Ricardo Rodriguez and Stephanie Dones, Friends of the Hudson River Park

Ricardo and Stephanie have both told me that working with Friends of the Hudson River Park (FOHRP) is more like being in a family than having a job. This family also happens to be very functional in that everyone in the office is extraordinarily productive and focused while at the same time supportive and caring enough so that the stress is never all consuming. FOHRP is a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization that was formed in response to legislation passed in 1999, which made way for the creation of a green waterfront corridor from the GWB at 181st street to Battery Park. Everyone involved with this organization is a member of the Hudson River Park coalition, which is an eclectic group of neighbors, activists, and businesses who have a stake in creating a healthy Hudson River waterfront ecology.

Ricardo and Steph worked over the summer with FOHRP as paid interns and both decided they wanted to continue the position into the school year even though they knew it was specifically unpaid. Their mentors Laura and Matthew have nothing but positive things to say about their contributions. The feelings are certainly mutual and Matthew and Laura should definitely be commended for providing such an outstanding level of support and attention to the academic needs of their interns. In fact everyone in the organization seems to go the extra mile. When I arrived on Tuesday, Stephanie was in the midst of conducting her interview with the organization’s director, Albert Butzel. Immediately following that, Ricardo sat down in the boardroom with the organization’s administrator, Phillip Baumgartner. Both seemed more than happy to offer detailed information toward the interns’ research.

On a typical day, Ricardo and Steph will help out on many fronts, primarily working on programming and outreach with Matthew and Laura. They have helped to organize waterfront events, such as last month’s Pier 84 inaugural celebration. I have encouraged both Ricardo and Steph to get more involved in the political advocacy aspects of FOHRP’s work. This would hopefully mean that the interns could substitute one of their afternoon’s work hours in order to attend a Wednesday community board meeting or a Hudson River Alliance meeting, which also happen on Wednesday afternoons. Ricardo seems to be more motivated to increase his involvement but I think with a little healthy peer pressure, Steph will jump on board as well. Hopefully Steph will be a little more available and energized for internship once the craziness of college applications has subsided.