Trustees Throw Cold Water on Waterfront Inn Proposal

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August 26, 2024

By Rick Pezzullo—

The Tarrytown Board of Trustees is not receptive to a proposal to build an inn near the Tarrytown Marina—at least not yet.

During its Aug. 19 meeting, the board opted not to formally reject a petition to amend the Local Zoning Law to permit a hotel in the Waterfront District (WD), but informed representatives of the marina it wasn’t convinced an inn was the right fit to help stabilize the marina and provide an economic boost for the Tarrytown Boat & Yacht Club.

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“We all understand the marina needs to be rejuvenated if we ever want to see boating activity in Tarrytown anymore,” Mayor Karen Brown said. “You have failed to convince the board that changing the zoning is really what is needed to do that. The people who really want it are the people of boating and that’s not the majority of people in Tarrytown.”

“The goals are trying to revive the waterfront and making it accessible to everyone is a laudable goal. We want to do that,” said Trustee David Kim. “The question is this the right vehicle to do that at this time? If we’re going to have a hotel in Tarrytown, should it be on that side of the tracks? It’s premature for this to go forward and waste your resources as well as ours.”

During an Aug. 12 presentation at a work session, Lynne Ward, Executive Vice President of Tarrytown Marina LLC, explained the four-story, boutique hotel with 98 rooms at 236 Green Street was being modeled after an inn in Newport, Rhode Island.

She noted the company, which is an affiliate of National Resources, has an application pending for a federal grant to help with upgrades at the marina, which needs dredging and repairs to the sea wall.

“We believe in this project. We need an economic driver like the inn. It’s like hand and glove,” Ward said at last week’s meeting. “This is a very important opportunity. We have an asset that is about to turn into a liability. The problem is the marina is sinking pretty fast. This is going to take a while. It should be studied more.”

Several trustees mentioned being concerned about the condition of the H-bridge when evaluating whether to forward the rezoning application to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Trustee Becky McGovern also said the failure of National Resources to complete construction of Hudson Harbor weighed on her mind.

“I’m a little leery,” she remarked. “I fully support getting that marina (organized). I would like to get some public input.”

Brown said she welcomed Tarrytown Marina LLC to try to change the board’s mind.

“You want to continue to try to make the argument, we would be willing to listen,” she said.

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