Thursday, February 9, 2012
Meeting scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 at Clarkstown Town Hall
The Rockland Water Coalition is hosting a public information forum about United Water’s proposed Haverstraw Water Supply Project on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Clarkstown Town Hall. The state Department of Environmental Conservation accepted United Water’s 4,000 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on January 18. The proposed desalination plant would draw water from the Hudson River daily and treat it for use as drinking water in Rockland County. Riverkeeper, which supports the Rockland Water Coalition, released the information about the “Get the Facts Water Conference” on Wednesday. According to Riverkeeper, experts will discuss various aspects of the project in terms of the environment, cost and health. …
41.14667
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Clarkstown Town
10 Maple Ave, New City, NY
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Fallen limbs raised concerns about blockage and threat to nearby pedestrian bridge
Tropical Storm Irene left behind trees, branches and debris in the Ramapo River in Hillburn. This morning, a local contractor begins clearing out the material that remains from the August storm. Town of Ramapo officials worried a blockage could occur during a heavy rainstorm and even threaten the stability of a nearby pedestrian bridge. The Rockland County Drainage Agency (RCDA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) both inspected the riverbed following a request made in December by the Town of Ramapo. According to the county executive’s office, both agencies inspected the debris field and obstructions. Once FEMA determined the debris removal qualified for FEMA relief funding, the county agency agreed to remove the …
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
State selects four qualified bidders from five interested parties
Five bidders have reached out to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and expressed an interest in building the new Tappan Zee Bridge. NYSDOT, along with the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), announced Tuesday that four of the five bidders are qualified for the job after undergoing "a thorough multi-agency technical review," officials said. The four design-build consortiums deemed suitable are: NYSDOT and NYSTA will now issue a request for proposal to each consortium, which requires them to submit a preliminary plan for building the span. "After design-build proposals are submitted and reviewed, one of the four short-listed consortiums will be selected later this year to construct the new bridge," officials said…
Board honors Pride of Clarkstown winners.
The Clarkstown Town Board unanimously moved a resolution to take excavated fill from the Central Nyack Drainage Project and store it at an underutilized commuter lot for possible use for another project. “The Central Nyack Drainage Project involved the removal of a tremendous amount of fill,” siad Town Attorney Amy Mele. “The original bid called for the contractor to take that fill and dispose of it, and it was a rather pricey line item.” The vote came during Tuesday’s meeting, and the fill will be saved to help build a higher berm around the drainage basin at Klein Avenue in West Nyack, which is intended to help the area’s flooding issues. The fill will be placed at the commuter lot on Route 303 South. In the resolution, the New York …
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Clarkstown Town Board
10 Maple Ave, New City, NY
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They were honored at Tuesday's Town Board meeting
At Tuesday’s Clarkstown Town Board meeting, 18 teens graduated from the Clarkstown Youth Court. “We’re recognizing them for their wonderful civic-mindedness,” said Eileen Malloy, a detective with the Clarkstown Police Department and director of the Youth Court program. “These are teens that show up every week ready to learn and now they’re showing up and working in the court. They have volunteered their time because they want to make this town a better place to live and I think that’s one of the most admirable things we can give.” In the program, Clarkstown residents ages 13-16 act as a court of peers for juveniles, trying, judging, defending and convicting or exonerating them. While adults are available for advice, ultimately the …
41.14667
-73.9885
Clarkstown Town Board
10 Maple Ave, New City, NY
/articles/youth-court-graduates-18
230335
/locations/6336581
Feds: Land deal for Monsey Fire District was designed to pay off commissioner's personal debts.
A ex-commissioner of the Monsey Fire District has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for a scheme that used a fire district real estate deal to pay off his personal debts, according to Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Nathan Rothschild pleaded guilty to mail fraud on June 30, 2011. While pleading guilty, Rothschild admitted to participating in a scheme in which he proposed that the fire district purchase a parcel of real estate from a creditor of his without disclosing his person interest in the transaction. As part of the scheme, Rothschild expected that the fire district would purchase the real estate at a higher price than the creditor had paid. Rothschild intended the creditor’s…
T.E.E.N Works Corps Members needed until August
Rockland County AmeriCorps (RCA), a program of the Rockland County Youth Bureau, is looking for people 21 and older for a part-time paid community service opportunity with the Youth Employment Program, T.E.E.N. Works. Four Trainer Assistant positions are available. Members will work 300 hours from March until August. For their service, Trainer Assistants will receive a $2,115 living stipend and a $1,132 educational award. The education award can be used to pay college tuition or a qualified student loan. Members also receive training, ability to network and the experience of working with a spectrum of youth development professionals to add to their resume. It is a work opportunity for college/graduate students and youth advocates, who …
There are no Rockland busing companies that qualify the bid requirements
Rockland County is in the process of finding a company to run its two major bus services—Transport of Rockland, or TOR, and Tappan ZEExpress—through competitive bidding. However, the bidding qualifications eliminate all local bus companies. Richard Brega Jr spoke out about this issue at Tuesday night’s legislative meeting. He owns the Brega Transport Corp. in Valley Cottage. “The county has put out a new bid that excludes any and all Rockland transportation companies. In the specifications, there is not one Rockland County bus company that can comply with this bid,” said Brega. This is not the first time Brega has confronted the county with contract bidding issues. “There is a transportation bid that was put out. I’m the fellow that … …
41.148127
-73.99049
11 New Hempstead Rd, New City, NY
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/locations/6336716
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Rep. Nan Hayworth is the fifth highest scoring Republican member of Congress, according to the environmental watchdog organization.
Democratic members of Congress from the Hudson Valley had high marks on the annual New York League of Conservation Voters 2011 National Environmental Scorecard release Tuesday. Both Democratic senators—Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—had top scores of 100, said Marcia Bystryn, president of the league. "New Yorkers care a lot about our environment," she said. "It should not come as a surprise both of our senators had perfect scores in 2011." In the House, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, achieved a 97, while Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, scored a 94. On the Republican side of the aisle in the House, Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, was given a grade of 43. "While her score is nothing to write home about," Bystryn said, "her score in the …
Community member filed complaints about three specific meetings
Rhea Vogel of New City filed complaints about three Clarkstown Board of Education meetings with the New York State Committee on Open Government on December 8. Vogel said she felt the action was necessary. “There was an ongoing pattern of improperly convened executive sessions,” said Vogel, a former board member. “And there were just meetings not accessible to the public. It seemed to me they were doing things that were prohibiting people to access these meetings.” The three meetings Vogel is seeking opinions on whether they violated the Open Meetings Law (OML) were held on October 25, November 3 and November 22, 2011. In addition to her requests for advisory opinions, other materials concerning the October 25 and November 3 meetings …
Issy
9:32 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Nonsense, European cars get approx. 50% better gas mileage on the same car that sells in the US. CAFE standards have not kept up with technology. Clearing old trees in a managed approach is one thing, raping forests for short term profit another. History has shown that the earth's climate is very susceptible to long term change due to inconspicuous events. Our 'small part' is having dire …   more ›