The merchants in the Nyack have joined together through various collaborative efforts to bring business into the community. We have created discount cards, brochures, flyers, websites, and have even sponsored community events. Twice, the retailers have extended their hours one night a week, to 9pm to bring shoppers & diners into the Village. While this offer has been extremely successful, our customers have continued to complain about the parking fees. The restaurants have not seen any extra revenue from this promotion, as there is no direct benefit to them. Efforts to reimburse the Village for a “Free” parking night in light of the current economic climate, have been unsuccessful.
In these very hard times we are all struggling to make ends meet. We feel that we will be able to market and promote the idea of a “Thursday Night Open Late” night in Nyack if we were to advertise it as a “Free” parking night. If this promotion was offered on a consistent basis, then Nyack would (hopefully) become a Thursday night destination. The stores would benefit from the additional shoppers & the restaurants would gain diners on an otherwise relatively quiet night.
We think it would be a grand gesture for the Village of Nyack to absorb the cost of the meter parking fees on Thursday evenings from 6pm til 9pm. This would be a major step toward helping the merchants through this dire period. It would also create a positive buzz on the parking situation, which, in many ways, has been a sore issue with shoppers, merchants and residents. We hope you will consider this request at the meeting on July 9th.
We will continue through our group efforts to make Nyack a destination & hope that you will help lead the way.
Patti Aagaard & Marie Somos are business owners in the Village of Nyack.
