NYCkayaker Kayaker donates $100 mil

[Harry J. Bubbins]

Avid kayaker, 100, donates $20M for wildlife conservation
WABC Eyewitness News

(Sleepy Hollow - WABC, June 15, 2007) - A 100-year-old woman who still
kayaks on the Hudson River pledged $20 million Friday to help save the
river's banks from development.
The gift, from Kathryn Wasserman Davis, of Tarrytown, to Scenic Hudson will
allow the conservation group to purchase land along the Hudson that might
otherwise be bought up for housing or commercial use.

Davis, a Ph.D. in political science and the widow of Wall Street financier
Shelby Cullom Davis, is an active centenarian, kayaking, playing croquet and
painting. She marched in a suffragist parade at age 4 and remembers watching
the construction of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson.

"Up and down this Hudson Valley and across America, we need to be vigilant
for opportunities to protect our natural resources," she said. "It gives me
great joy to have my name and the Davis name linked with Scenic Hudson
forevermore."

The money, from Davis and her Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation, will not be
transferred to Scenic Hudson until Davis dies, but Scenic Hudson plans to
put her pledge to use before then by borrowing against it.

It will use $15 million of the gift to speed up its land-purchasing program,
which has so far totaled 25,000 acres along the Hudson. New parks and
preserves will provide views of the river as well as hiking and other
recreation, the group said.

About $4 million will be used for improvements at Kingsland Point Park in
Sleepy Hollow, which is owned by Westchester County. A historic bathhouse is
to be renovated and a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is to be built
across railroad tracks, easing access to the waterfront.

The remaining $1 million will help create a new riverfront park in Tarrytown
linking with the RiverWalk that is planned along the river for the length of
the county.

Davis's recent philanthropy includes "100 Projects for Peace," which will
provide $10,000 to each of 100 undergraduates for ideas that promote peace.
She also has funded projects promoting the study of Russian language and
culture.

(Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)


Harry J. Bubbins
Director
646.206.5288 
http://friendsofbrookpark.org
Mail:  PO Box 801, The South Bronx, NY 10454