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Sandy Spoils Halloween: No Tricks or Treats, Beer or Wine

Nyack Nov 1 — On Wed night a 6p-5a curfew was instituted to discourage Trick Or Treating as most Nyack streets were dark and without power after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. And because of limited police resources, Nyack will be “dry” until further notice. The Village Board banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in Nyack, saying they needed officers to patrol the village instead of policing late night activity at bars and restaurants until all power was restored.

“We are not going to have Halloween in Nyack tonight,” said Mayor Jen White, to a crowd of over 150 residents at a public meeting on the steps of Village Hall on Wed morning. “They are too many downed power lines. We will reschedule something fabulous in Nyack once we get back on track,” she said.  South Nyack also called for a 6p Halloween curfew.

As power began to be restored to Main Street on Wed afternoon, the Village Board served notice that it isn’t ready for business as usual — yet. “The Mayor and Village Board has ordered that the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages…is prohibited within the village until further notice,” read a posting at Nyack-NY.gov. The policy, effective as of 1p on 10/31, was instituted because elected officials want to free up police to handle priority issues in the aftermath of the hurricane and couldn’t commit the limited law enforcement resource to patrolling the bars after hours. Orangetown Police, who cover the village, have a Sergeant and three officers now assigned to Nyack — more coverage than usually available for this community.

Bar owners, many of whom screamed bloody murder when their late night customers were asked to pay 75 cents an hour to park last summer, immediately pushed back on the alcohol ban. However, the Mayor stood by the prohibition, reminding business owners that driving while intoxicated is always dangerous but especially reckless on dark streets without functioning traffic lights.

(L to R) Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart, Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty, Fire Inspector Vincent Fiorentino, NYS Senator David Carlucci, Nyack Mayor Jen White speak to about 150 Nyack residents from the steps of Village Hall on Oct 31 about the response to Hurricane Sandy.

Other post-Sandy news:

  • Garbage pickup in Nyack will resume immediately. A plan for pickup of large trash items and debris from the storm will be announced shortly.
  • Free ice was distributed in the municipal parking lot adjacent to Riverspace on Wed at 3p. “We will continue to provide ice until the power is restored,” said White.
  • Although some United Water customers have been asked to boil their water before drinking, Nyack Water Department customers have no such restrictions. “The water is completely drinkable,” said White. “Nyack water rocks!”
  • Orange and Rockland reported that 40,000 customers who had been without power had their service restored by 4p. However, there are 193,000 customers still offline. The utility warned that most customers will have their service restored in the next 10 days but complete repairs and total service restoration could take weeks.
  • If your cell phone is running low, Orangetown Town Hall is the place to go. “The Town Hall is open 24/7 where you can charge your phone and check your email,” said Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart.
  • When will school be open? White said she has been has been in touch with Nyack Schools’ officials. “You can’t send kids to school until you have power. So there will be no school until we have power,” she said.
  • “Stay away from the waterfront,” said Mike Hekker, owner of the River Club Restaurant.  “There is raw sewage being discharged by Tarrytown into the river. When  you walk across the parking lot near the marina, you are walking on raw sewage,” he said. Hekker’s restaurant sustained severe damage during the storm, when a sailboat rammed the club after it broke free of its moorings during the storm.
  • According to a member of the Nyack Boat Club, 22 boats were lost during the storm.
  • Let’s Be Cell-fish: Calls that used to go through in seconds now take 30 seconds or more to connect, data service is spotty and dropped calls occur more often. “Many of the cell towers were destroyed during the storm,” said NYS Senator David Carlucci. “Every carrier has been affected and all of the calls have been slowed down.” Carlucci says that AT&T and Verizon are working to get the damaged towers up and running as soon as possible.

Nyack’s Mayor said she and other officials will meet with residents and business owners every day at 11a in front of Village Hall until electrical service is restored to Nyack.


Nyack People & Places, a weekly series that features photos and profiles of citizens and scenes near Nyack, NY, is sponsored by Sun River Health.


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