Rockland County turned over four surplus TRIPS buses to Clarkstown today.

Each bus has about 150,000 miles, and are “beyond their useful life…due to the the tremendous number of miles TRIPS logs each day, County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said.

The county has replaced the buses with new ones purchased using funding from the Federal Transit Administration.

Meanwhile, Clarkstown’s fleet has exceeded 300,000 miles per bus, Town Supervisor Alex Gromack said.

Town mechanics will refurbish the donated buses for use by the town’s Mini Trans service, Gromack said, a move that will help save the town about $300,000 by avoiding the need to buy new buses for the next two to three years.

Above, Gromack, left, and Vanderhoef, right. Photo provided by Vanderhoef’s office.

The July periodic campaign finance disclosure forms were due yesterday for any person or committee with an active account.

So while we focused primarily on this year’s candidates I took a peek at the statements of County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and some of his rumored 2009 opponents.

Vanderhoef, a Republican now serving his fourth term in office, brought in more than $105,800 in contributions in the last six months—more than any of the people running for statewide office this year. He reported a balance of $166,577. 27 after opening with more than $131,200.

Much of his money came from corporate donations and several of his expenditures were on fundraisers.

Among the rumored challengers is Orangetown Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner, who’s getting really good at being charmingly coy when asked about the subject.

He raised nearly $41,000 this period, ending with a balance of $112,788.28. Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence took in nearly $76,000 and Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack took in nearly $61,500.

That’s big money in an off-year compared with Haverstraw Town Supervisor Howard Phillips who took in just more than $1,200 and Stony Point Supervisor Phil Marino who raised about half that.

All five supervisor seats, now filled by Democrats, are up next year as well.

Last week Clarkstown became one of 600 municipalities nationwide to sign the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreeement. The Town Board unanimously approved the agreeement, which commits participating towns to reducing carbon dioxide emmissions to 7 percent below the 1990 levels by 2012.

Clarkstown has been making some efforts in the past. Last year the town purchased six hybrid vehicles and signed on to an energy conservation plan. Two council members — Shirley Lasker and Frank Borelli — formed a committee to study energy conservation issues. The building department is looking into a updating the building code that would require all new residences to be built to Energy Star standards.

Supervisor Alex Gromack says the town is committed to protecting the environment. We’ll watch out for other measures the town will take to that end.

OK, before I explain any further, I just have to share this wonderful photo shot by Bob Rooney of Suffern at the United Hospice of Rockland’s annual spring gala Sunday.

No, you’re not imagining things. That is a photograph of town supervisors Alexander Gromack (Clarkstown), Howard Philips (Haverstraw), Thom Kleiner (Orangetown) and Phil Marino (Stony Point), wearing muscle T-shirts and performing at the gala.

The gala honored Bill and Ginny Maloney of Vista Electrical Contractors Inc. and raised $129,000 (a record for UHR) to help build the agency’s first Hospice House in the county.

Here’s some other photos from the event, all shot by Rooney: Read more of this entry »

Its details remain secret because it’s a surprise, but the four town supervisors in Rockland have been meeting twice a week since the beginning of this month to practice their performance — singing and dancing — under the direction of two accomplished Broadway dancers.

“This Sunday night is our big performance,” said Stony Point Supervisor Phil Marino, while we were talking about various town businesses at his office this morning.

Along with Supervisors Howard Philips of Haverstraw, Alexander Gromack of Clarkstown, and Thom Kleiner of Orangetown, Marino will perform to raise funds for United Hospice of Rockland at its 2008 Gala at the Colonial Inn in Norwood, N.J.

Marino said he was excited about being part of the fundraising event because of his experience when his and his wife’s fathers were under the care of hospice.

“I can’t say enough nice things what hospice does. … It’s an honor and blessing,” said Marino, adding that he had some muscle sores on his body as a result of the recent practice.

Marino said the four supervisors and other dancers will practice this Saturday and will have a dress rehearsal Sunday prior to the event.

Connie Grunfeld of United Hospice of Rockland said she wouldn’t reveil the details of the performance, but for those who were interested in watching the show, tickets — $195 — for the gala were still available. But they would have to make a reservation by tomorrow (Friday) by calling her at 845-634-4974, she said. The door will be open at 6 p.m. and the dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. The supervisors will perform about 8 p.m.

Photo by Vincent DiSalvio / The Journal News/LoHud.com 

Last week Tuesday was a fun day for the Heart of the Hudson Girl Scout Troop 40603. Seven girls were awarded with certificates for their efforts to improve recycling throughout Clarkstown.

The girls noticed that many public spaces in Clarkstown don’t have recycling bins. So they pitched an idea for officials to place bins at all parks, community centers and ball fields. They were honored by Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack, Councilwoman Shirley Lasker and Jo Anne Pedersen, the superintendent of the parks and recreation department. The recycling bins will appear at public spaces in the coming months.

The girls who were recognized were:

Ariela Nazar-Rosen
Gabriella Napoli
Brittany Kiernan
Maria Battaglia
Corrine Quirk
Joanna Perez
Sarah Werbeck

Thanks for stopping by for the Rockland Week in Review, where we look back at the biggest Rockland stories of the past seven days.

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Links to related stories:
Pearl River man remembered for love of family, friendship
25 arrested in Nyack cocaine raid
Couple, both 18, charged with Pomona home burglary
Residents have two more weeks to fight tree clearing
Rockland awarded $150,000 fr Tappan Zee Bridge historical project

Some of you might remember how several residents on a Congers street were fuming when they found out that Orange and Rockland Utilities planned to remove 50 to 70 trees in their neighborhood. I wrote about it last summer and staff writer Hannan Adely recently wrote about similar issues in Orangetown and Clarkstown:

Trees come down; homeowners not happy
Residents have two more weeks to fight tree clearing

You can also check out a video of a recent protest in Blauvelt here.

Now that the issue has resurfaced, Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack said he plans to reach out to the state Public Service Commission again to ask them to reconsider the tree removal policy. He also said he wrote a letter today to Gov. David Paterson seeking his support.

Gromack said in a statement: “While we work to preserve open space, the PSC mandates the destruction of trees. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Last summer, Gromack wrote to the PSC when he found out that hundreds of trees were slated for removal. He asked the state to revert back to the tree trimming policy they instituted prior to the blackout in 2003, which was caused when a tree fell on transmission wires in Ohio. The state never responded. We’ll have to see what happens this time.

Don’t forget that the monthly Nanuet Civic Association meeting will be held this Thursday, April 3, same time, same place – at 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Nanuet Public Library. At the meeting, Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack will talk about new projects in the hamlet, including an update on the plans to revitalize the Nanuet Mall. Erika Moschetti, who works in Gromack’s office, told me they’re waiting for the mall’s owner to submit specific plans to the town for approval and that they should have more details within a month.

Yes, it’s true. Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack will give a state of the town address at the New City Chamber of Commerce meeting this Wednesday. In fact, Erika Moschetti, who works in the supervisor’s office, said the supervisor delivers his speech to civic associations and other neighborhood groups every year.

So, if you missed it the first time, this would be a good opportunity hear what he has to say about recent and future developments within the town. (If you can’t make it this week, however, you can always check out my podcast on Gromack’s official state of the town speech, which he gave Jan. 3 at Clarkstown Town Hall.)

The speech will include issues specific to the hamlet, such as the revitalization of the old Bradlees shopping center, improving the downtown area and other future projects in the area. The meeting will be held at the New City Library at 7 p.m.

Don’t forget that the next public forum on developing Clarkstown’s comprehensive plan is scheduled for this Thursday at Clarkstown North High School. Officials said they’re looking for suggestions from residents on what should be included in the comprehensive plan, which they want to complete in 2009. Some of the topics include housing, recreation, transportation and cultural resources.

The workshop begins at 7 p.m. and ends around 9:30 p.m. and is one of several meetings to discuss the plan.

UPDATE: The meeting was actually held on Monday, Feb. 4 and we missed it. There is no meeting scheduled for Thursday. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Just a reminder that Clarkstown officials are holding their next public forum on developing the town’s comprehensive plan on Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Congers Community Center. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and last until about 9:30 p.m. People are invited to offer suggestions on topics such as housing, recreation, transportation and cultural resources.

The workshop is among several meetings that officials are going to hold in Clarkstown to get input from the public. Town officials said they hope to complete the comprehensive plan in 2009.

In fact, Clarkstown officials plan to spend much of 2008 studying, consulting, planning and evaluating. There’s the energy audit, the mall study, the parks and recreation forums and housing for volunteer emergency services among many other issues the town is looking at.

As Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack said in a phone interview yesterday afternoon: “2008 is the year of the plan.”

Check out what the town supervisor has planned for 2008 by viewing highlights of his speech last week in the video podcast below.

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• Rockland’s first baby of the year born at Nyack Hospital


• Rockland’s ‘Crow House’ named national historic site


• Pearl River family of 4 loses home in fire


• Repairs to weak spots on Tappan Zee Bridge will begin in spring

My introduction to Clarkstown included a “meet and greet� with Supervisor Alexander Gromack. While sitting on the plush leather couch in Gromack’s office with several town officials, a noise, not in the distance but really close by, drowned out his words. As the sound continued, I realized it was an alarm from the nearby firehouse. I was certainly amused with how people in the building seemed not to hear it. I suppose they’re just used to it. Has anyone had any similar experiences in or near Town Hall?