Around 50-70 acres in the towns of Clarkstown, Haverstraw and Stony Point were consumed by fires starting mid-Friday afternoon. By Sunday morning most of the fires were under control, with a few flare ups here and there. But the damage was done. Rockland County Executive Ed Day says some homes, fences and cars were damaged due to the blaze…
Day says hundreds of thousands of dollars in resources were used to fight the blaze through the weekend, and if CSX is ultimately responsible for causing the blaze, he says he’ll make sure they reimburse the various municipalities involved. Clarkstown Police Detective Norman Peters says all 26 Rockland volunteer fire departments operated at all the brush fires starting Friday, and they were joined by three departments from Orange County, six from Westchester and five from Bergen County, New Jersey. A Westchester police helicopter dropped water on the fire on the mountain in Haverstraw. Trains came to a stop as the fires burned. There were no injuries reported among area residents, but at least three firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
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A New Jersey man and his dog were killed around 10pm Thursday night in an accident on the Palisades Parkway in Clarkstown. New York State Police say 20 year-old Cyrus Silverio of Hackensack was involved in a three-car crash near exit ten southbound. It’s not clear what caused the collision, but police are asking anyone who may have seen it, or has information on the three cars involved, a burgundy 1992 BMW, a black 2001 BMW, both with New Jersey plates, and 2023 gray Nissan Rogue with New York plates, to call Senior Investigator Carmen Goffredo at 845-344-5300. (and reference SJS #11370980).
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A frequently-traveled section of road in Clarkstown is going to be closed just about all summer so a bridge can be replaced starting tomorrow. Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann says the Snake Hill Road bridge between Old Mill Road and Crusher Road will shut down starting tomorrow so a new bridge can be built over the railroad tracks…
Detour signs will be posted on Old Mill Road and Kings Highway.
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New York State’s budget deal is now more than two weeks late. Rockland Business Association president and CEO Al Samuels says in addition to housing and bail reform issues, there’s charter schools, funding for the MTA and more…
Samuels thinks voting on budget bills could possibly come next week.
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RCC is hosting its 33rd Annual Chess Event and Exhibition tomorrow. The event is open to all students and the public, and it offers the chance to meet International Grandmaster Gennadij Sagalchik. The event runs tomorrow from 12:30 to 3pm in the Student Union Room 3214 on RCC’s Suffern campus.
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The annual worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day, which honors the millions of Jews and others who were killed by the Nazis, is being held today in New City. The presentation’s guest speaker is Anne Minihan, administrative judge for the 9th Judicial District. That’s today at 2pm the jurors’ room at the Rockland County Courthouse, and it is open to the public.
Local Story #7
Rockland is mourning the loss of Alan Moskin, formerly of Nanuet, an infantry soldier in World War II who helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp. He passed away on Saturday at his home in South Carolina. Moskin served as a sergeant in the Army’s 66th Infantry, 71st Division, part of General George Patton’s Third Army. After the war he spent much of his time educating people about the war and the Holocaust. He served on the Board of Trustees of Rockland’s Holocaust Museum and was named “Veteran of the Year” in 2016. He was 96.