The Disappearance of the Blinking Light Explained

At the Annual Town Meeting held at the PCC on January 30th, community members shared their concerns with Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner and new Council members Nancy Low-Hogan and Michael Maturo. Topics included zoning and setback laws, the Palisades school, and 9W development. However, the main focus of conversation turned to traffic.

On a pleasant weekend, it has become increasingly popular for bicyclists, many decked out head to toe in spandex, to head to Piermont or Nyack by way of 9W. While some respect the rules of the road, a growing number are inclined to ride three, four or even five abreast, causing cars to pull into ongoing traffic to pass. Here is what the New York Department of Transportation laws state:

Palisades Free Library

Member of the Ramapo Catskill Library System

19 Closter Road

Palisades, NY 10964

845-359-0136, Fax 845-359-6124, http://www.rcls.org/pal>www.rcls.org/pal

Hours: Mon-Thu 1-9, Fri 1-5, Sat 11-5, Sun 1-5

Closed Dec. 24, 25, 30, 31, Jan. 1, Feb. 19, Apr. 8

117 Washington Spring Road PO Box 687 Palisades, NY 10964 Phone:(845) 359-3147 Website: www.ppc10964.org

The Palisades Church will welcome the Christmas season beginning on the First Sunday in Advent, December 2nd.

Books and Greetings at the new strip mall in Northvale, NJ
(Click to enlarge)

Before you point and click on Amazon.com, call Kenny Sarfin at Books and Greetings in Northvale, N.J. (OK – it’s not technically Rockland County, but it’s veritably perched on the border.) Better yet, take a quick spin to his well-stocked store, munch on some homemade cookies and enjoy a rare thing; congenial interaction with knowledgeable sales help.

Children build their own scarecrows at the Palisades Community Center
(Click to enlarge)

Autumn brought twenty scarecrows to Palisades, all dressed up and ready to bring that special Halloween spirit to our hamlet. A huge thank you goes out to Larry Bucciarelli who provided the lumber, labor and homemade honey! Another heartfelt thanks to Carol Baxter who got this great idea going as well as Carol Knudson, Sheila Chin and Michèle Balm for working on covering the production aspects from clothing and stuffing for the crows to warm apple cider and donuts, to pumpkin carving tools. The event was a big crowd pleaser and sure to be repeated in years to come!

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; nine of Lamont’s current scientists contributed work to IPCC’s most recent 2007 global warming assessment. This prestigious award clearly acknowledges that changes are now taking place that could threaten our environment, economy and social stability. Lamont Doherty has been involved in seminal climate work since the 1950s.

The term, “Aging-Place,” has appeared recently in news articles. It means continuing to live in your house and in your community as you grow older, as opposed to moving to an assisted living facility; moving away, perhaps to Florida; or moving in with your children somewhere else in the country. There are real satisfactions that come from continuing to live in the same community over a long period of time. But as people age, the many tasks necessary to maintain a household become more difficult, and sometimes additional help is needed. Different parts of the country have experimented with programs that provide assistance to older residents who want to continue living in their own homes.

The Palisades School
(Click to enlarge)

The new Fred S. Keller School sign outside the Palisades School on Oak Tree Road is an indication that its possible sale has been tabled, at least for the moment.

(Click to enlarge)

About a half hour drive north, a community of artists has found a home at the Garnerville Arts and Industrial Center located on Minisceongo Creek near Haverstraw. Originally a pre-Civil War textile mill, 18 years ago one third of its space was divided into small studios for artists. About 50 artists and artisans including sculptors, painters, wood workers, mosaic and stained glass artisans and musicians now occupy part of the large 341,000 square foot complex, which also encompasses performance and exhibition areas.

Congratulations to Snedens Landing Tennis Association’s 2007 tournament winners. They are: Mary Ann Brown – women’s singles, Danny Leherecke - men’s singles, Mark Cohen and Cynthia Kling – mixed doubles.

(Click to enlarge)

Multi-talented Mikhail Baryshnikov has joined the ranks of children’s book authors with his charming new book, “Because…” Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers and illustrated by Vladimer Padunsky, it tells of a young boy who lives with his grandmother and is embarrassed by her but comes to realize that she has a good reason for her strange behavior.

Since June, when the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Oak Tree and Closter Roads was swiped by a truck and had to be removed, simply crossing the street has become an even more treacherous undertaking for some Palisadians.

Nancy Buciarelli, Linda Ewig and Didi Conn
(Click to enlarge)

The Harvest Moon Happening was held at Lamont Doherty on September 29th to benefit Nyack Hospital and the event was a resounding success. As the first major community fund-raising event to be held in Palisades in years, the benefit inspired scores of local residents along with hundreds of other guests from around Rockland County to show how much they care about supporting our local hospital. It seems that the invitations were so alluring that few who received them were able to resist; having torn open their envelopes, everyone immediately realized that they had to go out dancing under the full September moon.

The last event before the summer hiatus was the Community Center’s Family BBQ Fund-raiser which was a great Palisades family affair. Those attending participated in many activities such as learning how to square dance, a whip cream pie eating contest, a real pie contest for both adults and kids, as well as tug-of-war and water balloon activities, to name just a few. The rain was a bit cumbersome but did not dampen the spirit of those witnessing the unveiling of the Palisades Community Center sign so generously donated by fellow Palisadian, Henry Ottley.

Member of the Ramapo Catskill Library System

19 Closter Road, Palisades, NY 10964

Tel: 845-359-0136, Fax: 845-359-6124, pal@rcls.org, www.rcls.org/pal

LIBRARY HOURS: Mon.–Thurs. 1:00-9:00

Friday 1:00-5:00

Saturday 11:00-5:00

Sunday 1:00-5:00

Library Closed: Columbus Day, October 8th and Thanksgiving, November 21st and 22nd

As the fall begins, we resume work and school refreshed from a beautiful summer. The Palisades Presbyterian Church returns to our regular schedule.

Weekly service and gatherings schedule:

Sundays: 10:00 AM Worship and Sunday School

Tuesdays: 10:00 AM Tai Chi

Wednesdays: 12:15 PM Bible Study, AA Meetings: 7:30 PM, Womens AA Meeting: 9:00

Thursdays: 10:00-12:00 AM Play Group, 8:00 PM Choir Rehearsal

Fridays: 10:00 AM Chair Tai

Children’s Shakespeare Theater

The Rogue Players present Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

November 9, 10, 16 & 17 at 8:00 pm

November 11 at 4:00 pm at the Palisades Presbyterian Church

Why see it at Lincoln Center when you can see it with us for a mere $10?! It’s a tale of love and betrayal; of duty and war and intrigue—stolen children, a princess in disguise, an evil stepmother; a ridiculous villain who gets his head chopped off and all in the fantastical setting of Middle Earth! After all, why wear togas when hobbit feet are so much more fun?

It Needs Some Music: Composing for Stage and Screen

Sunday, October 7: Composer David Shire, an Oscar and Grammy winner and multiple Tony and Emmy nominee, talks about and performs some of his music for stage musicals and the movies, assisted by Broadway and off-Broadway singer/actress Lynne Wintersteller.

In August, the Palisades Free Library’s “Sunday Symposia: A Community Cultural Series” was selected as the winner of the 2007 Member Library Adult Program of the Year Award from RCLS, the Ramapo Catskill Library System*. The award will be presented at the System’s Annual Meeting, Friday, October 5, at the West Point Club. The Library’s Board of Trustees President, Mary Ellen Ledwith, will make a brief presentation describing the program and provide a display highlighting the program for over 100 attendees who are library directors and trustees.

It is back to school time and children all over Palisades will be boarding buses headed for school. Children do not wait at the corner for the school bus in our neighborhood. The reason? The corner of Muroney and Route 340 is just too dangerous. Cars on their way to the Volvo facility or Takasago or other companies in the Rockleigh Industrial Park roar past. They speed by our little corner year round often at forty miles an hour. Add to the mix trucks and vans pulling trailers full of landscaping gear and you have a dangerous combination. It is just not safe for children to wait so close to this road and the younger ones can never wait there without supervision. So parents and children wait about twenty feet down from Muroney.