Is Beacon Pushing MTA To Fix Floating Dock? "Loss Of Docking In Beacon Is Significant For Clearwater"
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Pictured in the yellow square is the floating doc at Beacon’s doci. The white box next to it is a boat tied to it.
Photo Credit: Jen BEnson, Communications Director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
The Clearwater when it is docked in Beacon at the floating doc, which was removed around March 10, 2025 after sustaining damage.
Photo Credit: Poughkeepsie Journal/Patrick Oehler
Ferry users are not the only ones impacted by the disappearance of the floating dock announced two months ago that attaches to Beacon’s dock on the Hudson River. Clearwater, an organization started in 1960 by Pete and Toshi Seeger to educate people about the environmental importance of the Hudson River who has served more than half a million people tells ALBB that they have had to move for the foreseeable future. “Loss of docking in Beacon is significant for Clearwater,” the Executive Director, David Toman, told A Little Beacon Blog., when asked if this decommission affects them ”Beacon has been the home of our office for decades, and where our founders, Pete and Toshi Seeger long called home.”
The clearwater with a class on it.
Photo Credit: Hudson River Sloop Clearwater)
Clearwater’s land office is near Mount Beacon on Wolcott Avenue. Their ship “office” docks in Beacon and provides educational and experiential programming to schools, youth and adults. But they’ve since moved to Cold Spring after the floating dock was removed.
“Sailing from Beacon serves a critical need for many schools and the local community,” Executive Director, David continued. “While we've relocated our sails for the foreseeable future and our Youth Empowerment programs to Cold Spring, we hope the city and MTA can expedite the replacement dock to meet this need in addition to returning ferry service from Newburgh."
Programming from Clearwater includes The Sailing Classroom, Onboard Volunteer, Climate Change at Clearwater, Tideline Program, and In-School Programs.
The clearwater with a class on it.
Photo Credit: Hudson River Sloop Clearwater)
No estimate for repair and restoration of the floating doc at Beacon’s ferry landing has been given by Beacon’s City Administrator, Chris White during City Council Meetings. The MTA has given no estimate to A Little Beacon Blog when asked. They so far have only answered about alternate bus service they have provided to riders of the ferry.
According to former Beacon Mayor Randy Casale, the MTA pays for and maintains the floating doc. “The floating dock was the only dock in Beacon that was safely accessible for our sloop,” Clearwater’s Communication Director Jen Benson told A Little Beacon Blog.
In her email signature, Jen reminds people that the Hudson River is on Munsee Lenape Land. It also had other names before being taken over by white colonialists. “The Hudson River runs through the Munsee, Lenape, Mohican, Mohawk, and Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European exploration, the river was known as the Mahicannittuk by the Mohicans, Ka'nón:no by the Mohawks, and Muhheakantuck by the Lenape.”
So far, no one knows for how long it will remain decommissioned.
