The Yoga Experience

These days, yoga studios are as ubiquitous as wheat grass on juice bar shelves.

Yesterday, March 21, the Board of Education publicly presented formal appraisals for the proposed sale of four school properties owned by the South Orangetown district.

Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants 2 and 3, like other nuclear generating plants in the United States, were originally licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for 40 years.

Since 1936, the red brick Palisades School has quietly held a solid position in the center of our Palisades hamlet. It wasn’t until a recent rumor that it was to be sold that we learned just how shaky is the ground it sits upon.

We celebrate our 30th anniversary with this March issue – quite an accomplishment for an all-volunteer publication.

There are a number of active issues in Palisades that are of community concern.

On Wednesday, September 27, members and friends of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory broke ground on a new geochemistry research building. The Observatory's existing geochemistry building dates from the early 1950's and can no longer support the kinds of leading-edge research needed to answer the most pressing questions about Earth and its climate.

The Children’s Enrichment Center (CEC), a non-profit cooperative preschool, has been a wonderful addition to the Palisades community for the past six years. Now, according to director Joanne Volpe, the CEC has been asked to vacate the building at the end of June, as the local school district may soon sell the entire 8.3 acre property on which it sits. If the property is not sold by that time, the district is planning to rent the entire building to the Fred S. Keller School, which, according to its Facility Manager Christopher D. Manikas, is very pressed for space and wishes to occupy the entire building.

Currently, the South Orangetown school district is in the process of getting four parcels of their land appraised to see what our district’s assets are worth and what the costs are to maintain them. In late November, concerned residents were told that any decision to sell the Palisades school, or any other school property, was “a long way off”. They were told that nothing would be decided before the appraisals were completed and that the district would hold public discussions before any decisions about a sale were made.

The 9W Golf Range property has changed hands for the second time since being sold by the Kopac family to MWD Star Group LLC last year. Star sold to an intermediary company who then resold the tract to Lennar Inc., the nation’s third largest developer. Starting this past summer, Lennar carried out improvements (road, drainage, berms etc.) according to a plan prepared by the Star Group and signed off by the Orangetown planning board a year ago.

One-On-One Learning was founded almost ten years ago in February 1997 by Sister Cecilia LaPietra O.P. of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill. Sister Cecilia was part of an education committee at the convent. They noticed the growing community of Hispanic laborers in the hamlet and decided to use their educational skills to help solve the language difficulties prevalent among their new neighbors.

Back when her college sophomore aged son was in 2nd grade, Margie Goldstein noticed that several of his classmates at W.O. Schaeffer school were coming to class during the winter in nothing but shirt sleeves. All the other children had warm coats, and some even had two or three beautiful coats to choose from each day. She couldn’t stand to see those few shivering children come in to class each morning without proper clothing.

Our community faces a new and serious threat. The South Orangetown School District has plans to sell the brick schoolhouse on Oak Tree Road and the property behind it, a total of 8.4 acres. They have already warned the co-op pre-school now occupying the building that they may be evicted in June and sent an appraiser to look over the property. This land abuts the 9W Golf properties now being developed by Lennar, and the two pieces of land could be connected with a road from 9W to Oak Tree Road.

Singer-Songwriter Katie Elevitch Performs November 4th

Where: Palisades Presbyterian Church / Parish Hall

When: Saturday, November 4th, 7pm to 9pm.

All ages are encouraged to attend; no admission charge. Katie Elevitch, a Palisades native, is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter whose original music has been described as "...folk plunging toward jam band funk" (Village Voice). This past Spring she played across Germany in her first international tour, and continues to perform all over the New York City area. This show will feature Katie on Guitar and Vocals, accompanied by Lee Farber (Percussion) and her long-time collaborator/producer Riley McMahon (Guitar), as well as a special appearance by Michael Shapiro (Piano), Choir and Music Director of the Palisades Presbyterian Church. Refreshments served. Visit www.KatieElevitch.com for information on Katie's music.

As we regroup after a brief summer respite, the PCC Board is diligently working on several fronts to continue the trend toward making the Community Center an active hub of our community. The fresh paint job, wallpaper and gorgeous new curtains have given the center that added touch to make it much more inviting and flexible for a broader spectrum of venues. We urge you to consider renting the space for your upcoming special event as it is becoming our own little backyard special events facility! Let’s keep it thriving!

Palisadians on their way to the meeting
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At 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 4, twenty-or so Palisadians gathered at the Woods Road triangle with Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner to discuss the future placement of a gazebo donated to the community by Tyler Schmetterer. At present, the wooden, green-painted gazebo is disassembled and stored at the Orangetown Highway Department.

Summer is over, school has begun, and the young children are back at Palisades Church on Sundays, adding their presence to the congregation. During each Sunday's "Children's Message" we all lean forward to make certain we catch their special comments and answers to questions.

Worship is at 10:00 AM every Sunday, and the 1st Sunday of each month we have Communion. The children return to the sanctuary and sit with their parents to share in that ritual.

The Palisades Free Library offers a variety of children's programs, as well a new books, new DVDs, and many reference materials.

The Historical Society of Rockland County’s newest publication, The Column Rule: Rockland People, Rockland Places by Arthur H. Gunther 3rd is now available. Unabashedly nostalgic and often poetic, Gunther’s book contains 100 essays selected from the 2600 or so columns that he wrote as Editorial Page Editor of the Journal News over the past 25 years. Gunther’s memories are often of “little people,” unsung heroes and heroines of recent decades, some of whom you’ve probably known.

Eli Josephs Given Preservation Award

The Josephs House
(Click to enlarge)

The 16th annual Rockland County Executive's Preservation Merit Awards ceremony took place on Sunday, May 21, at the Historical Society's Jacob Blauvelt House Historical Site. The Rescue Award, presented for a historic site or structure rescued from possible demolition and reclaimed for further use, was given to Eli Josephs of Palisades.