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Targets For Improvement Include Waterfront, Streetscaping, Economic Stimulus
By Tina Traster
Hear that vibrational sensation coming from Nyack?
It’s the sound of residents and Nyack watchers doing a happy dance to celebrate a $4.5 million NY Forward Award announced by New York State on Tuesday.
In New York’s Department of State’s announcement of grants to several municipalities, it said “Nyack has the energy and diversity of a small city and the intimacy of a small country town.”
The grant award will principally be applied to waterfront improvements, which include creating a more seamless and appealing connection between the Hudson River and the rest of the village, general beautification, and a boost to The Angel Nyack, a nonprofit venture to transform a church into a community venue, particularly for the arts and weddings.
For years, Nyack vied unsuccessfully for the New York’s larger $10 million DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) grants. In 2021, the Village of Haverstraw received the county’s only DRI grant. This year, the Village of Nyack pivoted and applied for the $4.5 million NY Forward grant, which is designed for smaller municipalities.
Only Certified Pro-Housing Communities are eligible to receive NY Forward grants. Nyack is one of only a handful of municipal governments in Rockland County certified under the state program.
The Village of Dobbs Ferry also received a $4.5 million NY Forward grant, while the City of Poughkeepsie received a $10 million DRI award.
In its 2024 application to NY Forward, Nyack requested $6 million for a raft of projects that stress its maritime geographic advantage, tourism, affordable housing, and jobs. The award money will not cover every ask in the application and each project needs state approval. The $6 million ask covers an estimated total cost of $14 million for all of the projects in the application. How the $4.5 million will ultimately be allocated and spent will be determined through a Strategic Investment Plan the Village will be required to undertake.
“This is huge news for the people of Nyack,” said Mayor Joe Rand. “This is a transformative moment.”
Nyack has long been seen as the jewel in Rockland County’s crown. It benefits from its historic Victorian structures, diverse housing stock, cultural institutions like the Hopper House, a concentration of shops and restaurants on walkable streets, and riverfront access. However, in recent years, the village has faced challenges with homelessness, crime and empty storefronts.
For years, Visit Nyack, a nonprofit that promotes tourism, has been the largest recipient of the County’s tourism awards.
Rand says the Village has been addressing its ills through a campaign with Catholic Charities to raise money and awareness about homelessness. He also said the Orangetown Police Department has become much more visible on the streets.
“There have been dramatic improvements,” said Rand. “We’ve seen a decline in panhandling, more police presence. We made the bold move of removing benches from Hezekiah Easter Veterans Square, so we haven’t seen people sleeping or camping in the square. Instead, they should be sleeping in warm beds.”
The village will set its sights on creating a “Marina Commerce Center,” as its called in the grant application. The goal is to connect Memorial Park, the marina, Clermont Pier, and the proposed waterfront walkway along the yet-to-be built Tidewater housing project. The village is hoping to shore up and restore the bulkhead infrastructure at the marina as a precursor to attracting a waterfront restaurant.
In 2019, the River Club restaurant, a waterfront staple and a village-owned building, was razed because the supports for the 1970s stick-frame wooden structure were inadequate for the commercial restaurant. Bringing back a restaurant operator, along with the walkway over the inlet that will connect the marina to Memorial Park, as well as a riverfront walkway connecting the Clermont to the marina are the critical pieces of reviving Nyack’s underutilized waterfront asset.
In conjunction with that vision, Rand said portions of the grant should be used to make the waterfront and the heart of the village’s commerce more connected through beautification and signage. There’s a disconnect between Nyack’s pedestrian streets and the waterfront; partially because there’s a steep drop along Main Street to get to the water. Short of providing a trolley, the village hopes to use grant money to create visual continuity through streetscaping and signage. The John Green House is also vying for grant dollars for its historic restoration project.
The village is hoping to use grant money for cosmetic improvements with lighting and art to the village gateway space under the Thruway Overpass, make improvements along Main Street, add downtown murals, and wayfinding signage.
Rand said The Angel Nyack, the village’s newest community space, is a top priority. The former First Reformed Church of Nyack needs HVAC work, including air conditioning, if it is to become a venue for weddings. The First Reformed Church at 18 South Broadway has been reborn “The Angel Nyack,” a mixed-use performing arts and event space that will preserve the building, allocate space on Sundays and holidays to the church, and continue serving meals on Mondays and Wednesdays to those in need.
The Angel Nyack, Inc., a nonprofit that will be run by a group of local citizens, purchased the First Reformed Church of Nyack at 18 South Broadway for $2.5 million in 2024. Both Thomas Schneck and Susan Wilmink have been active in the community’s economic vitality. Schneck runs Visit Nyack, while his wife Wilmink is the founder of the Nyack Wedding Collective.
Other hopeful projects that have asked for funding include assistance by the Nyack General Fire Protection Company #2 to convert an abandoned convent on Third Avenue to affordable housing units for firefighters. The grant might also cover money to local organizations that support commerce and the arts, as well as provide capital funding for storefront facade and sidewalk improvements.
“We are ready to hit the ground running,” said Rand. “Everything is subject to state approval, but we are going to get a committee started, vet the project, solicit input from the public. We’re going to be extremely transparent. This grant money belongs to the public.”
The application detailed requests for state funding for various projects including:
- Improvements to Nyack’s Gateway, specifically cosmetic improvement to the space under the Thruway overpass ($400,000);
- Main Street Streetscape connecting the riverfront to Broadway ($1.5 million);
- The Marina Commercial Center improvements ($1.050 million);
- Improvement to the John Green House as a potential arts center ($625,000);
- Rehabilitation of a vacant convent on Third Avenue for firefighter affordable housing ($700,000);
- Investment in The Angel Nyack event space ($1 million);
- Downtown murals, street fairs, and wayfinding signate ($475,000); and,
- Grants to small businesses ($300,000).
