Groups working together in Sloatsburg used Visit Nyack as a model to promote western Rockland County and local revitalization.

Tina Traster has found a sweet spot with her coverage of Rockland County business. Focusing on business news and trends that impact communities in Rockland County, the Rockland County Business Journal provides good coverage of vital issues that impact and promote economic activity in communities. Traster, a seasoned journalist, publishes the online business journal and believes there are number of interconnected stories that need reporting.

A recent article in the online journal by Peter Saluk and Art Clark (who founded the non-profit Visit Nyack initiative), uses VisitNyack to expertly summarize how communities can unite to promote themselves to both improve local economic activity and community quality of life. The Visit Nyack approach was used as a model by groups in the Village of Sloatsburg to help re-shape and re-energize the Village, led by members of the Sloatsburg Revitalization Committee (SRC) and Explore Harriman NY.

The Sloatsburg initiative, developed over the past several years, has promoted the Route 17 corridor of Suffern and Sloatsburg (through Tuxedo) as western Rockland County’s trail town corridor. Before the effort, Rockland County didn’t have a strong parks and adventure message. The Sloatsburg initiative has leveraged the expansive surrounding park, most significantly, Harriman State Park, to promote economic development and community life — a sort of trails, rails and restaurants campaign. Rockland County Tourism took notice by awarding the Explore Harriman effort successive grants used to promote outside-in park and recreation tourism in the area.

As Nyack has been able to leverage its location on the Hudson River to promote itself as a river town, Sloatsburgers have been successfully articulating the value of the Sloatsburg corridor as Rockland County’s unique trail town. The focused on articulated an authentic economic and community resurgence narrative that has helped attract new residents and businesses to the area.

The Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in this local effort, with Miachael Bruno’s Valley Rock Inn & Mountain Club acting as a change agent for the region. The Chamber has allowed businesses to participate in Explore HarrimanNY campaign while also unifying the local business and Main Street voice.

The Sloatsburg Chamber will hold a New Year holiday and fundraising party at Characters Restaurant on Thursday, January 17 to celebrate a successful 2018, while looking forward to 2019.