining the park, Monti said. 

The park is located on about 1 acre, which includes a pollinator garden and seating areas. 

“Volunteers helped clear the land of decades of trash and building debris,” Monti said, adding his organization paid to have the remains of a house foundation removed from the property. 

“GBHO used a portion of the funds donated by an anonymous donor as well as funds donated from the generous community to purchase the pavilion, gravel, benches, picnic table as well as the installation of the pavilion,” Monti said. 

The organization’s work on the park is not complete. “We will need volunteers and donations to continue to maintain the park and complete the next two phases, remediating the pond and building the floating pathway through the wetlands to the pond.”

The organization is considering the construction of a bridge. “The bog bridge is an idea at the moment,” Monti said. “There is a host of paperwork and professionals that need to approve the project.” GBHO has written a grant for the bridge, which would connect the park to a pond through the wetlands, he said.

“The materials will have to be approved by the various town agencies to comply with traversing a wetland,” Monti noted.

“The project will have the leadership of a paid local carpenter and volunteer labor.”

GBHO was formed about nine years ago. “We started as a not-for-profit due to what we had felt was the town overlooking our part of town,” Monti said.

The pocket park is just one of GBHO’s initiatives. The group holds a candidate forum every two years. “We have hosted community meetings focusing on bike and pedestrian improvements, the New York State Department of Transportation 684 traffic corridor study and the proposed expansion of the shopping district,” Monti noted. “We won a grant for the sign noting the local L158 train bridge being on the National Historic Registry.” In addition, GBHO built a short walking path and paid and had a community bulletin board installed, he said. 

GBHO is seeking volunteers, Monti said. Anyone interested can email info@goldensbridgehamlet.org.

For more information, visit goldensbridgehamlet.org.