South Nyack Residents concerned about Path

It’s a little past the date for when the first span was to open. A little past. No one’s been counting months? Time marches on, they say. No one is more aware of this than residents of South Nyack — specifically, the group Preserve South Nyack — because the picture above will become the picture below (rendering by landscape architect Kathryn Wolf).

Check out the full story in the July 13, 2017, issue of the Rockland County Times.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

What to do in Traffic besides Honk the Horn

It happened a few days ago. Not sure why cars were slowing down to a crawl for no reason — no trucks to blame — yet the main span was choking with vehicles. Time to capture the sky through familiar metal as soon it will be gone.

Talk at the facility where mom’s recuperating from a broken leg is often about how the new bridge will help traffic. Or won’t.Several people have relatives who visit from Rockland, and two nurses who live there say it will be a big mess of three lanes into four and then back into three.

This is another view I’ll miss. I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

The Next Morning and Different Tree Shadows

This morning I returned to see what the path looks like at a different time of day. It was between 11:30 a.m. and noon when I took this photo, closing my eyes and pointing the camera at the sun.

Several weeks after writing about the group Preserve South Nyack’s efforts to preserve the trail I fell sideways off a friend’s front steps. It was early March. I didn’t feel pain or effects immediately, and then one day I was unable to get up from a chair without support from its arms, get into or out of the car, sit or drive comfortably or walk without limping. Yikes! This was a level of fear I’d never known.

Long story short, I’ve been meaning and wanting to walk on the Esposito Trail now that it’s warm, and the trees and plants have blossomed. Physical therapy helped a little; time and cortisone shots, more. My gait is sometimes off, like today, yet not enough to keep me from coming back to see the trail when the sun’s angle casts shadows from the east.

This time I saw bicyclists and a jogger, who waved hello. I also saw a man without a plastic bag enter the trail and walk his dog. There are bags (at least there were yesterday) available at the entrance from Clinton Avenue, and if there none left, then as a dog owner he knows to carry a bag.

A journalist, objectivity is key unless I’m writing an editorial or an opinion piece or sharing my thoughts here. As I did yesterday I looked to the west side of the trail, where the state plans to build a path separated by a granite median. In the above photo, you can see the roadway looks close by. I wonder how much of the trail’s width will be sacrificed for that median.

You guessed it: I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

Walking the Esposito Trail with My Thoughts

People were driving sooo slooowly this afternoon. Traffic began right after cars merged from Exit 9 onto the Thruway. The speed (constant braking) allowed me to see how far work on the new maintenance facility has progressed.

The Esposito Trail was pretty and lined with lush greenery. I took notice of the side where the new path will be built and kept thinking it will be gone by this time next year.

There were bicyclists and no other walkers in the late afternoon, and when they rode by I stepped aside. It was quiet and respectful, and I understand why some in the village want to keep it that way: no side path.

Beyond the green (west) I saw fencing and the outline of cars that completed the huge circle and chose to bear right into South Nyack. That’s if you look for the fencing. Hard to imagine what it will be like walking the trail, which will remain cinder, once the new path is built.

The state’s survey closes July 9; the village has been responding and has been making itself heard to the board and via lawn signs posted since January.

There’s still time to complete it and tell project officials what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

July 4th Reminiscing: Broadway Shows and 1776

Dad loved Broadway shows and took mom to the The Great White Way at least twice a month. When my little brother and I were old enough, they took us to see Annie, Pippin, Chicago, Cabaret, Camelot, Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, Gemini, among others.

1 of 3 covers – May 1971/ Playbill Vault

One show I found very entertaining, and remember to this day, was 1776, which opened on March 16, 1969. And my favorite song from that show, one that always makes me smile because of its catchy tune, is this:

If you plan being on the river, then be aware of the new boater safety rules.

Detailed information — including the Coast Guard’s weekly Local Notice to Mariners, excerpted and in its entirety — is also listed on the project website.  A LNM primer is here.

Happy 4^th of July. Stay safe and have fun!

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017