LoHud.com, link to original post
Taking a pause in her stroll, Sunny Lee leaned over the rail overlooking Congers Lake and watched sunlight rippling on the water next to floating water lilies and swans. “I absolutely enjoy it,” Lee said. “Local residents can now enjoy their own lake.”
Lee has been coming to walk at Congers Lake for years, but since Clarkstown built a boardwalk along a section of the lake, she has been enjoying her daily constitutional all the more.
Instead of walking on a strip of blacktop that was just a little higher than the water, the new 10-foot-wide elevated promenade runs along the lake in sections, linking with blacktop walking and cycling paths to provide a nearly 2-mile walk along the lake.
And residents are loving it. On any given afternoon, mothers with babies in strollers, older couples, children on scooters, families on bicycles and walking enthusiasts like Lee can be seen enjoying the boardwalk. The town has not yet formally opened the boardwalk.
Creating an attractive walking path along Congers Lake has been a longtime aim of the town.
It was started years ago, when Supervisor Alex Gromack, then an assemblyman in Albany, provided a state grant to start the project. Over the years, the walking trail has been extended bit by bit, depending on the money available to the town. The boardwalk is the latest and the most ambitious effort.
It cost approximately $1 million, money that came from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, from the Empire State Development Corp., the late Sen. Thomas P. Morahan and from the County Sewer District, which paid for a sewer upgrade that was needed in the area along the path. “The walking trail is going to be a great hit,” said Gromack, who also lives in Congers. “From preschoolers to senior citizens, it will be a great hit.”
The prediction is already proving true. On a late afternoon recently, dozens of people strolled on the boardwalk, some stopping at intervals to stretch or to stand by the railing to watch a high school crew team practicing on the 100-acre lake.
Rosemarie Riley of Congers was jogging with her daughter, Sinead, 12. “We love it,” she said. “And look at the lovely landscaping. It looks much nicer.”
As part of the boardwalk upgrade, the town has planted grass, shrubs and trees along the path, making it visually appealing.
The boardwalk is most accessible from two locations on Lake Drive, across from Rick’s Club American and across from the Congers Fire Department, where a small parking lot allows visitors to drive in and leave their cars.
Visitors may also park at the community center at the Congers Lake Memorial Park on Gilcrest Road and take the walking path, which measures 1.7 miles, north to the boardwalk. The pool at the park, the picnic area, the tennis and basketball courts all add to the attraction of Congers Lake.
The town has indeed a wonderful job with the park. The park is for Clarkstown residents only according to the town code and NO DOGs are allowed in the park – not in any town parks for that matter. I walk the park almost everyday. I have noticed people walking their dogs and also noticed dog feces at various parts of the park. I have even called dog walker’s attention to the code – signs are posted at every entrance access to the park. But there are certain people who don’t care and habitually break the local law. How long will this park be enjoyable if people don’t care. I have brought this issue to the town supervisor and to the staff at Congers but the town code is not being enforced.