Posted in Casperkill on Jun 29th, 2010 No Comments »
At one time, the 36 acre property located at 275 Van Wagner Road was the final resting place for around 90% of the industrial and commercial waste generated by the city and town of Poughkeepsie. The history of the site is marked by repeated violations of health and environmental codes. A current aerial image of […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 29th, 2010 No Comments »
On the left, mobster “Matty the Horse” was affiliated with the FICA landfill. On the right, operations at the landfill cease when the Health Department steps in. By mid-July of 1977, a temporary injunction against further dumping at the Van Wagner Road property was finally granted. A few weeks later it was discovered that portions […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 29th, 2010 No Comments »
Arlington firefighters pour water on a fire that broke out at the FICA landfill. Firefighters had to unearth about 15-feet of garbage to get at smoldering embers, and an estimated 4.5 million gallons of water washed refuse into the Casperkill. It was not until April 1980—three years after the Van Wagner Road landfill began operating—that […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 29th, 2010 No Comments »
The FICA landfill today. On October 5, 1987 New York State filed a Federal lawsuit to force the clean-up of the FICA landfill. ”Our suit,” State Attorney General Robert Abrams said, ”alleges that waste generated by industry and dumped at the site over the years is responsible for serious contamination…the dump’s current and past owners […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 28th, 2010 No Comments »
Harvey Flad is Professor Emeritus of Geography at Vassar College. Appointed to the faculty in 1972, he played an important role in the development of multidisciplinary programs in American Culture, Environmental Studies and Urban Studies. He has lived in the City of Poughkeepsie for 30 years. On June 21st, Professor Harvey Flad joined us for […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 28th, 2010 No Comments »
Ron Lipp is a dedicated member of The Casperkill Watershed Alliance and longtime resident of Hagan Town. We talked with him on June 18th about his experience living in the watershed and working with the CWA. Liz Jones: How long have you lived in the watershed? Ron Lipp: I’ve lived here for 22 years. LJ: In […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 27th, 2010 No Comments »
The ‘watershed spirit’ cut the ribbon at Friday’s Dutchess Watershed Awareness Month kick-off event at the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum. Members of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor of the City of Poughkeepsie, and various councilmen from the City of Poughkeepsie were also in attendance. July is Watershed Awareness Month and the Dutchess Watershed Coalition, […]
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Posted in Spackenkill on Jun 25th, 2010 No Comments »
The Spackenkill was once a very small watershed adjacent to the Casperkill watershed. Today, the headwaters of the Spackenkill creek are actually within the Casperkill watershed. The picture above shows the dry creek bed leading up to Hagan Drive. While Nadine and I interviewed Fran Hartenfels about her experience living along the Casperkill, Fran’s friend […]
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Posted in Spackenkill on Jun 25th, 2010 No Comments »
The Spackenkill was once a very small watershed adjacent to the Casperkill watershed. In the early 1900s the Spackenkill was referred to as Specken zyn kil (number 11 in the 1891 map above). At that time, the creek was much larger and it flowed all the way from the Spackenkill High School area to the […]
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Posted in Casperkill on Jun 24th, 2010 No Comments »
When Nadine and I approached Chris Scott, his dog Pebbles was frolicking happily in the Casperkill. Chris, a resident of Meadowview Drive, told us that whenever he is home (he currently attends college in Virginia), he and Pebbles frequent Hagantown Park. Pebbles is particularly fond of swimming in the stream and eating the stream-side vegetation; […]
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