Suffern like most towns and villages in the Hudson Valley, has endured some sufferin”™, but it is not letting the economy get it down. The 213-year-old village with 11,000 residents continues to plug its history and its positives and keeps its eye on the prize: bringing in new business, more tourism and making Suffern attractive to live and work in.
Cosmetics giant Avon”™ s 225,000-square-foot research and development headquarters and Bon Secours Charity Health System”™s Good Samaritan Hospital are the village”™s largest and best-known employers. Along Lafayette Avenue, businesses are a healthy mix of restaurants and antique stores, even boasting the slowly disappearing shoe repair shop. The requisite national chain retailers Dunkin”™ Donuts and Subway have joined trendier restaurants with a more free-wheeling ethos that offer everything from northern Italian to Indian cuisine.
The village is also a transit hub, where Metro North riders from the west bank of the Hudson River can board trains that bring them to the Secaucus transfer station and into Penn Station. Aury Licata, owner of Licata Insurance and the Suffern Chamber of Commerce president, says tentative plans to turn the village station into a one-seat ride into Manhattan within the next five years have helped infuse new business in the village. “The MTA says it will happen; as a result, businesses are coming in, anticipating Suffern is going to become a very popular place to live,” she said.
Village Mayor John Keegan says Suffern and its chamber work closely together to bring new business to the community and help highlight existing ones. “Yes, we have storefronts that are vacant,” said Keegan, “but they don”™t stay empty long. Lafayette Avenue is very popular to walk and shop, and there”™s plenty to choose from, especially when it comes to restaurants.”
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Its chamber has almost 100 members that Licata says have been “active and supportive. We have two street fairs each year. The one in June had over 100 vendors and more than 5,000 people came and visited.” She predicts the next one, planned for Sunday, Oct. 4, will be just as successful.
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A “Taste of Suffern,” with 20 or more restaurants participating, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 15, while Suffern Day will be held on Saturday, September 26. “There will be plenty to do, vendors and food,” said Licata, who said the village will also host its annual Halloween parade. “It may not be as big as the one Nyack has, but we hope it will become a local ”˜must attend”™ event as big as theirs is,” said the chamber president.
The next venture will be a music and arts festival in spring 2010. “It will be held on Avon”™s grounds,” said Licata. “They have been great corporate sponsors as well as community partners. Of course, we”™re looking for local support to help make it even more of a success. We”™ve already had more than 200 inquiries, so we are anticipating a good turnout” The joint venture between the chamber and Avon will highlight research for breast cancer, a longtime Avon cause.
Business owners along Lafayette Avenue, including Licata, say business has been slow. “I”™m in the insurance business,” said Licata, “and with little work for contractors, business has been off, like everyone else”™s. Stimulus money was supposed to loosen the credit market, but we haven”™t seen it yet.”
Suffern Handy Hardware store owner Bill Tarantino, whose family has owned the Lafayette Avenue business since 1921, doesn”™t blame big-box retailers for the lack of business. “I blame the people,” said Tarantino. “They want to get things cheaper, but they don”™t get the service.” Tarantino not only repairs screens and lamps, sells hardware, paint and tools of every description, he also sharpens knives, blades and other cutting equipment. “Where can you find a store that can do that? We can offer services big chains can”™t. That”™s when people ”˜discover”™ small business owners that have everything they need are right under their noses.”
Suffern, which has a wealth of Revolutionary War history, also boasts Rockland”™s remaining movie palace, The Lafayette Theatre, complete with a mighty Wurlitzer organ.
