The Town of Tuxedo suffered the scrutiny of an assessment by the Times Herald-Record Sunday, which reported that behind “the facade of wealth and exclusivity, the town can barely pays its bills.”

Perhaps it’s a bane of bedroom communities, the lack of local commerce and identifiable cultural identity; but the corridor that winds through Sloatsburg and Tuxedo appears to be suffering from an economic malaise. There are any number of shuttered businesses along Rt. 17, some empty for years now. Continue Reading

New York State Assemblyman Karl Brabenec takes his oath of office before an audience of Sloatsburg Elementary students on January 16 / Photo courtesy Ramapo Central Schools

Sloatsburg Elementary students got a front-row glimpse of government in action as witnesses of the ceremonial swearing-in of New York State Assemblymember Karl Brabenec in their school gymnasium on January 16. Continue Reading

Arcadis began preparation for continuing environmental remediation work in Torne Valley at the site of a former sand quarry. Torne Mountain is seen in the distance. / Photo by Geoff Welch

Before Torne Valley was a Superfund site, parts of it were used as a sand quarry, with the sand deposits part of the valley’s natural aquifer — now classified by NY state as a principle aquifer and used as a major regional water supply. Back in the 1950s, pockets of the valley were dug through along Torne Brook for natural resources. Those sandy areas eventually became a graveyard for paint sludge brought in from the former Ford Motor Company plant in Mahwah, NJ.  Continue Reading

Just a few years ago, Sloatsburg Elementary School had several bustling after school programs, including Homework Club and the Family Resource Center. Both programs were geared toward providing homework assistance to elementary school students but were lost in the 2013/14 school district budget cuts. Continue Reading

View of the Ramapo River as it washes over Sloats Dam in Sloatsburg, NY, with Mill Pond’s higher flat surface behind the roiled white water.

The Village of Sloatsburg has an industrial and commercial history going back to the mid-1700 Dutch settlers that included Stephen Sloat, who built Sloat’s Tavern. That original structure is still in existence at the rear section of the current Sloat House.

Mostly, the manufacturing history of the area centers on the power provided by the Ramapo River. Continue Reading

Creamer construction vehicles along Rt. 17 in north Sloatsburg to the Tuxedo line, maneuvering big metals bodies in and around traffic lately. The subcontractor is busy installing an upgraded United Water New York water line along the corridor, from near Post Road in Sloatsburg to Tuxedo Manor Apartments. Continue Reading

As sewer construction work creeps up hill in the Pine Grove Lakes neighborhood of Sloatsburg, lead contractor Montana Construction clipped a hidden water line Wednesday morning at 8 a.m.

Montana Construction and United Water work Wednesday to repair a water main break that took place during sewer construction.

The main sprayed water into the air at the top of Council Crest Road until Montana and United Water New York were able to shut off the flow.

Water in the Pine Grove neighborhood was shut down throughout the morning (currently water service for many PGL residents is still off) while United Water worked to repair the water main.

The Sloatsburg sewer project in Pine Grove is due to run through the end of 2014, with possible road paving scheduled for sometime in the spring, after the road settles from construction.

For more information on water service, call the Village of Sloatsburg office at 845/753-2727.

The past several weeks saw outstanding achievement celebrated at Suffern High School. Seniors found out final class rankings and athletics, led by the championship girls track team, were honored at last week’s Ramapo Central Board of Education meeting. Continue Reading

United Water New York is beginning a water main project upgrade along Rt. 17, from Post Road in Sloatsburg to Tuxedo Manor Apartments.

United Water New York is beginning an infrastructure upgrade along Rt. 17 in Sloatsburg that will run from Post Road to the Tuxedo Manor Apartments in Tuxedo, a 1.25 mile stretch of road. UWNY customers along the route will receive a temporary above-ground water system during the project. Continue Reading

Sloatsburg’s old main drag — along Rt. 17 in 1929. 2014 marks the village’s 85th year as an official village in the Town of Ramapo.

Back 85 years ago yesterday, October 2, 1929, Sloatsburg residents voted to become the 4th village in the Town of Ramapo. At that time, Sloatsburg’s population was approximately 1600 total residents, said Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright. Continue Reading