South Nyack Village Hall to become bike shop, cafe with $615K sale; zoning change argued
SOUTH NYACK — The Board of Trustees has rezoned Village Hall for commercial use to accommodate the building's sale, which will help defray the village's debt prior to the March 31 government dissolution.
The business earmarked for the property is a bicycle shop with a cafe that sells beverages like coffee and tea with pastries, Mayor Bonnie Christian said. The business will not run a kitchen or have ovens, she said.
The buyer, Richard DeMan, will pay the village's asking price of $615,000 for the Broadway building near the New York State Thruway. For decades the building housed village offices and the police station. DeMan, an Upper Nyack resident, owns DeMan Motorsport in Blauvelt, specializing in Porsche cars.
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Residents question impact
Some residents raised concerns during the Tuesday public hearing about the zone change permitting a commercial business in the residential neighborhood. Some residents also were concerned about a business that rented motorized e-bicycles and e-scooters.
Some speakers questioned the legality of the change, claiming it was spot zoning. The board rejected the notion of spot zoning as part of several recommendations by the Rockland Planning Department.
The South Nyack law firm of Feerick, Nugent, McCartney, representing some residents, questioned the board listing the zone change as not having an environmental impact. The firm's letter called for a stricter review, citing noise pollution and traffic.
Christian and the trustees felt the cafe-bike shop would have a lesser impact on the area than a police station that operated 24/7 with idling cars.
Kevin Phillips of Brookside Avenue told the board about a teenager dying in a Queens after being hit by a car while motoring on an e-bicycle, and suggested the trustees adopt a law setting guidelines for e-bikes.
"This action toward rezoning is a good idea," Phillips said during the public hearing. "Allowing a bike shop or restaurant seems to be a good idea. It also needs to be preceded by law in terms of e-bikes."
Christian said state law governs e-bicycles and sets a minimum age of 16. She said the village cannot overrule state law.
Christian said the rental shop makes sense, noting e-bikes and bicycles would use the shared use path behind the building connected to the bridge. She projected business would be livelier during the warmer months than in the winter.
Jennifer Rothschild and former Mayor Charles Cross, both advocates of dissolution, supported the sale of Village Hall. Both said the proposed use makes sense and the property hasn't been used residentially since the 1950s.
Dealing with debt before dissolution
The village is looking to pay off the government debt before April 1, when Orangetown takes over jurisdiction of the village functions such as courts and land-use issues, Orangetown since Jan. 1 has provided policing, snow plowing, and other DPW services.
The village was incorporated in 1878 at the northern end of the bridge connecting Rockland and Westchester counties since 1955.
South Nyack voters overwhelmingly decided to dissolve the village government on Dec. 17, 2020. Taxes, rising government costs without a village business tax base, and the potential sale of Nyack College's 107-acre campus to a Ramapo Hasidic Jewish yeshiva sparked the dissolution movement.
The village's bond debt approaches $800,000 while other debts remain.
Parking questions
Durso Trucking of Congers will pay $1.66 million for the DPW complex and adjacent 26-car parking lot on Brookside Avenue. The complex will be used for the storage of vehicles and equipment.
Local residents are concerned about truck traffic and losing the parking space, which the village charged about $125 a year, Village Attorney James Birnbaum said.
Christian said the board is negotiating operating times with Durso as part of the closing on the sale. She and Birnbaum said Durso seemed open to renting parking spots to residents, but that would be his decision.
Birnbaum said the board also approved the sale of DPW trucks and equipment to Orangetown and other municipalities for about $285,000.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: South Nyack Village Hall becoming bike rental shop, cafe after sale
