HAVERSTRAW — Constantine Gletsos sees the Hudson River as a beautiful inheritance that people deserve to enjoy.

So he embraced Haverstraw's new effort to create a waterfront redevelopment plan that aims to bring two public walking trails and scenic overlooks to the town's shoreline.

"Anything that gives the public access to natural resources, I believe it's very important," the Pomona man said yesterday.

Gletsos, who is active with the Ramapo chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, said public trails give people a chance to walk off stress, get physically fit and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.

Town Supervisor Howard Phillips said the new plan also will address shoring up the riverfront, which has suffered from erosion.

Haverstraw's attempt is the latest in an ongoing effort throughout the state to open up access to waterfronts and waterways. The effort has been gaining strength in Rockland for about two years, although it began more than a decade ago.

Just north of Haverstraw, Stony Point opened a public boat launch last year and has two waterfront parks, while the first county waterfront park, also featuring a public boat launch, playgrounds and picnic areas, is under construction.

Just south of Haverstraw town, Haverstraw village is at work on a redevelopment plan that will bring a public riverfront walkway and piers along with new housing.

From the Dutchtown section of Haverstraw village, there is a riverside trail that takes users to Nyack Beach State Park. A good walk along North Broadway can eventually lead to downtown Nyack's Memorial Park, with its gazebo and lawn.

Piermont has a walkway that runs the length of the Piermont Landing condominiums and ends at the Piermont Pier, where people can fish, have picnics and enjoy the view. Flywheel Park, with a gazebo overlooking the river, is privately owned but open to public use.

Many say they hope all of these local walkways will eventually be connected by a greenway trail.

That trail program seeks to create walks along both sides of the Hudson River, from Battery Park in upstate Waterford to Battery Park in Manhattan.

Barbara Kendall is executive director of the Albany-based Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River, which works with the state Greenway Communities Council.

The council and conservancy enter into partnerships with municipalities and private citizens who want to participate in the walkway program. The land continues to be owned by the municipality or private citizen. Some 489.4 miles have been added to the state's greenway trail system.

Kendall said yesterday that interest in creating the trails has been growing, and she credits increased interest in recreation, tourism and maintaining open space.

Larry Wheelock, trails director for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference in Mahwah, N.J., said recreation, being in touch with nature and saving open space were important components behind creating public trails.

In Haverstraw, most of the shoreline would remain undeveloped, but a nature walk would be created around the perimeter of Bowline Point Park. A second walkway offering year-round use would be created outside the park, which is closed from about mid-October to about mid-March.

"We want to develop it this way to bring it up to 21st-century standards so people can get to and enjoy the waterfront, which is our greatest natural resource," Phillips said.

The town also wants to add benches and create sitting areas offering scenic river views.

Phillips said the waterfront project also would be complemented by the Haverstraw Marina, which is owned by the town and leased to a private operator.

Haverstraw also is at work creating a public canoe and kayak launch near the marina on the Minisceongo Creek, just yards from the riverfront.

Government grant programs are encouraging municipalities to enhance access to their waterfronts, Phillips noted.

The Greenway Council has awarded about $1 million statewide to aid local walkway efforts in recent years, Kendall said. That money, as well as the support of Gov. George Pataki, has increased interest in the program, she said.

Pataki, who is seeking re-election this year, has pushed public access to waterfronts and waterways, as well as countryside corridors, since being elected in 1994.

Grants worth more than $1 million to Rockland have also been available through the state's Departments of State and Environmental Conservation.

Wheelock said establishing public trails "creates a very strong sense of community."

Users and neighbors often become protective of the trail and help maintain it, he said.

Gletsos said the success of any trail lies with the public.

"I hope in the long run the public uses the trail," Gletsos said. "They'll get to appreciate the outdoors and get physical and mental benefits from that."

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