The City of Little Falls Environment
The City of Little Falls’ most dominant natural features are the Mohawk River/ Erie Canal and the high cliffs which rise above the river channel. These cliffs, known as the Fall Hill Ridge, create a beautiful landscape and urban setting for the City. The Mohawk River and Erie Canal divide the City into northern and southern sections. The larger, northern section rises from the river at a 10 percent slope for approximately one-half mile. This area includes the City’s commercial center and a large portion of the population. Development stops where the slope becomes a steep escarpment which rises to over 1,000 feet above sea level and almost 700 feet above the river. The ridge is the highest elevation along the Mohawk River/Erie Canal.
The area south of the Canal/River includes a very narrow strip of development, barely 500 feet in width, known as the “South Side”. A steep cliff known as the Rollaway (so called because lumbermen cutting timber once rolled their logs off the cliff to the river below) rises 400 feet above the river along the south side of the river. Flat lands above the Rollaway are now farmed. Thus, the City is situated in a “bowl” with steep cliffs overlooking and confining its development.
The City’s third major natural feature, in addition to the Mohawk River and steep cliffs, is Moss Island, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by New York State. It has been designated a National Natural Landmark due to its unique geological characteristics and natural resources. Moss Island contains one of the best and the largest collections of “potholes” in the United States. Potholes are unique geological abrasions formed by an ancient waterfall that flowed when the ancestral Mohawk River drained the Great Lakes. The island also contains important numbers of moss and fern species and plants not common to this region of New York State, a hydroelectric power plant, and Lock 17.
Moss Island is actually the eastern portion of a single, man-made island between the Mohawk River and Erie Canal created when the Erie Canal was reconstructed and enlarged in 1916. Fill from the canal construction served to connect Moss, Seeley, and Loomis Islands and created, in effect, one island. The total island is approximately 30 acres. Moss Island comprises the eastern portion and is approximately 18 acres, while Loomis Island comprises the western portion and is approximately 10 acres. The “islands” are connected by a narrow strip of land (formerly Seeley Island) of approximately two acres. The dividing line between Moss and Loomis Island is the South Ann Street Bridge and Benton’s Landing transient dock area.
Land Use Patterns
The City of Little Falls contains a total landmass of 3.977 square miles, or 2,445 acres, of which 482 acres are active or vacant agricultural land. The Mohawk River, and the City’s topography and overall rugged character, have significantly influenced its development. Virtually the entire City has a hillside location, and all major transportation routes run east-west through the narrow river valley corridor. The Mohawk River, Erie Canal, CSX rail lines, and NYS Route 5 are all crowded into a corridor only several hundred yards wide. Industrial areas, including the Mill and Elizabeth Street areas and the Riverside Industrial Park, share the narrow corridor of relatively flat land along the Mohawk River/Erie Canal.
To the immediate north of the river corridor is the Central Business District (CBD), which includes a major portion of the City’s commercial uses, multi-family houses, most public buildings, and many churches. Extending from the CBD are the East End, West End, West Monroe, and Monroe Street residential areas. These areas house most of the City’s population in one and two-family homes situated on small lots. This area is also the site of the sprawling Little Falls National Historic District, which includes 347 buildings dating from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.
The Little Falls CBD includes approximately 50 acres of commercial, mixed use and public buildings and resources that border the waterfront. The CBD is linked to the waterfront via NYS Route 167 as well as by a deteriorated underpass walkway that extends under the main line of the CSX railroad tracks.
The spine of the CBD is Main Street, which extends in an east-west direction. From Albany Street to the connection with the Route 5 arterial west of the CBD, Main Street is a one-way street with traffic flow from east to west. Albany Street, which generally parallels Main Street, carries traffic through the CBD west to east. The Route 5 arterial functions as a CBD bypass.
The north side of Main Street within the CBD is comprised of mainly two and three story structures that generally include commercial uses on the first floor and housing units on the upper floors. Many of these structures are in a deteriorated state. Much of this deterioration, however, is camouflaged by a sidewalk canopy structure and exterior facades constructed in the early 1980’s using Local Public Works funds from the Economic Development Administration. The canopy has been renovated but will need ongoing maintenance in the future. Conversely, the canopy and the existing facades might be removed, but this would incur extensive (and expensive) repairs and renewal of the exteriors and facades of the buildings under the canopy.
The areas between Main Street and Albany Street in the CBD are previous Urban Renewal Areas. The dominant land use in this area is Shopper’s Square, the City’s first Urban Renewal project. This development houses various retail commercial uses, including the City’s only food supermarket and a pharmacy. This project was originally constructed in 1965 and then extensively redeveloped in 2013-2014.
To the west of Shopper’s Square is a six-block area that was redeveloped as Downtown Renewal Project II, which was completed in 1974. This project resulted in the construction of a commercial building to serve as the headquarters of a local bank (now it is occupied only as a branch of a major regional bank), a motel, and several commercial and smaller office buildings that have remained in excellent condition.
The Little Falls CBD also includes the Rockton Plaza senior citizen high rise; the Snyder Apartment building and several other large multi-family residential buildings; City Hall; the Post Office; and a number of churches.
The North Side area includes the “upland” portion of the City, which is sparsely populated and separated from the City by the Fall Hill Ridge. To the south of the Mohawk River and Erie Canal is the South Side neighborhood, which includes approximately 200 residential structures intermixed with commercial and industrial uses. Wedged between the north and south side areas of the City are the City’s older industrial areas, Canal Place and the Riverside Industrial Park.
The Riverside Industrial Park extends along the north shore of the Erie Canal/Mohawk River channel just west of the tip of Loomis Island, where the two channels merge, and includes modern, one-story industrial buildings that are set back from the shoreline. Buildings are screened from the water by heavy vegetation in most locations. At the extreme western end of the Industrial Park is the Mohawk River Park, which includes the City’s boat launch, floating docks, and a small picnic area.
Canal Place, which in recent years has emerged as the City’s arts and culture district, includes the area bounded by the CSX rail line and the Erie Canal to the north and south, respectively, and by the limits of the City’s older industrial area to the east and Hansen Island and Lock Street to the west. Since 1987, over $1 million in public and private funds have been invested along South Ann Street in the Canal Place area, which features several renovated historical row buildings which now serve as restaurants, small shops, and an art center, several renovated mill buildings which currently serve as groups shops for antique dealers and a specialty bed and breakfast, and a renovated Art Deco-style train station repurposed as a bar and restaurant.
The “South Side” is an isolated neighborhood of residential and non-residential uses tucked between the Erie Canal and Mohawk River channel and a steep cliff. This neighborhood area provides housing for approximately 350 persons, and is home to several heavy commercial/industrial-type operations. The most dominant entity on the South Side is a lumber yard; wood storage sheds and other operations buildings are intermixed with generally well-maintained residential uses along Southern Avenue. Other South Side land uses include a tool and machine manufacturing operation, and three large abandoned oil tanks and several small buildings formerly used by a fuel company. The South Side is also the location of the Canal Terminal Building and associated pedestrian and boater access improvements, which now establish the City as one of eight major canal harbor centers serving recreational boaters.
Loomis and Moss Islands are important local recreational and cultural assets. Moss Island, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by New York State, is extensively used by rock climbers, studied by geologists and geology students, enjoyed by naturalists and others. Loomis Island has considerable development potential because of its strategic location at the heart of the Little Falls waterfront area. Moss and Loomis islands are connected at the area now known as Benton’s Landing, which includes a small park with historical markers, waterfront walking paths, several recently redeveloped residential properties, and a short-term boat dock facility along the canal bulkhead. The improvement and expansion of Benton’s Landing was a key component of the City’s Canal Corridor Initiative.
Surface Water Resources
The Erie Canal and Mohawk River divide Little Falls into northern and southern sections as the two waterways flow completely through the City. In the western section, the Erie and the Mohawk are coterminous. In the eastern section, the Erie Canal follows a land-cut route to the south while the free-flowing Mohawk River closely parallels the Canal to the north. The two watercourses are separated by Moss and Loomis Islands.
The Erie Canal is the backbone of the New York State Canal System, which also includes the Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. The entire Canal System totals 524 miles, and the Erie Canal encompasses 340 miles of that total. From its tidewater level at Troy, the Erie Canal rises through a series of locks to an elevation of 565 feet above sea level at the Niagara River. With a height of 40 feet, Lock 17 in Little Falls is the highest lift lock on the NYS Canal System. The Erie Canal was constructed largely for commercial boating and shipping via cargo barges, but this use has declined substantially over the years. The Canal System is now used almost entirely by recreational boaters.
The Mohawk River is the largest tributary of the Hudson River and drains an area of 3,400 square miles. The Mohawk River flows over 148 miles from its headwaters near the Delta Reservoir in northern Oneida County to its confluence with the Hudson River at Cohoes. The River contains numerous rapids and was not navigable in certain stretches (including Little Falls) until the Erie Canal was constructed.
Floodplains and Wetlands
The combined Canal and Mohawk River floodplain extends along the entire waterfront. The 100-year flood boundary includes a large portion of the Riverside Industrial Park; the area along Southern Avenue; and portions of the Canal Place area, including a very small portion of the industrial area east of South Ann Street.
Although several large wetland areas extend along the Mohawk River/ Erie Canal to the east of Little Falls, there are no wetland areas within the City of Little Falls.
Soils
Most of the developed areas of the City of Little Falls are located on the floor of the Mohawk River Valley. Rock formations are generally shale and limestone near the surface and limestone and dolomite in the underlying rock mantle. Glacial and riverine soil deposits cover these stone formations. Soil types found in this area of the Mohawk Valley include the following: alluvial soils (river floodplain deposits), Howard-Phelps association soils (water-sorted glacial deposits), and alluvial Hamlin-Teel association soils (river floodplain deposits). On the heights overlooking the City to the North and the South, the majority of the soils are of the Mohawk-Mannheim association, deep well-drained to somewhat poorly drained, medium textured soils formed in glacial till from alkaline shale. Additionally, there are patchy areas of more acidic soils of the Lansing-Hornell-Manlius association.