Grand Opening of the Cortlandt Waterfront Performance Stage

Where there once stood 45 mobile homes and one of the largest trailer parks in Westchester County, now sits the culmination of a 40 year project. On Saturday June 8, the Town of Cortlandt will cut the ribbon of a newly constructed “Cortlandt Waterfront Performance Stage.” The town has planned a free afternoon and evening of activities, fun and entertainment for all.  The festivities start at  5 pm with a community Touch-A-Truck event. Kids will be able to get up close with vehicles and apparatus from the NYS Police, Westchester County Police, Verplank & Montrose Fire Departments, Cortlandt Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps, US Coast Guard Auxiliary and more. Then from 6-7 pm, enjoy a magic show by internationally acclaimed magician David Levitan. At 7:30 pm grab a lawn chair and enjoy a live music performance by The Fast Lane, NY’s Premiere Eagles Tribute Band. At 8:45 pm, Cortlandt Town Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker, and town officials will officially cut the ribbon and dedicate the new Performance Stage. At 9:00 pm, the community will enjoy a  Laser Light Show sponsored by CertainTeed. Food trucks will also be on site for dinner and snacks for purchase.

Cortlandt Summer Concert & Movie Series

The fun in Cortlandt doesn’t end there, though. The Town of Cortlandt Summer Concert & Movie Series at the Cortlandt Waterfront kicks off the following Wednesday and every other Wednesday from June 13th to July 25th with live music performances. On Wednesday June 13th the FDR Drive Band takes the stage. Then on June 27th Six String Country plays country favorites. On July 11th the Ricky Blues Band makes you feel good followed by the movie Trolls Band Together starting at 8:30pm. On July 25th the Mike Risko Band will rock the waterfront followed by the 2023 movie Migration. Starting August 1st, Billy 6 entertains the crowd with a live musical performance followed by the 2023 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem at 8:30 pm. On Wednesday August 8th, Cortlandt will finish the 2024 Summer Concert and Movie Series with not one, but two live performances. From 6:00 – 7:30 pm, The Thronwoods take the stage followed by Blackstone from 7:30-9:00 pm.

Over the course of the Summer Concert Series, local food vendors and food trucks will be around to help quench your thirst and fix your snacking needs. This year, food vendors include, American Dogs LLC, Crispin Dopamine, Homestyle Desserts Bakery, Mister Softee, and Octavios Food Wagon. Not all named food vendors/trucks will appear at every concert but there will be at least one will be there at every concert and movie event. 

Peekskill Riverfront Concert & Summer Entertainment Series

Not to be outdone, the City of Peekskill will be holding their Riverfront Concert & Summer Series. June 26th is the last day of school and the next day, on June 27th starting at 8:30 pm the Peekskill Parks & Recreation Department kicks off the summer with the first film of the Riverfront Summer Series, screening Wonka.

One week later, on July 4th, the City of Peekskill Volunteer Firefighters Association will host the annual Peekskill Independence Day Parade starting at 10:30 am. The shorter parade route parade will start on Crompond Road and travel down South Division Street. The parade will make a quick left onto First Street, passing in front of Assumption Church and then turn right onto Union Avenue near the Peekskill Museum. Once a block away, at South Street, the parade will make a right turn and travel along South Street heading towards Gleason’s and Slainte. The parade will make a left and travel up N. Division Street past the Gazebo, through Restaurant Row and then make a right turn at Busy Corner onto Main Street. The final leg of the parade will travel three blocks along Main Street passing Sun River Health Center, the newly reconstructed Pugsley Park, The United Methodist Church and at the intersection of Broad Street make a right and end at the Central Firehouse. 

Later that day, grab a lawn chair and a blanket and head down to the Riverfront Green for the first concert of the Summer series featuring the 8-Piece band, First Class Dance Band. First Class Band will be playing top 40 hits starting at 7:00 pm. Around 9:00 pm residents will turn their eyes to the skies for the annual Fourth of July Fireworks hosted by the City of Peekskill. 

The Peekskill Parks and Recreation Summer Series will be extremely busy as they jam pack the month of July full of entertainment at the Riverfront two to three times per week for the entire month. A Children’s Series will occur every Monday in the month of July starting with Need-O Clown on July 8th. On July 15th the Wizz Kids from Antonia Arts take the stage and will wow the audience with their amazing performances. On July 22, internationally acclaimed magician David Levitan will entertain kids with a magic show. On July 29th, enjoy a wonderful evening of fun with Juggling and Comedy with Will Shaw. All of the Children’s Series performances start at 7:00 pm and end around 8:00 pm.

On Wednesdays from 7:00 – 9:00 pm the Riverfront will be full of music. On July 10th, Marc Berger takes the stage playing folk music till your heart’s content. The Old Mill Singers will play contemporary hits on July 17. On July 24th Smoked Glass takes the ShowMobile stage with all of your favorite rock hits. Back by popular demand after their performance last year, Hillbilly Parade, one of the most sought after Top 40 Country Cover Bands in the Hudson Valley led by Peekskill native Cheyenne See will rock the house down with 2 hours of Pop-Rock Country. 

The Riverfront Family Movie nights come to Peekskill on Fridays starting on June 27th with Wonka, followed by Elemental on July 12th, and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile on August 9th. Just as the Family Movie night started out the Summer , the day after school ended, the Family movie night ends the summer, on Friday September 6th, the first Friday of the new school year with The Fablemans. All of the family movie nights start at 8:30 pm and end around 10:30 pm. 

  The 40 year History of the Cortlandt Waterfront 

Over the last 34 years the Town of Cortlandt has invested millions of dollars in grants from New York State and from the town budget to create and expand the Cortlandt Waterfront Park from the approximately 1.0 acre Steamboat Dock to almost 30 acres stretching virtually the entire length of Riverview Avenue from Broadway to Kings Ferry Road.

In 1950, James Martin, a Greenwich resident, founded Riveredge trailer park in Verplanck. The park consisted of 23 acres of land and a seaplane base and a small landing strip from which Martin operated a flight school and air-tour business. The business and 45 Mobile Home park thrived for years until 1991 when Martin faced $45,000 in annual property taxes.

Beginning in the 1980’s the Town of Cortlandt began acquiring properties along the shore line in Verplanck to develop the Waterfront Park. In 1992, Martin, facing that $45,000 tax bill, worked out an agreement with the Town of Cortlandt spearheaded by former Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi. He agreed to deed all 23 acres of land, including the trailer park, seaplane base and surrounding waterfront area, to the Town of Cortlandt as a gift for recreation and park use upon his death. Under terms of the agreement, the trailer park would remain open for 10 years following Martin’s death. Afterwards, the town would then turn the land into a park.

In the meantime, the Town of Cortlandt began a collaborative public planning process to lay out a vision for the waterfront. This became the 1993 Verplanck Waterfront Master Plan aka “the Cavendish Plan”. In addition to acquiring more properties in the 1990’s to create a contiguous Waterfront Park, Cortlandt reconstructed Steamboat Dock Park (where it all began) in 1996 at a cost of $2 million, created The Broadway Overlook in 1998 as a pedestrian river-viewing area, and cleaned up and restored a brownfield, creating The Great Lawn area. In 2001, the Marie Pritchard Gazebo was added to Steamboat Dock Park in addition to the “Verplanck Pedestrian Path” which runs along Hardy St from Kings Ferry Rd to the Great Lawn area. 

In July 2006, Martin died, triggering the 10-year clock. Even though the town tried to incentivize the people who lived there to leave early, that never happened. And then on October 29th, 2012 Superstorm Sandy hit New York, with high winds, heavy rain and a storm surge of more than 13 feet. Sandy devastated the Lower Hudson Valley. Steamboat Dock was completely under water. At Riveredge, many of the trailers had taken on water, several were destroyed, residents were evacuated, and the electrical systems and underground feeders were damaged beyond repair. 

In 2008, the Town Board authorized staff to develop a Verplanck Waterfront Master plan. Then in 2015, the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) was updated. 

Throughout the 2010’s, the waterfront saw many improvements and additions including a public boat launch, Veterans Memorial, an aviation themed playground, the Verplanck Nature Preserve & Trails, and the Broadway Streetscape which connects the Cortlandt Waterfront Park to the center of Verplanck .

Now, in 2024 the Cortlandt Waterfront Park will dedicate a brand new Performance Stage, a capstone of 40 years of hard work and dedication.

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