A long-time staple of the county’s other major mall is bringing back a gem of its past. The Ferris Wheel at Palisades Center in West Nyack has officially reopened, after closing nearly four years ago during the pandemic. The 60-foot tall attraction is the only indoor Ferris Wheel in New York. It is now open daily in the Food Court from 12:30 to 8 PM. The mall will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, January 18th from noon to 3 PM that’ll feature live entertainment and half-price rides for all guests. The Ferris Wheel had been part of Palisades Center since the mall opened in 1998. The carousel was removed in 2021 and replaced with a rock climbing wall.
News
NY AG Hands Prison Inmate Beating Death Investigation off to Special Prosecutor
A special prosecutor from the Onondaga County D-A’s office is taking the lead in the investigation into a fatal prisoner-beating case caught on a correction officer’s body cam. Thirteen correction officers and a prison nurse are being investigated in connection with the beating death of 43 year-old inmate Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility near Utica. Four of the officers are defendants in other matters and are being represented by lawyers from the Attorney General’s office. A-G Letitia James said she was concerned the mere appearance of a conflict of interest could tie up the investigation and potential prosecution into the attack, resulting in lengthy legal challenges or even a dismissal of the case…
Rockland State Senator Bill Weber of the 38th District told “The Morning Show” he was horrified by the video…
Brooks died a month ago one day after officers allegedly beat him after he was transferred from another facility. The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice are also investigating.
MTA’s Congestion Pricing Officially Begins in NYC
If you drove into Manhattan yesterday and went below 60th street you paid more than you did the day before. That’s because the MTA’s congestion pricing plan went into effect Sunday. Most drivers are now paying an extra nine dollars daily, for now, to get into the city and drive below 60th Street. There are a handful of exceptions, trucks cost more, but some hours overnight are discounted. On Friday before it became official, Rockland County Executive Ed Day told “The Morning Show” there’s a better and more fair way for the MTA to make the money it needs…
Day also suggests the MTA be audited, the head of the organization be forced to resign, and fare-beaters be forced to pay up. The Rockland Business Association has opposed the plan, and CEO Al Samuels says the incoming President Trump Administration could conceivably overturn it, even though many have argued it is necessary to help the city’s transportation woes…
Yesterday, the governor said her 2025 budget would include a major investment in Hudson Valley rail service on the Metro-North Hudson Line that would increase capacity, reduce delays, improve safety, add infrastructure capital improvements between the city and Poughkeepsie, and more. For west-of-Hudson commuters, Hochul suggested New York will conduct a transit analysis to perhaps expand rail service and look at opportunities for other types of transit in Orange County, including shuttle bus services for the Port Jervis Line trains to and from Woodbury Commons, Legoland, Storm King, and Stewart Airport.
Governor Gets Ready to Present NY’s State of Address Next Week
New York’s governor is making a push for various initiatives in the new year as Albany’s annual budget fight is just getting started. On Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul outlined several “give-money-back-to-New-Yorkers” ideas she’s got cooking for 2025…including more time off for expectant mothers, her $300 and $500 inflation refund, and, as of January first, increases in the minimum wage, to $16.50 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and $15.50 across the rest of the state…
Rockland Assemblyman Karl Brabenec of the 98th district, covering western Ramapo and parts of Orange County, voted against increasing the minimum wage, because, he said, it tends to help jobs, for example, those in the fast-food industry, that are less consequential to the community…
Hochul will deliver her 2025 State of the State Address on Tuesday, January 14th in Albany.
Bowline Park in North Rockland to Celebrate 50th Anniversary This Year
Bowline Point Park in North Rockland is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but it’s not clear yet how the town of Haverstraw will celebrate the milestone. Supervisor Howard Phillips says regular events will be peppered throughout the summertime…
Phillips says residents who might have suggestions about how to celebrate the park’s 50th anniversary can contact town hall.