June 11, 2010
See “Read more” or Photo Gallery for before and after pictures of the plaza.
by Christine Yeres
Last night at Xavier’s on the Hudson, the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation celebrated local efforts at innovative planning projects. On behalf of New Castle, Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel accepted a commendation award “for the construction of a downtown vest-pocket park at Citibank Plaza in the hamlet of Chappaqua, which also mitigates storm water runoff.”
In 2008, the town engaged landscape architect Nicholas Pouder of Pouder Design Group LLC to refashion the space on the north side of Citibank from a water-plagued access route to the parking lot into a park space with seating and native plants.
Work began in September 2008 when, by agreement with the New York State Department of Transportation, the first job of the Route 120 bridge construction crew was to fix the drainage there once and for all by sinking a large concrete box. This structure collects and temporarily holds storm water runoff, and then redirects it away from the area. As part of the renovation of this area, an old stockade fence enclosure and the garbage dumpsters it enclosed were removed.
Soggy area reconceived around storm water
“We used storm water as the center of the design,” explained Pouder, by creating a planter fed by rainwater from the building’s gutters and leaders. The specific type of soil and plants placed in the planters were chose for their abilities to cleanse storm water, he noted. “People can sit on it, it’s beautiful, and it anchors the corner of the plaza,” Pouder added. The low dividers on the seating surface of the planters act as a deterrent to skateboarding.
The soil in the planter and the surrounding beds must be able to accommodate sudden influxes of water, and, as a consequence, is composed of a high proportion of gravelly material. There are ornamental roses in the beds nearest South Greeley Avenue and the planter against the building contains all native specimens including inkberry, Shadblow serviceberry, grassy-looking sedges, iris and Black-eyed Susans. “This year,” Pouder commented, “you’ll see them really take off.”
In its work session last Tuesday night, June 8, Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard announced that since the space belongs to the town, not Citibank’s landlord, board members were considering officially naming the space “Marion Plaza,” in honor of former Town Supervisor Marion Sinek, during whose tenure the lengthy study of how to improve the downtown was begun.
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