The June episode of Crossroads of Rockland History focused on a new documentary, “What Happened to Jackson Avenue: A Story of Urban Renewal.“ Host Clare Sheridan spoke with the filmmakers Hakima Alem and Rudi Gohl. She also heard from members of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Craig Smith and Elise Stone, who are producing the film, which covers an urban renewal program in Nyack, NY in the 1960s and 1970s that removed 125 families, 79% of whom were Black. [Read more…] about The Destruction of Jackson Avenue: A Story of Nyack Urban Renewal
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Zita Johann: Rockland County’s Classic Movie Star
Zita Johann (1904–1993), best known for her role in The Mummy (1932) starring Boris Karloff, lived for many years in Rockland County. The latest episode of Crossroads of Rockland History explores a new book on the actor by local author Tom Stratford, Along Came Zita (BookBaby, 2023). [Read more…] about Zita Johann: Rockland County’s Classic Movie Star
Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
2022 marks the 140th birthday of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). On the November episode of Crossroads of Rockand History, we learned about the events celebrating this important American artist, who was born in Nyack, in Rockland County, NY. [Read more…] about Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
A Toni Morrison Retrospective in Nyack
On the June 2021 episode of Crossroads of Rockland History, author Brenda Ross visited the program to speak about the Toni Morrison retrospective that she curated for the Historical Society of the Nyacks. This is the first exhibit to open in the Historical Society’s new museum space. [Read more…] about A Toni Morrison Retrospective in Nyack
Race, Power and Urban Renewal In Nyack
On the February 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” the topic was the history and impact of Urban Renewal on Nyack, NY.
Clare Sheridan’s guests were Owen Voutsinas-Klose, author of Race, Power and Urban Renewal on the Hudson, and Bill Batson, whose family was directly impacted when their home was seized by eminent domain to make way for urban renewal in Nyack. [Read more…] about Race, Power and Urban Renewal In Nyack
Nyack Education Pioneer Arlene Clinkscale
The October 2019 “Crossroads of Rockland History,” featured an interview with Dr. Arlene Clinkscale who made New York State education history when she became the first African American woman in the state to lead a school district. Nyack. [Read more…] about Nyack Education Pioneer Arlene Clinkscale
Esposito Rail Trail: Crossroads of Rockland History
The December 2018 “Crossroads of Rockland History,” featured South Nyack Village Trustee and Esposito Rail Trail Sign Committee member Andrew Goodwillie.
Goodwillie shared fascinating facts and anecdotes about the impact of the railroad and Thruway on Nyack and South Nyack. Goodwillie and a team of volunteers from Nyack, South Nyack and Piermont have been researching this history to create wayside historical signage along the Esposito Rail Trail (Nyack, South Nyack, Piermont and Sparkill). The signs are finished and will soon be in the ground in a number of locations along this busy walking trail. [Read more…] about Esposito Rail Trail: Crossroads of Rockland History
Sketching Nyack: Exploring A Hudson River Village History
There’s a new book out that is a must for lovers of Nyack and for anyone who enjoys a well told story of a town. For the past few years, Nyackers have looked forward every Tuesday to the Nyack Sketch Log by Bill Batson on the website Nyack News and Views.
Each week Bill explores an aspect of Nyack’s past or present through an original pen and ink sketch and a written essay. Now the best of Nyack Sketch Log is available in book form, and the individual entries coalesce into something even better – an illustrated biography of the community. [Read more…] about Sketching Nyack: Exploring A Hudson River Village History
Sylvia Roth: A Nyack House Haunted by Art
When printmaker Sylvia Roth moved into her home in South Nyack in 1977, she had no idea it was the birthplace of a major figure in American art, Joseph Cornell. This house on Piermont Avenue seems to have its own designs, selecting artistic occupants for over a century.
Emily Dickinson, Cornell’s enduring muse, wrote that “nature is a haunted house, but art is a house that tries to be haunted.” As Roth describes the creative output of subsequent generations of her family, one begins to suspect that this is a house haunted by art. [Read more…] about Sylvia Roth: A Nyack House Haunted by Art
A Nyack Sketch: The Historic Towt House
Imagine the stories that would be told if houses wrote autobiographies.
This stately structure on South Highland Avenue in Nyack could tell us if slaves were hidden here during the abolition movement. We would know about the political maneuverings and legal strategies of the successive generations of lawyers who called this place home. Or learn the downside of having a neighbor who owns a private zoo. The garden could share the secrets of what makes her bloom. But alas, buildings and garden beds don’t write books.
Fortunately for us, this house has a biographer, and her name is Judy Martin. [Read more…] about A Nyack Sketch: The Historic Towt House