Central Nyack is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in the
Town of Clarkstown in
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...
,
New York, United States, approximately 20 miles north of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
; it is north of
Blauvelt
Blauvelt is a hamlet and census-designated place, formerly known as Greenbush and then Blauveltville, in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Tappan, east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River, south ...
; east of
West Nyack; south of
Valley Cottage, and west of the
Village of Nyack. As an unincorporated community, governmental functions default to the town level (Clarkstown). The community is located at latitude 41.094 and longitude -73.95. The elevation is 62 feet. The neighborhood is in a mountain-view area, situated just north of Buttermilk Falls County Park and Stephen Rowe Bradley Town Park.
History
Central Nyack grew up along the old Nyack Turnpike (present-day State Route 59). Anecdotally, travelers looking to avoid the toll on this road just outside the village of Nyack developed a path into the hills just south of the toll gate. This path eventually became Waldron Avenue, and a hamlet grew up around it. Most of the community was built between the 1880s and the 1920s. Outlying tracts were developed in the 1970s.
The first night professional baseball game in Rockland County under lights, was played on June 29, 1933 in Central Nyack. The stadium was built by Pierre Arnold Bernard, where the current Nyack Housing Authority is housed. Dynamite and elephants were allegedly used to level the mountain.
Transportation
The community straddles State Route 59.
Transport of Rockland county buses provide service along this route to
Suffern,
Spring Valley, Nyack, and the
MetroNorth
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority_of_the__is_a_type_of_Nonprofit_organization">nonprofit_corporation_chart ...
commuter rail station in
Tarrytown
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...
.
Clarkstown MiniTrans
Clarkstown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. The town is on the eastern border of the county, located north of the town of Orangetown, east of the town of Ramapo, south of the town of Haverstraw, and west of the Hudson Riv ...
provides circulator buses within the community. The Central Nyack bus stop coordinates with Route D and stops at the Nanuet Train Station for commuters to ride the
Pascack Valley Line
The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...
into Hoboken, NJ.
Land use
The primary housing type is single-family detached dwellings. One subdivision, Ward Drive, has semi-attached units. There is one garden apartment complex. Several older single-family homes have been converted to multiple dwellings. There are apartment complexes located on Pine Street and Waldron Avenue, both built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
There is highway commercial use along State Route 59. There is a small business district located at West Broadway and Waldron Avenue; this area no longer contains any businesses as of the mid-1990s. The community center and fire station are also located here.
A shopping plaza was built on the wooded area north of Route 59 and east of Route 303 in the late 1980s which contains a supermarket and several restaurants.
There is no significant industry in the hamlet.
The area abuts Buttermilk Falls County Park to the south. This park is largely undeveloped, with a small parking area and three improved hiking trails. Wildlife include
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
chipmunk
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
,
rabbit, and
nuthatch
The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. M ...
. There are no schools located in the community.
Education
The western portion of Central Nyack is part of th
Clarkstown Central School District Students here attend West Nyack Elementary School, Felix V. Festa Middle School and Clarkstown Senior High School South.
The eastern portion of Central Nyack is part of the
Nyack Public Schools
Nyack Public Schools is a school district headquartered in the Town of Orangetown, New York, United States. It serves several areas in Orangetown and Clarkstown including the villages of Nyack, South Nyack, and Upper Nyack, Upper Grand View, ...
system. Students here attend
Valley Cottage Elementary School, Nyack Middle School and Nyack High School.
Demographics
Central Nyack is composed of Block Group 3 of Rockland County Tract 111.02.
2000 U.S. census data gives:
*Population: 1,845
*Non-Hispanic White: 31%
*Non-Hispanic Black: 40%
*Non-Hispanic Asian: 8%
*Hispanic: 11%
*Other: 10%
*Housing Units: 574
*Rented Units: 39%
*Owner-Occupied Units: 61%
References
{{Reflist
Hamlets in New York (state)
Hamlets in Rockland County, New York