Rockland County village of South Nyack to cease to exist on Friday
SOUTH NYACK, N.Y. -- It's a rare step to eliminate a layer of government in New York.
As of Friday, the Rockland County village of South Nyack will cease to exist. The police force has been disbanded and on Wednesday Village Hall was sold to a developer, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
"Well, thank you, thank you. It's gonna be exciting," Rick DeMan said.
DeMan is planning for the future, now that South Nyack's time is past -- at least as an independent village.
Sixteen months ago, voters concerned about high taxes and rising costs voted overwhelmingly to dissolve South Nyack, which has a population of 3,500, eliminating the village DPW and police department, and transferring all village operations to the town of Orangetown, which is run by Supervisor Teresa Kenny.
"We've been covering the police since January, without incident. We ended up hiring two of their police officers, so there's some continuity. We hired two of their DPW workers, so there will be continuity here in Orangetown," Kenny said.
Mayor Bonnie Christian is a fourth generation South Nyacker.
"Yes, that's true, last mayor. So, it's an honor and a privilege and it's also a sad moment, too," Christian said.
READ MORE: Mastic Beach Residents Vote To Dissolve Village
Dropping village status and becoming an unincorporated hamlet doesn't faze most residents.
"As long as it stays the wonderful neighborhood it is now, it's great," resident Kate McShane said.
"I hated to see the village dissolve, but that was not the favor of the residents. We were mandated to dissolve the village and that's what we've done," Christian added.
With the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge path right behind the old Village Hall, plans for the building include a bike shop and a coffee house.
Over the next few days the hall will be emptied out and the village of South Nyack will officially cease to exist as of April 1 -- no fooling.
In 2010, the state Legislature passed a law to make it easier for villages to dissolve. But few have done so.
Last year, residents in the Orange County village of Highland Falls rejected an effort to dissolve.
