Haverstraw Bay Park hosts solar eclipse party

On Monday, April 8, approximately 1,500 Rockland residents gathered in Haverstraw Bay Park between 2:30 and 4 p.m. to watch the latest solar eclipse. Locals came to the historic park—which hosts the county’s September 11 War on Terror memorial—in droves for the event, bringing along beach chairs and blankets to witness the once in a generation occurence .

The Haverstraw Bay Park staff handed out 500 pairs of glasses to the first third of residents who came to the party—some of which arrived as early as 11 a.m. The event took approximately six weeks to plan.

“The moon is moving in front of the sun,” Kevin McGuinness, Rockland’s Coordinator of the Division of Environmental Services, explained. “The moon is 400 times smaller
than the sun, but it’s also 400 times closer to earth, so they match up perfectly. In the path of totality, which is about 100 miles north of here, it will be completely blocked. Here, it will be about 92%.”

Weather for the event could be described as fair, with temperatures averaging 60 degrees in Haverstraw. Skies were slightly cloudy, but clear enough to witness the eclipse at approximately 3:15 p.m.

When asked why the day’s event was so monumental, McGuiness spoke to its rarity— specifically for Rockland.

“(Solar eclipses) don’t happen that frequently at all, unless you want to travel,” said McGuiness. “If you want to travel around the world it’s every two years or so. But it’ll be about 100 years before it happens again here.”

The last solar eclipse that was visible in Rockland County occurred in 2017 at around 65% visibility.

County Executive Ed Day also attended the event, taking a moment to speak to Rockland residents who showed up to watch the eclipse before the phenomenon took place to warn them against looking directly at the sun, as well as welcoming them to Haverstraw Bay Park itself.

“This is something we decided we should do as a community gathering for an event that is extremely special,” said County Executive Day. “They call it an inter-generational event. The last time I saw one of these was about 50 years ago…If you have never been here before, please make a point of coming back here. It is just an amazing park and at the end of the day, the taxpayers are paying for it, so you might as well enjoy