You can expect delays if you’re traveling on the New York State Thruway near the Sloatsburg and Ramapo rest stops overnight and after 7pm next week. The Thruway Authority says crews have already begun removing the pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Thruway, connecting both rest areas. There will be two 20-minute traffic stops each night, with traffic in both directions reduced to one lane Monday through Friday evenings, weather permitting. You’re encouraged to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
Orangetown Holds Final 2021 Town Board Meeting, Honors Retiring Long-Time Councilman Denis Troy
The final Orangetown Town Board meeting of the year was held last night, and it was the last one for councilman Denis Troy, who’s been on the board since the year 2000. Supervisor Teresa Kenny, the town board and others heaped praise on Troy, who then closed the meeting by thanking those he’s met along the way…
Troy also served in the Rockland County Legislature from 1996 through ’99.
Rockland Officials Collecting Holiday Toys for Kids
Area elected officials are collecting toys for kids and families in need this holiday season. Rockland’s state senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick says he’s got a drop box right in his office in Nanuet…
You can bring the toys to Senator Reichlin-Melnick’s office located at 163 Airport Executive Park in Nanuet, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski’s office at 67 North Main Street in New City, or to the Martin Luther King Center at 110 Bethune Boulevard in Spring Valley. They’ll be collecting those toys through Friday.
NY Governor’s Mask Mandate Polarizes Officials, WRCR Callers; Westchester CE Tests Positive for COVID
While many local officials are pushing back on the governor’s new mask mandate that went into effect yesterday, callers to “The Morning Show” were ok with it and mask-wearing in general. This as the numbers of deaths and those hospitalized with COVID have risen again since Friday. Rockland County Executive Ed Day said the governor’s new mandate is unenforceable, unnecessary, and would force the county to have to re-direct health department resources, but callers weren’t sure that’s the right message to send…
While the County Executive did not say you don’t have to wear masks, he did say the county would not enforce the new mandate as it currently stands, due to a lack of information provided by the governor’s office, and enforcement would compromise the larger vaccination effort. The numbers, unfortunately, continue to move upwards. We’ve recorded another death since Friday, we’re now at 1,005, and the number of hospitalized with COVID-19 has gone from 23 on Friday to 36 as of yesterday afternoon.
Over in Westchester, County Executive George Latimer said they’ll do their best to enforce the mask provision, calling it the best move to protect the health of New Yorkers and the state’s economy. Meanwhile, Latimer yesterday said he tested positive for COVID. He is quarantined and working from home. He told the Westchester Business Journal he had heard some people who attended an event in Larchmont that he was at tested positive so he got himself tested. Latimer said he had gotten vaccinated but had yet to get a booster.
Clarkstown to Vote Today at Noon on Marijuana Sales
The town of Clarkstown is voting today on whether to opt in or out of marijuana sales. Supervisor George Hoehmann expects the town board will vote to opt out following a public hearing being held during the board’s final meeting of the year today at noon…
Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says his town voted a few weeks back to opt out…
Among the towns, Stony Point and Orangetown have also both opted out.