As the calendar moves deeper into October and the leaves show off their annual festival of fall colors, find some time to spend a few moments on one of these magical autumn afternoons. Journey past the Liberty Flagpole at the triangle on Route 9W, just north of Oak Tree Road. There you will find a boulder with two bronze plaques affixed, commemorating the men from Palisades who served in our two World Wars. Continue west down Closter Road and just before you get to the Palisades Post Office, after the white fence with pink roses, wander up the unmarked lane that leads to the Palisades Cemetery. Open the gate and spend a little time in prayer and reflection, in awe and gratitude for those who are buried there.

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Reverend Leslie Mott

117 Washington Spring Road,

PO Box 687 Palisades, NY 10964

Phone: 845-359-3147

Email: ppc10964@gmail.com Website: www.palpresny.org

The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, with its combination of craziness and calm, is commonly known as the holiday season. Centered around the winter solstice when the days begin to grow longer—and including celebrations of Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa—it is a time as much cultural as religious, where people pause to reflect on the year past and look forward to the year to come. This year, the ongoing global pandemic means the holidays will be different from years past. Shopping is mostly on-line. Travel is restricted. Theater, concerts and sporting events are held without fans. Large family gatherings are discouraged. How do we celebrate in the time of coronavirus?

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It could have been ZZ Top day at the Pier. Every old 60s-ish guy who won’t give up on the long hair, or Ted Kosinski-type beard and sun-glasses was there. They came to fish and post signs on a telephone pole near their spot. Signs that say things like “Martha Stewart doesn’t live here.” The rods they fish with are gigantic, huge things with hooks as big as ice picks at the end of them. I guess the tectonic plates of aging shift a certain type of guy towards this type of passion. They mostly love dogs too. So the fishing guys are a big draw for dogs. Fishing guys pet them and the dogs slobber and eat the cookies they keep stashed in the trunks of their cars for just this occasion.

We pray for everyone as we struggle with the coronavirus and its effects on all of us here in Palisades, around the U.S. and the world. Please know that we have a group of deacons who are very willing to help you. If you are shut-in at home or feeling isolated, we want to help you. In addition to visits virtual and otherwise, we can help connect you to Sunday Church online at 10 am, or weekday Prayer Sessions led by Ruling Elder Erik Simon. If you are interested, please contact the church at ppc10964@gmail.com or check our web-site at http://www.palpresny.org/.

This issue comes to you as the 10964 community, the Tri-State area and much of the nation shelters in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is much anxiety and fear, but there is also heightened awareness that kindness, thoughtfulness and caring are the true currency of this time. We are beyond grateful for the extraordinary bravery of our dedicated healthcare workers, and our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones to this terrible virus.

Orangetown has a significant number of older houses, and a rich history dating back to before the Revolutionary War. In 1965, the Town of Orangetown enacted a local law establishing a Historic District in Tappan with the intent to help preserve the older houses and the historic look of the community. Three years later, in 1968, a similar law was passed in Palisades, establishing the Palisades Historic District. For over 50 years these laws, which impose controls on the design of new houses and the style of alterations to existing ones, have been administered by the Historic Areas Board of Review (HABR), which has members from both Palisades and Tappan.

I live in what’s called “a family neighborhood.” I reflect on its timeless quality, especially now when the hamlet cloaks itself in early dark. Lights come on in the pocket-book-shaped houses, yellow holes poked into the black blue of nighttime in December. Sometimes there’s the smell of smoke from a grill or a fireplace. In more than a few of these homes are new families with young children. We see lots of new little and not so little boys and girls along with young parents pushing strollers.

There may come a time in our lives when we need to find for ourselves, a loved one or a friend, alternate living arrangements, as either mobility, health or financial situations require a lifestyle change. Whether it involves simply downsizing, a need for assistance or nursing care, whatever the circumstance, there are a variety of options nearby. Within a 10-mile radius of Palisades, at least 20 facilities offer a wide range of services, everything from independent or assisted living, to nursing home care.

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Palisades Presbyterian Church
Phone: 845-359-3147
Email: ppc10964@gmail.com
Website: www.palpresny.org

In a move to take action to correct the unreliable Rockland Coaches bus service, during May and June we asked bus riders to send us their bus times to prove poor service. Thank you to all those who e-mailed their times. On August 28 I met with Matthew Bowen, General Manager at Rockland Coaches since December, who has been very available and desires to improve bus service. Our bus times range anywhere from five minutes to forty-five minutes late or no shows. He found these bus times very helpful and disturbing. We will be meeting again in late October. We spoke about late buses, no shows, GPS, ticketing, lack of information, customer service, etc. What was clear was that getting a bus on time, although other cities are successful, is very complex.

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PALISADES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 117 Washington Spring Road
P.O. Box 687
Palisades, NY 10964
Phone: 845-359-3147 Website: palpresny.org

It’s common knowledge that Rockland Coach bus service is unreliable, but a community effort recently launched by the Palisades Bus Committee may allow riders to affect change with a quick email. Hard data is the best way to mobilize positive change. Please participate if you use the southbound line at the Palisades stop.

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PALISADES COMMUNITY CENTER
675 Oak Tree Road

FINE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES SALE
Friday, October 27 6:00-8:00 pm.
Saturday & Sunday October 28 & 29 9:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Folk Art, Early American, Modern, Mid-Century, Asian Antiques, Arts & Crafts
Lots of Furniture, Artwork, Toys, Fine Crystal, Ceramics, Heirloom Silver, Tapestries, Vintage Clothing, Jewelry and Furs, Oriental Rugs, and much more!
Donations for our PCC table are gratefully accepted
Interested vendors, e-mail Eileen Larkin a.s.a.p. at ileenog@aol.com

PO Box 687
117 Washington Spring Rd. Palisades, New York 10964
Office Hours: 9:30 am - 2:30 pm, Tuesday and Thursday

We didn’t get many responses to our call for comments or concerns, but here’s one that we think sums up what many residents feel about living in our little corner of the world:

My first exposure to the Esplanade, an independent living facility set back amongst the trees along Oak Tree Road, was a common one in our community; it is where I went to vote. That changed a year and a half ago, when my 86-year-old mother could no longer manage on her own in Williamsburg, Virginia. With remarkable courage she agreed to relocate to Palisades, and to give the Esplanade a try. Here are some observations of her adventure thus far.

PALISADES INDOOR WINTER FARMERS’ MARKET returns for our 10th season!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2 9:00am-1:00pm

We are pleased to not only make available to you just-picked, local produce DIRECT from the farm and artisanal food products but to offer you a cozy gathering place during the cold winter months. Throughout December we will also have a mini Craft Bazaar. So come by for holiday gift shopping, pick up veggies and enjoy a cup of coffee and a market treat with your friends. Your patronage enables us to bring the FARMS to YOU every Saturday! See you!

As a twenty four year resident of Palisades, I have noted that there has been little in the way of commercial enterprises here, but a few have endured. Buying a postage stamp has never been under threat and although we can no longer buy gas at the old gas station, having an excellent café in lieu is indeed a much better alternative. Yonderhill antiques too has reinvented itself, catering for a series of businesses that allow its owner to keep the building in good repair. These businesses however, continue to be attacked by a small group of Palisades residents.

There were thirst and hunger and you were the fruit; there were grief and the ruins and you were the miracle.
Pablo Neruda

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In January of 2016 Gov. Cuomo signed a mandate stating that during cold weather months everyone must be given clean, warm and safe shelter. In actuality it is a controversial mandate to forcibly move those who appear homeless to shelters or warming centers, one even Mayor De Blasio, with his championing of homeless solutions, refused to comply with. Until this month Rockland County has been shelterless for our general homeless population. After years of pressure from local organizations and the Governor’s mandate, the County has offered up Building D in Pomona as a warming center between November and April for overnight stays. When temperatures are below 32° the center will remain open a full twenty-four hours.

In 1969, John Paulding Engine Company’s firehouse located on Route 340 in Sparkill was built to more effectively serve the residents and visitors to the Sparkill-Palisades Fire District. Over the past 48 years, we have expanded to include Thorpe Village, IBM, Lamont, S.T.A.C., Venture, Dowling Gardens Senior Home, and numerous new housing developments, parcels, and streets. We now have 40 active volunteer firefighters who answer the call for over 120 alarms a year, working tirelessly and without compensation.

November 8 saw the end of the most divisive, polarizing election cycle I can ever remember. Members of both political parties are worried about the future of their families and of the country. Many of us feel that America is changing in ways that are hard to accept. Faced with the current situation, some people are protesting in the streets. Others, dealing with reality in more practical ways, are waiting to see if the ship of state can right itself under the coming administration and find a safe haven that’s good for everyone. The one choice we should avoid making is to close our eyes to what’s happening around us.

Keep Palisades the Same? Stay Informed!

While scanning through the archives of our Palisades Newsletter I realized that March, 2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of 10964. I read through the first copies printed in 1977 only to find that many of the issues that faced the community back then still face us today. Traffic and speeding, concern for our historic areas and the community’s character, the future of the Palisades School, development and loss of green space, all led to the formation of multiple organizations like the Palisades Community Action Group, the West Hudson Environmental Association, the Palisades School Council, and the Palisades Historical Committee, just to name a few, whose stated goals were that of saving our hamlet. But it is the formation of the Palisades Civic Association in 1985 that would come to have the most comprehensive and powerful voice, short of incorporating as a Town, that represented the community before Town Boards and other government entities with the greatest success. Its history and accomplishments can be read in an article in this issue by Alice Gerard.

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 a.m.

Palisades Presbyterian Church
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Sunday School: 10:00 a.m.
Bible Study: Wednesdays 12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
Choir Rehearsal: Thursdays 8:00 p.m.
Pastor: Reverend Angela Maddalone
Please check out our Facebook page! www.facebook.com/ThePalisadesPresbyterianChurch
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Recent stories in 10964 have dealt with two current threats to our community: the increasing size of homes, and the destruction of our historic houses. A proposal to build a huge house — originally 12,500 square feet — was first reduced in size under pressure from the Historic Areas Board of Review (HABR) and then abandoned. A charming house on Woods Road was slated to be torn down by its new owners but now there are plans to re-erect it in a new location.