Community news and opinion for Nyack, NY
by Bill Batson Not every beautiful old house in Nyack merits its own historic marker. For other properties, the traditional historic marker is not a loud enough shout out. Clearly, there are many addresses that could compete for the title of most interesting building in the village. In lieu … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson This is the house where Martin Luther King would have slept. Were it not for an assassin in Memphis in 1968, our nation’s Nobel Peace Prize winning champion of nonviolence would have made it to Nyack. The purpose of his visit would have been to commune with the Fellowship of … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson Until recently, painters in Nyack were second-class artisans. Nyack’s musicians could fine-tune their instruments at Long Island Drum Center. Local writers could always haunt the stacks at Pickwick Book Shop. Our thespians were able to find an audience at Elmwood Playhouse. But … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson In 1884, Nyack, NY was a bustling river community and the commercial heart of Rockland County. This sketch is from a widely circulated map made by L. R Burleigh in that year that depicts a jumble of homes, businesses and churches. I recently took a closer look at this historical … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson Nyack will inaugurate its 37th mayor on Saturday, December 31 at 12n. The smooth transition of government, from Nyack's current mayor, Richard Kavesh, to new mayor Jen Laird White, is the hallmark of American democracy. The public event will take place at Village … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson San Francisco has City Lights, New York City has the Strand and Nyack has the Pickwick Book Shop. The experience of shopping at Pickwick has changed little since it first opened in 1945. A seemingly infinite number of titles are crammed into a dense thicket of shelves. Books cover … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson At the end of this month, Grace Episcopal Church will conclude the celebration of 150 years of worship. A building that survives nearly 150 years had to be expertly designed and constructed from the best materials. When a church celebrates a triple jubilee, generations of dedicated … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson Nyack Center operates from the oldest surviving house of worship in our village, the First Presbyterian Church. The original sand stone building that stood on this spot was erected on land deeded by Peter Depew in 1816. It was torn down and replaced by today’s familiar wooden … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson The design of a building announces its function. Take the towering clock and fortress architecture of the First Reformed Church of Nyack. The purpose could be deduced as public, by providing the village the service of knowing the time, and the inhabitants are promised safety inside … [Read more...]
by Bill Batson I was one day away from visiting the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zucotti Park. I was visiting a friend near Central Park on Monday November 14 and intended to make OWS my next stop. I wanted to see it all for myself without the filter of cable news: the occupiers, the library, … [Read more...]
Meet James Simon, author of
FDR and Chief Justice Hughes,
during his interview for C-SPAN at Pickwick Books on Saturday
February 11 from 5-7p.
Pickwick Books
8 S. Broadway Nyack, NY
845-358-9126
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