Everyone was looking forward to the prospect of bringing you a live, streaming video of the demolition of the Lovett smokestack here on LoHud.com today.

The appointed hour came, and … nothing.

What happened? Simple: Our photographers couldn’t get an Internet connection from where they were stationed in Verplanck.

I think everyone has gotten so used to Wi-Fi and network cards and Internet service everywhere they go that it never occurred to anyone that a signal would be a problem. But it was.

So, here’s the video from today’s action:

And here’s a slideshow of the smokestack toppling down:

Oh, and our apologies. Next time, we’ll make sure we can get an Internet signal first.

At a recent Stony Point’s budget hearing, several residents spoke against the town’s proposal to close Kirkbride Hall in Letchworth Village to save taxpayers’ money.

Town officials have said that they would have to close the building because it has been costing the town about $50,000 annually for utilities.

One of residents told the Town Board that the town should close the Patriot Hills Golf Club instead of Kirkbride Hall because the municipal golf course is losing a lot of money.

Town Board members had to explain to the resident that the golf course appeared to be losing money because of its debt payment.

To purchase the land and build the course, which opened 2003, the town borrowed $21 million. The debt payment has been about $1.5 million every year. After the debt payment, the golf course operation has been breaking even, although this year, operation costs would exceed revenue, officials said. Taxpayers have been subsidizing the golf course, paying more than $1 million a year.

The irony is that even if the town shuts down the golf course, the town will still have to pay back the debt.
Town Board member Geoffrey Finn, who opposes the idea of closing Kirkbride Hall, said he believed that the town should sell the golf course and pay back the debt. But to sell it, the golf course would have to be active and nicely maintained, Finn said.

Still, those residents who support youth sports activities at Kirkbride Hall appeared to be perplexed by the fact that the town paying $1 million for the golf course while trying to close Kirkbride to save $50,000.

I stopped by Admiral’s Cove Marina in Haverstraw last week to see some happy faces of North Rockland Rowing Club members: The club held a dedication ceremony of the club’s new dock, which would be used by club members, including North Rockland High School crew team.

I met club members for the first time on Aug. 9, 2005. It was my second day on the job with the Journal News, covering north Rockland.

Members spoke before the Stony Point Town Board, lead by former Supervisor A. Douglas Jobson, and asked about status of their proposal to build a boathouse on a town park.

The club was just established by parents of North Rockland High School crew team members to support the high school crew team.

Parents said that having a boathouse was very important to protect the team’s expensive gears. They were hoping to build it in a location near the Hudson so that children can launch their boats safely and conveniently.

Since then, the project took many unfortunate turns. When a new administration took over the Town Board in January 2006, the plan basically went back to stage zero, as Supervisor Phil Marino and Town Board members expressed their concerns on building a permanent structure for a private club on a town property.

Club members repeatedly told the town that the boathouse would be dedicated to the town so that it would be a part of town property. But the town did not buy the club’s argument, and eventually the project died. Meanwhile, the crew team’s boats on a boat rack left outside of the Fieldstone Secondary School — because they didn’t have a boathouse — were vandalized.

The club’s attempt to place a dock in a Stony Point town park did not go through, either.

But after nearly four years, the club finally found a home in Haverstraw village. Though the club still doesn’t have its own boathouse, they have a dock, which cost about $27,000. Jerry Rodriguez of North Rockland Rowing Club said major part of the cost was covered by the state grant procured by state Sen. Thomas Morahan (R-C, New City). A $5,000 grant sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R-C, Blooming Grove) was also used to finance the cost. Rodriguez said the club was hoping to build a boathouse somewhere near the dock, although he didn’t know where yet. Rodriguez said he was grateful that Haverstraw village Mayor Michael Kohut and Ginsburg Development Companies, owner of the marina, stepped up to the plate to help the club and the high school crew team.

Jobson was one of the dignitaries who attended the dedication ceremony, which I arrived too late to see ribbon cutting.

“Jerry invited me down. I’m glad to see they’ve finally got plenty of space to work out,” Jobson said. “It’s been four years.”

State, county and local officials as well as representatives of businesses will once again get together Monday to discuss solutions to the pressing issues involving the James A. Farley Memorial Bridge on Route 9W in Stony Point.

The meeting is to follow up the ideas that came out of the Aug. 7 meeting, initiated by state Sen. Thomas Morahan.

“My role here is to make sure that they are all on the same page, they are all working together, and they all know what their needs are,” Morahan said, referring to the different parties who need to cooperate to solve the problem, at the Republican headquarters that opened this morning.

The state Department of Transportation has banned vehicles — trucks, buses, fire engines — heavier than 20,000 pounds, or 10 tons, from using the bridge, a major route for commercial traffic, since July 3 as a result of an in-depth inspection that revealed corrosion on the steel structure of the 85-year-old span.

The DOT is currently working on bridge repairs mainly on weekends to try to make the bridge available for heavier vehicles. But the state agency made it clear that the vehicles heavier than 80,000 pounds, or 40 tons, would never be able to cross the bridge until the bridge is replaced.

At the Aug. 7 meeting, ideas such as possibly creating a detour for trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds and expediting the planned replacement project of the bridge, although the bridge might have to be shut for nearly a year.

It’s been a while since Stony Point started the process of reviewing its decade-old master plan. Finally, the Town Board is ready to set a public hearing to consider recommendations prepared by the master plan committee.

The board will be setting a public hearing for Sept. 9 at the Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rho building in Letchworth Village.

Back in February, Town Board members received the master plan committee’s recommended changes to the existing plan. But no specific information has become available to the public since then.

The master plan review started in summer 2006 as a result of environmentalists urging the Town Board to revisit the plan because Stony Point has changed drastically since the plan was adopted in April 1996.

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.

Stony Point Town Hall is closed again this afternoon because of some “smelly” air coming from an “inhibitor” installed on the wall, Supervisor Phil Marino said.

The town has been addressing mold issues in Town Hall’s basement. A contractor is working on it.

Town Hall also was closed yesterday afternoon and opened this morning. But it was closed again this afternoon because of the smell.

“I told people upstairs not to hang around and leave,” Marino said, adding that he intended to go back to Town Hall later this afternoon after his meeting with Haverstraw village Mayor Michael Kohut.

Not only “upstairs,” but Town Hall’s main building at 74 E. Main St. seems to be closed altogether. No one is taking phone calls at Town Clerk’s Office, which is on the first floor of the two-story building.

The Building Department, which is in a separate building, is open as usual.

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 

Neighborhood Cruisers, a Stony Point-based nonprofit group, found a new home for its Monday Cruise Nights.

The weekly event that runs through May to September had been based at Annie’s Snack Shack on Route 9W until last year. But the landmark restaurant was sold to a developer and a pharmacy and bank are under construction on that site.

Bob DuBois, president of the organization, said members looked for a new location and decided to move to Gennaro’s Restaurant at 146 N. Liberty Drive (Route 9W).

Jerry Garafolo, Genarro’s owner, said he was excited to be chosen by the club, which is known for its annual fundraiser for families in need, “Cruisin’ for Kids.”

“They are a bunch of great local people,” Garafolo, a Stony Point native, said of members of the organization. “I appreciate them giving me the opportunity to do my best for them. I look forward to every single Monday night.”

Garafolo said the restaurant would hold a barbecue night to coincide with the weekly car show.

The first cruise night at Genarro’s will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 5.

The event will welcome all classic, custom and special interest cars as well as trucks and motorcycles. People can also enjoy music and 50/50 raffle. Admission is free.

“I think it’s a great idea for everybody to come out and have fun, and support each other,” Garafolo said.

When I was on the phone with Stony Point Town Board member Geoffrey Finn on Friday, he told me about his frustrations related to the James A. Farley Memorial Bridge’s replacement project.

First of all, he did not like the fact that the recent two meetings, where a state Department of Transportation engineer explained the agency’s revised plans for the project, were held at 10 a.m. on weekdays. Finn said he wanted to participate but did not make it because he was working.
He also said the revised plan, which reduced the impact to the existing buildings along Route 9W compared to the original plans, would not be the best for the community because the plans would not address safety issues at the intersection of Route 9W and Main Street.

I participated in the April 3 meeting at Town Hall, and at that meeting, multiple people — including Stony Point Fire Chief Adam Feuer and Building Inspector Bill Sheehan — expressed similar concerns about the intersection, while George Potanovic, president of the Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment, complimented the revisions.  SPACE led the movement to save the Malloy building, which is located at the northeast corner of the Route 9W intersection.

Finn said he would contact the state agency to express his concern.

Check out the podcast below for this week’s top stories:


Download:

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To commemorate Earth Day, the Great American Cleanup starts this weekend and other events will be held through the week next week.

You can read this article by staff writer Laura Incalcaterra about the events, but here’s a quick list:

Saturday

• The Palisades Community Center, 675 Oak Tree Road, holds an Earth Day Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The emphasis will be on “reduce, reuse and recycle,” and there will be a tag sale, children’s events, and recycling collection areas for used cell phones, ink jet cartridges, eyeglasses and sunglasses, and household batteries. Adults and children can submit a design by noon and a winner will get to paint a Keep Rockland Beautiful trash can.

• The Great American Cleanup, organized locally by Keep Rockland Beautiful has several cleanups that welcome walk-in volunteers who don’t have to sign up in advance. The meeting places:
8:30 a.m.-noon: Hillburn Youth Center, 77 Fifth St.
9 a.m.: Congers Station Park, Lake Road; Montebello Village Hall, 1 Montebello Road; Farley Middle School, Route 210, Stony Point; Suffern Village Hall, 61 Washington Ave.; Back to Earth Natural Foods Market, 306 S. Main St., New City.
10 a.m.: Nanuet train station, off Prospect Street; Orangetown Town Hall, 26 Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg.
11 a.m.: Spring Valley Commons parking lot, off Slinn Avenue.
Noon: Corner of Maple and Twin avenues, Spring Valley.
Get more information at online or by calling 845-708-9159.

Tuesday

• Nyack Earth Days begin. Costume-making workshop for April 26 parade, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; panel discussion on solar energy and greening your home or business, 7 p.m. At Nyack Center, Depew Avenue at South Broadway. Free.

• Rockland Community College’s Earth Day Information Fair, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., outside the library. Local environmental groups and vendors of environmentally friendly products, such as hybrid cars, will be present. Live raptor show and a disc jockey. Food, prepared by students in the hospitality program, will be available for $5 per plate.

• Hungry Hollow Co-op, Route 45, Chestnut Ridge, holds an open house, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free samples of earth-friendly household-cleaning products, and information about sustainable agricultural practices.

My colleague, Cathey O’Donnell of the Data Desk, put together this cool map showing where all the Catholic schools are located in the Lower Hudson Valley, in commemoration of Pope Benedict’s imminent arrival in our region.

Click on one of the markers to find out details about each school, such as its location, enrollment or website.

Interesting tidbit: Albertus Magnus High School in Bardonia has the largest enrollment of all the Catholic schools in the tri-county area.

There are 72 Catholic schools in LoHud land, though five schools are slated to close at the end of this school year: Immaculate Conception Elementary in Stony Point and St. Catharine’s Elementary in Blauvelt, along with Holy Rosary Elementary in Hawthorne, Immaculate Conception in Irvington and St. Lawrence O’Toole Elementary in Putnam County (though there’s a big campaign on to save that school; check out the info here).

It was about five minutes before the Stony Point Town Board meeting at Rho building at Letchworth Village on Tuesday. As I was looking for a seat to sit down, Supervisor Phil Marino came up to me and told me that he needed to talk to me.

We went to the back of the meeting room.

There, he said he had a problem with my recent story about the town’s considering a new law, “Environmental Protection and Abandoned Commercial Property Reclamation” ordinance, because I quoted George Potanovic, president of the Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment.

I quoted him because I clearly remembered that Potanovic suggested the Town Board to consider this type of law, in connection with the uncertain future of Mirant Lovett power plant and its contaminated property. The meeting was held May 8, 2007, according to our archive.

But Marino insisted that the idea of the ordinance did not come from Potanovic, and that the Journal News should not quote Potanovic because he doesn’t represent the town residents at all.

“Talk to other people,” Marino charged.

I told Marino that I asked Potanovic’s input because he’s the president of the environmental organization.

And Marino said: “We are all environmentalists!”

Well, the animosity between Marino and Potanovic, I believe, started when SPACE members held signs related to the U.S. Constitution during the town’s Memorial Day parade in 2006. The relationship seemed to get better at one point, but it appeared that it got worse recently.

Like all other reporters, I’m careful with selecting people to quote for my stories. For example, I will never quote Potanovic when I want to have comments from ordinary town residents because he represents the environmental organization.

Marino’s telling me not to quote Potanovic is absurd, if not arrogant.

Podcast file:

Top stories
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Palisades Center mall stories
Palisades Center reshapes Rockland
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Retail jobs drive mall’s economy
Palisades Center didn’t cause windfall on locals’ tax bills

I started taking a Spanish class at Rockland Community College so that I can better communicate with people who feel more comfortable with speaking in Spanish rather than in English.

The first class was last night. Guess who was in my class?

When I was going through my datebook in the classroom, while waiting for the teacher with other students, I heard a familiar voice saying, “Are you covering this class? Or are you taking this class?”

It was Tim O’Neill, a former Stony Point Town Board member who unsuccessfully ran for sheriff in November, standing right in front of my desk.

For two seconds, I felt as if were at Rho building in Letchworth Village where the Stony Point Town Board usually meets.

O’Neill said he always wanted to learn Spanish and decided to take the class, titled, “Spanish for Beginners.”

The Stony Point Police Department will hold a  promotions ceremony on Wednesday while the Havestraw Police Department will host its second annual awards ceremony on Monday night.

The Stony Point Police Department promotions ceremony  starts at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall, 74 E. Main St.

Ed Finn, an officer since 1986, will officially be made detective sergeant in charge of the detective bureau. Dan Hylas, a detective since 2006 who joined the force in 1989 from the NYPD, will become a patrol sergeant.

The department also plans to promote an officer to detective. That decision will be made before the ceremony. The department also will publicly welcome Officer Kurt Mulligan, a lifelong town resident and a volunter firefighter.  Mulligan joined the  force on March 3o from the Mount Vernon Police Department.

At 8 p.m. Monday,  the Haverstraw Police Department will host an awards ceremony in Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville.  Up to 15 officers will be given awards for their efforts during 2007.

Podcast file

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Two supervisors in North Rockland want to meet the public this Saturday.

Haverstraw town Supervisor Howard Phillips will hold a “meet the supervisor and town elected officials� event from 10 a.m. to noon at the ShopRite store on Route 202 in Garnerville. Residents can bring their questions and concerns related to the town government.

Stony Point Supervisor Phil Marino invites residents to join the “Coffee with the Supervisor” session from 8 to 10 a.m. at Stony Point Town Hall at 74 E. Main St. People can bring their concerns and issues to discuss with Marino. Coffee will be served.

While Marino is having coffee with residents, Stony Point Town Clerk Joan Skinner will open her office for business from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to accommodate residents who cannot make it to her office on weekdays.

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By about 6 a.m. this morning the bus scheduled to leave from St. Joseph’s Church in Spring Valley for Washington, D.C., still hadn’t arrived yet; and the about 55 people heading to the nation’s capital to participate in the 35th annual March for Life rally, instead, attempted to keep warm, idling in their cars.

Today hundreds of people from the Lower Hudson Valley will join thousands others to protest the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion.

As those departing from St. Joseph’s sipped their coffees and waited patiently in their cars that were parked against the backdrop of a frosty dawn sky, I talked to a few travelers to see what lured them out of their warm beds so early in the morning.

(The Donahues of Stony Point. One of about 55 families heading from St. Joseph’s Church in Spring Valley to the nation’s capital to participate in the March for Life. From left to right: Ryan, 16, Shannon, 4, Thomas, 6, and Chris, 40.)

The staff of the County Clerk’s office is collecting donations to pay for the medical care of Tomkins Cove resident Christopher Riello, the son of staff member MaryEllen Riello. Christopher Riello was critically injured in a car accident Dec. 16 on the Palisades Interstate Parkway.

He was walking along the highway when he was hit by a car driven Lauren Arico of Stony Point. She has not been charged. Riello, 21, underwent surgery at Westchester Medical Center to repair a torn aorta.

Donations can be sent to the Rockland County Courthouse, 1 South Main Street, Suite 100, New City, NY 10956.

A long-awaited bridge-replacement project at the former Letchworth Village finally started this week.

The bridge on American Legion Way, formerly known as Underpass Road, was condemned in fall 2005 because of structural problems.

The condemnation left the North Rockland school district’s Fieldstone Secondary School and Willow Grove Middle School without an emergency route in or out of the facilities. Employees of the Hudson Valley DDSO, a local division of the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities located at Letchworth, were trapped in the area when its primary access road for was blocked by storm damage.

I’ll check with the town about the progress of the construction.