(Click to enlarge)

Member of the Ramapo Catskill Library System
19 Closter Road Palisades, NY 10964
845-359-0136, Fax 845-359-6124
pal@rcls.org, www.palisadeslibrary.org
Hours: M-Thu 11-9, Fri-Sat 11-5, Sun 1-5
(closed Sunday June 20-Sept.12)
Closed: May 9, Mother’s Day; May 31, Memorial Day;
July 5, Independence Day observed; Sept. 6, Labor Day

Director Maria Gagliardi

It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out why our county is called Rockland; scratch the surface and you hit the rock of the Palisades. It is no surprise, then, to find stone walls throughout our hamlet lining the roads, buttressing residents’ terraces, delineating garden beds, and outlining old fields abandoned to the forest. They are so much a part of our landscape they scarcely attract notice.

Our local newsletter, 10964, has survived for the past 33 years largely through the support of advertisers. The generated funds cover the cost of printing and mailing, allowing us to send 10964 out free to everyone in Palisades. As we head into the tenth year of a new century we would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm and grateful thanks to the following advertisers who have been with us for ten years or more.

I think, I hope, I think, I hope our little area of Rockland is becoming a restaurant destination! We are seeing several new quality dining options spring up almost within walking distance, and one of these is Danny Foti’s new venture, The Commisary.

On Saturday, March 13, Palisades was hit by a powerful nor’easter bringing heavy rain and hurricane-force wind gusts of over 70 miles an hour. Many large trees crashed down, their roots unable to hold firm in ground saturated with snow melt from the last big storm. Some landed on power lines, houses, and automobiles. The storm caused havoc throughout Palisades; Orangetown had more damage than any other area in Rockland County.

(Click to enlarge)

Ink plays a much-reduced role in the new journalism, but when reporters get together, the epithet "ink-stained wretch" is meant as solid praise for an accomplished veteran. Palisades was home to a consummate “ink-stained wretch,” Peter Michelmore, until he died recently of cancer at 79.

The Guttman house on Indian HIll Lane
(Click to enlarge)

Indian Hill is a wooded enclave of thirteen modern houses located west of Closter Road just past the Palisades Parkway crossing. It was created in the early 1950s by a group of World War II veterans living in the converted army barracks of Camp Shanks, then being used by Columbia University as temporary housing for married students. Camp Shanks was expected to close in the next year or so and members of this group wanted to stay in the Palisades area. They looked everywhere in the hamlet and found that most land was too expensive for them, but then discovered a large piece of property along Closter Road, part of a former farm.

The old carriage road
(Click to enlarge)

It was crossed by an old carriage road called Gerson’s Lane. After incorporating, probably in 1951, as the Rockleigh Woods Cooperative, the group purchased 18 acres of land for $6,400.

The Palisades Community Center in spring 2008
(Click to enlarge)

For one hundred years, the sounds of children playing and school bells ringing could be heard from the Palisades Schoolhouse located at 675 Oak Tree Road. Built circa 1870, the children of Palisades were educated in the Schoolhouse until 1936 when the student population outgrew the building and the red brick school was built across the street. From 1936 until 1970, the Schoolhouse continued to serve an educational purpose. In the late 1950’s, when the student population eventually outgrew the red brick building, kindergarten was held in the Schoolhouse and in the 1960’s both the kindergarten and 6th grade were housed there. Children walked across the street to the Schoolhouse for lunch prepared by the “Hot Mamas.”

Palisades and Its Communities

HeyHoe Woods is made up of approximately 24 acres and bordered by South Orangetown School District property, IBM, The Esplanade and Oak Tree Road.

Palisades Community Center
Board members: Carol Baxter, President; Carol Knudson, Vice President; Jill Wecht, Treasurer; Sheila Chin, Secretary; and Michele Balm, Alice Buchanan, Lyn Fowler, Dr. Leo Keegan, Michael Tersigni and Honorary Board member Dr. Virginia McCauley

Mailing Address:
PO Box 222 Palisades, NY 10964
Phone: 398-2521 during business hours
e-mail: PCC@palisadesny.com
Website: www.Palisadesny.com

We are pleased to announce our two newest board members: Lyn Fowler and Michael Tersigni. Lyn has a MBA and has worked in publishing for over twelve years. Michael has been a leader in the international design industry for over twenty years specializing in creative development and implementation of design concepts. We welcome their experience and enthusiasm and look forward to their contributions as we move forward.

Palisades Free Library
Member of the Ramapo Catskill Library System
19 Closter Road, Palisades, NY 10964
845-359-0136, Fax 845-359-6124
pal@rcls.org www.palisadeslibrary.org

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11-9, Friday to Saturday 11- 5, Sunday 1-5 Closed: April 12, Easter

Director
Maria Gagliardi

Board of Trustees
Sabelle Frasca, Lisette George, Mary Ellen Ledwith, Gerry Miras, Susan Nemesdy, William Saum, Holly Seeger, Kathryn Shattuck, Charles Shimel, David Shire and Dr. Lynn Sykes

Throughout January and February, the District has been in the process of developing the 2010-2011 school budget. State funding has been slashed so school districts are struggling to keep next year’s budget low. Especially in this economic climate, it is important to attend a meeting to learn what is added and removed from next year’s school budget.

Palisades Presbyterian Church 1900
(Click to enlarge)

PO Box 687, 117 Washington Spring Road
Palisades, NY 10964
Phone:(845) 359-3147, website: www.ppc10964.org
Sunday Worship Service and Church School, 10:00 am

A REFLECTION FROM REVEREND MADDALONE

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read: “Blessed by the Best.” It stuck with me as I reflected on my first year here as the pastor of the Palisades Presbyterian Church. I certainly have felt “Blessed by the Best” as I’ve gotten to know people in the church and the community and as I have had the privilege of journeying with many people through this miracle of consciousness we call life.

New Restaurant Opens in Tappan
Daniel Foti, former proprietor of The Baker’s Wife, has opened “Commissary” in the prior location of the Village Grille (65 Old Tappan Road, Tappan, N.Y.). Commissary features contemporary American cuisine, highlighting local and seasonal fare. Daniel, a Culinary Institute graduate, has previously worked for the Santo Restaurant Group in Manhattan, including the “Sign of the Dove.” Commissary is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations accepted. Available for private events. (845) 398-3232.

There is a ritual that takes place each month on a Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm. A select group of Palisades residents gather in an obscure location for a ceremony that will determine a part of their future. They sit in rows of chairs that face a long table but they cannot sit at the long table, which is reserved for officiates rarely known as the HABR-7. At the appointed time the HABR-7 enter the room and the ritual begins. Everyone stands and in unison they utter a pledge. The doors are closed. The master of the HABR-7 calls out the name of a Palisades resident who must either come forward or send a substitute. Someone intones a set of numbers and letters: Section, block and lot designation. The Palisades resident makes his petition to the HABR-7: He wants to replace a kitchen window.

Palisades representatives continued their pressure on the town to correct a number of issues residents have complained about for years. In response to our recent e-mail campaign, about three-dozen residents wrote to town off cials requesting a reevaluation of the Route 9W intersection including lowering the speed limit on 9W, installing a sidewalk and traffic calming on Oak Tree Road.