by the Village Board of Nyack

Nyack is embarking on its first tangible step toward the potential redevelopment of the downtown Superblock, the 3.7 acre area that encompasses the Helen Hayes theater building, the M&T bank lot, village owned Veterans Memorial Park and the Village Urban Renewal Agency owned parking lots.

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The developer behind 575 homes for Adult 55+ in Orangetown has withdrawn from the project. K. Hovnanian told Orangetown that their plans to build senior housing on 80 acres formerly part of the Rockland Psychiatric Center no longer made financial sense given the downtown in the economy.

Orangetown Supervisor Paul Whalen told the Journal News that Hovnanian still owes Orangetown $30,000.  “We were fortunate to get a good deal of environmental research from the Hovnanian-funded SEQRA process, which can be used for any future project,” says Orangetown Councilman Michael Maturo. “Their decision represents a short-term challenge but a long-term opportunity for us to attract a sustainable interest in the valuable property at RPC.”

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The Village Board is meeting this evening (yes, it’s on, snow and all)  and the biggest item on the agenda is the approval of a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a feasibility study on the SuperBlock.  You can find the draft RFP document on the Village homepage under “Recent Documents,” or you can go to the direct link by clicking HERE.

Here is tonight’s agenda: Continue reading →

Nyack, Feb 20 — Having a carbon monoxide detector is no longer a good idea. As of this week, it’s the law.

Amanda’s Law requires every private residence in New York state to have a carbon monoxide detector. It’s named for an upstate teenager whose death last year was caused by a lethal CO leak from a basement boiler while she slept.

All homes built after January 1, 2008 are required to have a carbon monoxide alarm hard-wired into the building. Homes built prior to this date are permitted to have battery-powered CO alarms.

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by Alan Carlisle

Trina’s Hunn’s post about Petersen’s Boatyard (NyackNewsAndViews, 12/16/2009) is full of wisdom.

Change is the only constant and better to manage it then allow it to eat you up. Listen to her advice…she wants the boat yard as it is.. she moved there to embrace its’ opportunity..but her worldly experience understands where this zone request may certainly end up..she is so right about the devil you know.

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Village Environmental Committee Seeks Members

by Richard Kavesh

In 2008 Nyack became a “Cool City,” joining thousands of other US municipalities in the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Campaign who vowed to reduce carbon emissions below 1990 levels in line with the Kyoto Protocol. Now there are opportunities for Nyack to look at local environmental issues that have the potential to create a healthier, greener village as well as potentially save taxpayer dollars.

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by Dave Zornow

Nyack, Feb 1 — Nyack’s Superblock downtown redevelopment vision is taking two tiny steps forward. The village will hire an outside consultant to write a Request For Proposal (RFP) authorizing a feasibility study for a Superblock project. More importantly, village officials have identified a source of funding for the study. Riverspace, with the help of South Nyack resident Rosie O’Donnell, will fund the proposed $80,000 Superblock feasibility study.

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Nyack, Jan 5 — The old Hilltop Restaurant property at 312 Main Street is about to have a new owner/occupant. Last night the Planning Board considered an application for a preliminary site plan evaluation for Walgreens, a national drugstore chain with 7,000 locations.

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The NYS Comptroller has issued a report critical of how the Nyack Fire District funded a new station. Local fire commissioners say their efforts have saved taxpayer dollars.

by Bill Demarest

NYACK (Dec. 30) – A state audit released this week criticizes the Nyack Joint Fire District board for the methods used to finance the $3.5 million new firehouse on Park Street in Nyack, but fire commissioners say state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli has sounded a false alarm with his report.

The audit is the culmination of a three-year process which put the comptroller’s office in conflict with Nyack’s fire commissioners. Local fire officials contend they are being unfairly criticized for replacing a 130 year old dilapidated firehouse with a modern structure.

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Editor’s Note: On Dec 17, the Upper Nyack Village Board unanimously voted to abandon a proposed zoning amendment that would have allowed residential development at Petersen’s Boatyard.

by Trina Hunn

Upper Nyack, Dec 16 — I live in Upper Nyack in the historic Van Houten Landing neighborhood and practice law in New York City. My family moved here two years ago from South Nyack and has lived in the area now for almost ten years. We love this town, its eccentricity, its deep sense of community, and its beauty. One factor that influenced us in purchasing our home in Upper Nyack is its location within walking distance to the historic Petersen’s Boatyard. We have even enjoyed the pipe dream that one day we would own a boat that would be moored steps away from our home at the boatyard.

While I admire the tenacity of the Van Houten Landing Association in fighting the proposed zoning change of Petersen’s Boatyard, and while I would prefer that the boatyard be preserved forever in its present form, I respectfully disagree with the neighborhood’s opposition to the proposed zoning change. Continue reading →