[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1417-E1418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE TOWN OF CLARKSTOWN IN ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2016

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Town of 
Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, as it celebrates its 225th 
anniversary year. I am honored to represent this community with its 
richly diverse population, beautiful and thriving business districts, 
lovely homes and lush parks.
  Clarkstown was created by an act of the New York State Legislature on 
March 18, 1791, during George Washington's first term as President. It 
was part of Orange County and then of Rockland County, which was 
created seven years later.
  At Clarkstown's founding, the population had less than 2,000 
residents. As New York built its early parkways and the Tappan Zee 
Bridge, the population grew rapidly and continues to grow. According to 
the United States Census, the town population now stands at more than 
87,000. Its 41 square miles encompass the hamlets of Bardonia, Central 
Nyack, Congers, New City, Valley Cottage, West Nyack, Upper Nyack and 
portions of the Villages of Nyack and Spring Valley.
  The town, like the county, was settled by farmers, and grew as 
businesses opened to serve the community. During the 19th century, ice 
was harvested from the pristine waters of Rockland Lake, now a park, 
and floated down the Hudson River to barges that would supply New York 
City. At the same time, local quarries provided material for new 
construction in the city.
  Today, more than half of working residents are employed within the 
county. Most of Clarkstown's commercially zoned land exists along the 
town's state roadways, and within the town's hamlet centers. Residents 
also work at nearby pharmaceutical and tech companies that are moving 
into the area.
  Clarkstown's residents included Jacob Vanderbilt, whose property is 
now the site of Germonds Park, a recreational facility owned by the 
town. Other resident families whose holdings remain important to the 
town include the Cropseys, whose farm dates back to 1893. The family 
retired and sold the land to Clarkstown in 2006 through Rockland 
County's Open Space Program. Rockland Farm Alliance then signed a lease 
to maintain the land, thus establishing the thriving Cropsey Community 
Farm.
  The county and the town have long been a refuge for artists. Adolph 
Zukor, who was key to the burgeoning motion picture industry, bought 
property in New City on what is now called Zukor Road. The painter and 
muralist Henry Varnum Poor, the playwright Maxwell Anderson, and the 
composer Kurt Weill and his wife, the actor Lotte Lenya, lived on South 
Mountain Road in New City. While the attraction was the bucolic nature 
of the county and its considerable distance from New York City, actors 
and other artists are now attracted not only because the county and its 
homesteads are beautiful, but because of its proximity to New York 
City, now a short ride on roadways, trains and bridges.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting the Town of 
Clarkstown on this special anniversary as its residents celebrate its 
distinguished past and look ahead to a strong future.

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