Village is ‘place where outsiders go’
NYACK Moms sit outside the coffee shop, rocking strollers. A couple ties a bag of farmers market produce onto a Vespa and zips away. A yoga class lets out, and women carrying rolledup mats head to the café. Nearby, an artist paints on her easel.
Could be any Saturday in a hip neighborhood in Brooklyn. Or Nyack. There are similarities between these communities. Both have walkable main streets packed with restaurants, art galleries, coffee bars and small, welcoming shops.
Many creative people — artists, writers, musicians — call both home.
“Nyack is the place where outsiders go,” says David Schloss, who owns Gypsy Donut & Espresso Bar in the village. “The people who traditionally are thought of as slightly different. Creative people who are looking for an environment they can really thrive in.”
People out and about at all hours of the day, all year long give Nyack its vibrant character.
Irene Hamburger moved to Nyack in 2006. She cherishes smalltown comforts, such as knowing her neighbors well enough to exchange dog-walking and other favors. But she also enjoys Nyack’s city-life perks, such as the expertly made lattes served at the Art Cafe.
“The great thing about Nyack is that it’s a tiny little community, but it has all the cool parts of city living,” says Nyack’s mayor, Jen Laird White.
“It’s diverse, it’s eclectic, it’s full of creativity, it’s got all sorts of architecture, so I think it’s a very apt description” to say Nyack is the new Brooklyn, she says.