If you are befuddled by national politics these days, take a close look at Rockland County’s 2017 budget battle. It may enlighten you. The back and forth of the budget approval process is a microcosm of a familiar ethos; “I’ll give you this, but only if you give me that.” In this case, lack of funding for a collection of beloved Rockland County nonprofits is linked to the stalled sale of a crumbling building in New City. Two entirely unrelated issues, right? Enter the Art of the Deal.

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117 Washington Spring Road
PO Box 687
845-359-3147
ppc10964@gmail.com
www.palpresny.org

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Palisades Community Center (PCC) News
www.Palisadescc.org

Palisades Indoor Winter Farmers’ Market Returns for our 9th season!
Saturday, Jan 14 9:00 am-1:00 pm

We are lining up our favorite farmers and have a waiting list of new guest vendors. We will be adding special events and workshops to our schedule, so stay tuned! We are pleased to not only make available to you just-picked, local produce and artisanal food products but to offer you a cozy gathering place during the cold winter months.

Your patronage enables us to bring the farms to you every Saturday! See you!

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On Display in the Marie H. Firestone Community Room
The Artist's Way Meetup Exhibit, featuring the artwork of participants in the Library’s The Artist’s Way Monthly Meetup, will be on display in the community room December 1 – December 31. All are invited to the opening reception: Sunday, December 4, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

Tina Trastor, producer and director of the film This House Matters, believes that “Historic preservation is not for sissies.” This 30-minute documentary, shown at the Palisades Community Center on October 16, tells the stories of four old sandstone houses in Rockland County threatened with destruction. One was destroyed; the other three have been saved because of the dedication and hard work of local preservation groups.

School House 1918. This building, now the Palisades Community Center, was built in 1870 and used as the Palisades School until 1930.
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Blooming Hill Organic Farm Delivery
While we wait for our Winter Farmers’ Market to return mid-January, every Friday morning individual bags of just-picked organic fruit and veggies are dropped off at the PCC.

Bags are $45 each. We offer Balthazar Bread and organic eggs. Order when you want. If you would like to try it, e-mail us at <PCC@palisadesny.com<.

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ADULT PROGRAMS

Open Mah Jongg Play
The Mah Jongg group meets every Tuesday. Advanced, beginners, and experienced players welcome for casual, noncompetitive play. No instruction is provided and we recommend that you bring your own National Mah Jongg League card.
Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

2016 Presidential Election: Tuesday, November 8
Please remember to vote in this crucial election. Palisades residents vote at the Palisades Esplanade on 640 Oak Tree Road from 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

This past summer on Friday, June 3, only 200 yards away from a school in Mosier, Oregon, a set of broken bolts in a railroad bed could no longer handle the stress of another Union-Pacific train carrying oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota. Fourteen of the 96 DOT-111 tanker cars ruptured, releasing 42,000 gallons of crude oil.

*Lynn Sykes forwards this response by Roger Witherspoon, a journalist specializing in matters related to energy use and production, to Entergy’s assertion that Indian Point provides 25 percent of the electrical power consumed by New York City and Westchester County, and that closing the power plant would force the city to buy dirty energy produced by coal. The original document has been abridged by 10964 because of space*.

After years of local opposition, the plan for a multi-million dollar desalination plant in Haverstraw, New York is officially belly up. But who picks up the roughly $50 million tab for the cancelled project’s legal, engineering, and planning costs? Look closely at that water bill in the next few years because it will be you, the customer.

PALISADES FREE LIBRARY CELEBRATES 125 YEARS!

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Please join neighbors and friends of the Palisades Free Library for a festive afternoon Saturday, May 14th (rain date May 15) to celebrate our 125th anniversary.

Palisades Presbyterian Church
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Strawberry Festival
Saturday, June 11, is the date for this year’s Old Fashioned Strawberry Festival at the Palisades Presbyterian Church. The Festival runs from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, rain or shine, on the Church grounds. Enjoy strawberry smoothies, lemonade, and of course the famous strawberry shortcake (with homemade whipped cream) while having fun with neighbors and friends. Face painting and other children’s activities make this a great family outing too. For more information, contact the Palisades Presbyterian Church at 845-359-3147, or visit the Church website at www.palpresny.org.

If you live in Palisades, you know what a special place it is, protected from the unbridled development trampling northward through New Jersey by only a state line and zoning laws that a vigilant community want seriously enforced.

Palis-Agers
The Palis-Agers will meet in the Community Room of the Palisades Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, May 18 at 1:45 pm. Gerri Miras will speak to us about folk tales, which go back to the beginning of recorded history. She has given a course on the subject at the Learning Collaborative. As usual, we will share coffee, cookies and conversation.

When in 1977 a group founded 10964, it was envisioned as a newsletter that would unite this incredibly diverse community. It was never intended to be a place for divisive, unsubstantiated personal attacks such as what was recently published in the May issue by Susan Nemesdy. To characterize Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty as a company that "represents the glitzy luxury lifestyle most of us moved here to get away from" without a scintilla of evidence to support the claim is virtually slanderous. At a minimum, it violates the intended spirit of 10964.

Update on Anellotech
Cost effectiveness has won the day regarding expansion of Anellotech’s research and development facility in Pearl River. After the project’s controversial approval by the town last year, five construction companies were approached to bid on the job. In a January statement, Anellotech’s CEO David Sudolsky said “all the quotes were signifi cantly above our target.” The company will build its new facility in Silsbee, Texas citing lower operating costs, better infrastructure and easy access to a highly skilled workforce.

Palisades Community Center Board members:
Carol Baxter, President
Alice Buchanan, Vice President
Carol Knudson, Secretary
Andrew Nelson, Treasurer
Michele Balm, Keith Buterbaugh, Dr. Leo Keegan, Dr. Jeffrey Levine, and Lynn Sandhaus
Honorary Board member: Dr. Virginia McCauley

Rental Coordinator:
Eileen Larkin
845-359-6589
Ileenog@aol.com

Palisades Presbyterian Church
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Palisades Presbyterian Church
117 Washington Spring Road, PO Box 687
845-359-3147
ppc10964@gmail.com, www.palpresny.org
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Please check out our facebook page!
www.facebook.com/ThePalisadesPresbyterianChurch

SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, May 14. Help us celebrate the library’s 125th anniversary with a plant swap and book sale, food and music and much more. Stay tuned for more information. Please contact the library if you are interested in volunteering to help out in preparation for, or on the day of, the event.

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 11:00 am - 9:00 pm, Friday - Saturday
11:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
Next Meeting of the Board of Trustees: Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30 pm. Open to the public.

Holidays: Closed Good Friday, March 25, Closed Easter, March 27, Closed Mother’s Day, May 8, Closed Memorial Day, May 30.

Director: Maria Gagliardi; Board of Trustees: Helena Power, Treasurer; Mary Ann Brueckner, Secretary; Marjorie Galen; Holly Seeger; Beverly Warwick. Elected to the Board at the 2016 Annual Meeting: Jen Citrolo, Suzanna Frosch, John Guzewich, Christopher Keywork