LAMONT-DOHERTY is sponsoring The Secondary School Field Research Program, a six-week intern program for about 30 high school students that runs from July 8 to August 16 and pays $1,200. Lamont is looking for high school kids who are interested in science, like to work in teams and are not afraid to get dirty. The work takes place in the field – mostly Piermont Marsh – and in the lab and can be physically and intellectually demanding.

Sadly, two thirds of America’s great gardens were lost to development by the end of the last century. When Francis Cabot, an avid gardener from an old Boston family, learned in 1989 that Ruth Bancroft’s innovative 3 1⁄2 acre drought-tolerant garden in Walnut Creek, California, was in danger he decided to start THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY to save it and other outstanding American gardens. Bancroft’s garden, now protected by a preservation easement, was open to the public in 1992.

We toss our empty Tide bottles, flattened Amazon boxes and rinsed mayo jars into the town’s blue and green bins and hope we are doing our part for the planet, but the success of a recycling ethos and recent global changes mean our good intentions are sadly irrelevant. We simply generate too much waste - recyclable and otherwise - and the time has come to rethink our habits.

At the request of Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day, Palisades Free Library Trustees are exploring the idea of forming a special district library with Tappan and Orangeburg Libraries. This may provide greater long-term financial security for our library. As a special district library, the three library buildings would become branches managed by a single board of trustees with a single budget. Please know that we are at the beginning of this inquiry. No change is imminent.

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As the new Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge took shape, many of us were surprised how quickly and smoothly the work was progressing. Tappan Zee Constructors (TZC), the main contractor for what was the largest infrastructure project happening in America, has maintained a low profile by being transparent and hitting milestones on time. However, in December the New York Attorney General announced it was investigating the possibility of a cover-up regarding bolt failures on the project. The announcement was both a surprise and a relief to many because the investigation has been ongoing for over a year before it was announced but also because the bridge was deemed inherently safe.

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PALISADES INDOOR WINTER FARMERS' MARKET
returns for our 11th year! Saturday, December 8,
9:00 am-2:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you!

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

Hours: Monday - Thursday 11-9, Friday - Saturday 11-5, Sunday 1-5

Holiday Closings: Closed Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), and Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas Day)

Next Meeting of the Board of Trustees: Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 7:30 pm. All meetings are open to the public.

Director: Maria Gagliardi; Board of Trustees: Marjorie Galen, President; Beverly Warwick, Vice-President; Christopher Keywork, Treasurer; Jen Citrolo, Secretary; Natalie Barak; Margaret Cook; Suzanna Frosch; John Guzewich; Sarah Buterbaugh

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Have you ever noticed the forlorn Adopt-A-Highway sign posted on the southbound lane of Route 9W just beyond the bus shelter? According to the sign, Blue Sky Landscape maintains a one mile stretch of 9W through Palisades.

Ed Kalotkin, our local physical therapist guru, was invited to speak to a group of thirty oral surgeons and dentists who are members of the Nanuet Implant Study Club on June 7th. The topic – the benefits of physical therapy in the treatment of TMJ (pain and compromised movement of the jaw joint and the surrounding muscles). Dr Brian Simpson, an oral surgeon who attended, commented that he found Dr. Kalotkin’s presentation “very enlightening." Ed Kalotkin has offices in Palisades and Bardonia and can be reached at 845-359-3950.

In 2009, opening the Palisades Winter Farmers’ Market was a grand experiment. There were no other indoor winter farmers’ market in the tri-state area. All I knew, from my experience as the founder of the Nyack Farmers’ Market, was that when the summer market ended, faithful shoppers begged for the market to continue into the winter. The only place a winter market was feasible and practical was the New York City Greenmarkets, due to the sheer volume of customers, not in a cold, snowy unplowed parking lot in Nyack.

On October 23, the Town Board voted and approved a zone change for HNA from LO (Laboratory Office) to OP (Office Park). In December 2017, HNA received approval to add 100 hotel rooms to their Executive Training and Conference Center. The Planning Board clarified that HNA was not zoned for hotel use; rooms were only to be used by conference guests. In July 2018, HNA appeared before the Town Board, asking for a zone change to allow hotel use for outside guests.

Off and on for ten years, the community has been battling with the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to make safety improvements to the Route 9W/Oak Tree Road intersection and lower the speed limit to 35 mph from the NYS/NJ border past HNA. We have had meeting after meeting, which included DOT representatives, Assemblywoman Jaffee, NYew Senator Carlucci, county legislators, including Orangtown Supervisors (Kleiner, Whalen, Stewart and Day), Traffic Advisory, Police and Highway Departments and community representatives. At last April’s meeting, we learned that Jaffee had secured $650,000 for improvements and the DOT agreed to make our requested improvements to the intersection. The speed limit, however, was to be determined.

The total Palisades vote mirrored the total county and town votes with the exception of the Orangetown Town Clerk, the only position won by a Republican for which Palisades tallies are available. All other contested positions went to Democrats. The number of people voting was the highest since 1974; 49% of Rockland residents voted this year.

We’ve all heard that old saying “there are only two things in life you HAVE TO do, die, and pay taxes”! Well, Rockland County continues to maintain its standing as the second highest taxed county in the United States just behind Westchester. And now, the Rockland County Legislature has until December 7th to adopt the 2019 Budget that would raise taxes by another 2.9%. County Executive Ed Day’s proposed $709 million dollar budget will increase property taxes by an average of $37.70 per family and are meant to cover contract salaries, health benefits and rising state government costs.

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Fifty years ago, when I started gardening in Palisades, the average date of the first frost was October 12. Over the years that date has shifted; this year the leaves started falling later than I can ever remember and the first frost on my property occurred on November 15. To illustrate the paradoxical nature of the way our region is warming, that same day an early snowstorm created havoc in our area.

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South Orangetown Day: The 4th Annual South Orangetown Day Celebration is here! Saturday, October 13 from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm on the Great Lawn of the Manse Barn in Tappan. The Day is great fun for the whole family to enjoy, with games, activities, live music, food and beer! Stop by at the Library Booth and say hello.

Piermont is bustling with activity; new restaurants and shops along with longtime favorites have made this riverside village a popping place to hang out.

Lamont Open House: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory presents its annual Open House on Saturday, October 13, 2018 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. Tour a lab, participate in hands-on earth science demonstrations, and learn from world-renowned researchers about their latest discoveries. 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY.

It’s hard to forget Superstorm Sandy’s far-reaching disaster all along the New York/New Jersey seaboard and lower Manhattan in 2012. Closer to home, rising water levels and storm surge tossed boats onto land and devastated many homes along the Hudson River in Piermont and Palisades. We still hear about communities in New Jersey that are waiting for relief. But what hasn’t been in the news is the $19.4 million federally- mandated and federally-funded study for a more than $20 billion project to protect shoreline communities from future storm surges.

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It has been over five years since the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) first put forth its plan to eradicate phragmites, the dominant vegetation in the Piermont Marsh.