"West Nyack waited and we ended up with a fantastic project." Maddy Muller, vice president of the Heritage of West Nyack Civic Association, said that to News 12 as officials marked the end of the West Nyack Revitalization Project in mid-October.
The wait was long. The project took more than two decades of planning, and it was paid for in part with state and federal grants. What the finished project mostly adds is a way to walk between places that have been in West Nyack for years. The crossroads it centers on has had an inn on it since 1840. The kitchens along West Nyack Road and Strawtown Road were open before the construction crews showed up. The sidewalks are new. Most of the places they connect are not.
The crossroads came first
The oldest stop is 1 Strawtown Road. In 1840, Thomas Warner opened the Clarkstown Hotel there. By the 1850s it was Knapp's Hotel, and later the building became the Clarksville Inn. The local history guide kept by the Rockland County library system calls the West Nyack Road and Strawtown Road crossroads a historic commercial hub.
The building's newest chapter started after a fire on New Year's Eve 2017 destroyed the kitchen and closed the restaurant. Kieran O'Gorman and his wife Kim restored the property, and Kieran opened it as the 1840 Tavern in December 2019. The name is a nod to the year Warner opened. It still runs as a sit-down restaurant, with a posted menu and daily kitchen hours.
So the redesigned intersection sits on the same corner the hamlet has gathered around for more than 180 years.
Two decades of meetings, two phases of work
The Heritage of West Nyack site tells the planning story from the residents' side.
- A committee made up mostly of West Nyack residents was formed at the request of then-Supervisor Charles Holbrook, with former Supervisor William Vines as chairman.
- In 2007, Supervisor Alex Gromack reorganized the committee.
- In 2009, residents met at the West Nyack Fire House to give their input.
- In spring 2012, Heritage of West Nyack, Ltd. formed to preserve and promote the hamlet's heritage.
- In 2021, the group's own site noted that nothing visible had happened yet.
- In 2023, Phase I opened as the West Nyack Hamlet Green and Firefighter Memorial Park.
- Phase II, the town revitalization, came next and was declared complete on October 16, 2026.
Phase I was built first, so the park has been there for more than three years. Phase II is what ties it to everything else.
What changed on the street this fall
The Town of Clarkstown's announcement lists the changes drivers and walkers will notice first.
- The old triangle where West Nyack Way splits off from West Nyack Road is now a true four-way intersection.
- West Nyack Road was moved to the south through that stretch, which made room for new parking and some extra green space.
- Utility wires in the area were moved underground, which the town says makes power and communications more reliable and cleans up the view.
- New sidewalks and decorative streetlights now link the park to the existing shops and restaurants.
- A fountain, a clock and more green space were added next to Klein Avenue.
Supervisor George Hoehmann called the project "a transformation of the downtown district into an inviting, walkable, and attractive space." The plaque dedication was held at 726 West Nyack Road, with Heritage board members and representatives of local businesses there, according to Monsey Scoop.
Starting at the Green
The West Nyack Hamlet Green and Firefighter Memorial Park has been open since May 2023. It has a playground, an environmental-education trail, a gazebo, seating, monuments and a fountain, according to H2M, the firm that designed the landscape.
The park's 9/11 memorial was in place by September 2023. It honors a former West Nyack fire chief, FDNY first responders, and residents of Rockland and Westchester who died on September 11, 2001. Clarkstown counts the West Nyack Hamlet Green among the town playgrounds renovated or added in the last five years.
Before this fall, getting from the Green to lunch meant crossing a road layout built around a triangle. Now it's a sidewalk with streetlights.
Who's cooking along the route
Most of the food here is run by its owners, and most of it predates the construction. Grouped by address:
719 West Nyack Road
- Grub serves Asian-fusion food. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 9 p.m., with online ordering and reservations. Chef-owner Waree Sunlee started a food truck, Grub on the Go, this year. The Journal News reported in June that it was set to debut June 6 in West Nyack.
- Taimoca is a coffee shop with coffee, pastries, baked goods and sandwiches, open daily.
- Great Wall Chinese Restaurant also lists this address.
726 West Nyack Road
- Lulu's Cafe is at the address where the plaque was dedicated. Its menu includes the Pelican, a sandwich with grilled chicken, bacon and honey mustard.
1 Strawtown Road
- 1840 Tavern at the Clarksville Inn, the sit-down option in a building that has served travelers on this corner since 1840.
11 Strawtown Road
- Ramona's Cafe is family-run and opened in 2017. It serves breakfast and lunch, and a Rockland Connected profile notes a limit on how many people it will take in a reservation, so larger groups should call first.
On one short walk, that's a morning coffee, a family breakfast, an Asian-fusion dinner and a tavern meal in a building older than the Civil War. The new route also means one parking spot covers more than one errand.
What's on the calendar nearby
These dates run from Thursday, November 5, through mid-December:
- Thursday, November 5, 10:30 to 11 a.m.: Turtle Dance Music Show at the West Nyack Free Library, Community Room, Lobby Level. Registration is listed.
- Through Monday, November 9: FLIP Circus at the Palisades Center, 1000 Palisades Center Drive, with acrobats, jugglers and a live orchestra. One listed performance is November 7 from 7 to 9 p.m., according to Explore Rockland.
- Saturday, November 7, 5:30 p.m.: Rockland Fashion Week 2026, The Fabric of Freedom, at the Palisades Center, presented by Hope Wade Designs and the Palisades Center.
- Thursday, December 3, 10:30 to 11 a.m.: Turtle Dance Music Show returns to the library's Community Room.
- Thursday, December 17, 6 to 7 p.m.: Teen Great Gingerbread House-Off at the library. Registration is required.
Clarkstown's next park project is just up the road. On October 21, the town broke ground on a 10,000-square-foot all-inclusive playground at Lake Nanuet, with equipment built for children and families of all abilities. Construction has only just started, so it's a project to watch rather than visit this season.
If you're weighing how a finished, walkable hamlet center might change your plans in West Nyack, whether you want to stay close to it or are thinking about selling nearby, the Deal Navigation team at the Shlomo Meisels Team can walk through what you're trying to accomplish and what the local picture looks like right now. Contact Us.
