Nyack resident JC Brotherhood follows up his previous article (How Much Is Four Acres Worth?, June 8th) on NyackNewsAndViews with a commentary in the July 3 Journal News. “Riverspace ambitions don’t match Nyack’s reality” makes the point that there are hidden costs in the Riverspace Downtown initiatitive that local officials aren’t talking about — or have yet to evaluate.

Sources: Journal News, LeftOfTheHudson, July 3; NyackNewsAndViews, June 8

Urban planning can be alot like fashion: what was once old is now new, again.

Transit Villages are designed to build shops, housing, and offices together in areas that are well served by public transportation, much like older downtown districts. An alternative planning approach which avoids urban sprawl, transit villages uses past experiences building towns and cities before automobiles created the suburbs we know today.

The updated transit village version, moderate- to higher-density development is directed to areas within an easy walk of public transportation with special attention is given to the needs of pedestrians.

The main benefits of transit villages stem from more efficient land use and more compact building. Building up uses far less land than building out and allows for growth without using open space. Building more compactly means there are more destinations at each transit stop within easy walking distance. As a result transit can run more frequently and thus be more convenient for more people.

This LoHud story talks about using the transit village concept to incorporate some of the ideas mentioned in the Riverspace Downtown project, especially as it pertains to increased density and a friendly pedestian enironment.

Sources: Sierra Club, NJDOT, Federal Highway Administration (Bay Area Fruitvale Transit Village Project

The Village is in the process of updating its zoning ordinance. It is a pithy 164 page document. It is currently open for your comments. The cover page of the document, written by the Nyack Zoning Code Revision Committee, says that “EACH and EVERY comment received by the Committee, whether incorporated or not in the final draft, will be appended to the draft for the Village Board’s review and consideration.”

All comments are due by August 1, 2008. You can email your comments to the Village Building Department.

View the proposed ordinance and maps:

• Zoning Ordinance
• Zoning Map
• View Protection Corridor Map

If you have been out of the loop on the plans, cost and possibilites of the Riverspace Downtown project, the Journal News offers a concise summary of what has been proposed.

How much is 4 acres worth in downtown Nyack? Should Nyack demand fair market price for its market share? No question here, responsible leadership needs to be clearer when identifying its goals and objectives. Continue reading →

The Riverspace Board presented a bold vision for a revitalized downtown Nyack Thursday night, presenting a $100 million plan for a “public spirited…community fueled” retail, commercial and residential development to replace the current arts center. The new plan includes two parking garages, a public piazza, a new arts center and new a restored street grid. Continue reading →

Riverspace is having a meeting on June 5 to present its plans for rebuilding the downtown. There has been some discussion about the Riverspace project on that Nyacksocialscene email group, some thoughtful some not, and I put out this piece to identify issues that I think need to be discussed in connection with this project.

I invite your comment, and I hope people attend this meeting at the Riverspace theater, which is at 7:00 PM.
Continue reading →

Fans of reality TV, high stakes dramas and social documentaries are in for a big treat. And if you live in Nyack, you won’t have to leave the zip code to see the free performance.

Riverspace presents their plans for a reborn downtown Nyack on June 5th. This follows up meetings in February, April and May to discuss redevelopment of the property which includes the arts center, the adjacent strip mall, Veteran’s Park and the M&T Bank. Riverspace board members Josh Goldberg and Debbie Reich have proposed a mixed-use development with a new arts center as the anchor. They hope to replace the current unsustainable patchwork of donors and volunteers with a new business model that produces commercial and residential rental income that will help fund Riverspace.

Continue reading →

Board member Debbie Reich says the Riverspace development team is working to determine if the proposed garage can be built partially or completely underground. She told participants at the May 5th Open Dialogue session at Riverspace they’re spending $15,000 to drill and learn how deep they can go. Reich points out that even if it’s possible, it still might not be practical to put all parking underground as expenses go up the further you go down.

Orange & Rockland Utilities say they have completed the first phase of cleanup at an old manufactured-gas plant site on Gedney Street in Nyack. According to O&R spokesman Mike Donovan, the land portion of the  cleanup operation was finished last September. The utility will look for possible shoreline contaminations with a followup investigation this spring. O&R has spent $14 million on the cleanup so far.

The Gedney Street facility, which operated from 1852 until 1965, is one of over 1,500 manufactured-gas plants that burned coal or petroleum to  light and heat the homes and businesses. The  process created coal tar and other byproduct contaminants that can cause cancer. The plants became obsolete in the 50’s when natural gas pipelnes were constructed.

According to O&R, the Gedney Street facility made gas from coal and oil from 1852 until 1889. The plant used both coal and oil as feedstock for the carbureted water gas process from 1890 until 1938. It served as a oil gas facility providing “peak shaving” after 1938 used only during times of peak demand.

Sources: Journal News, May 5, Orange and Rockland