Happy Holidays! 2020 is coming to a close soon, and we’re looking forward to a new year. This one has been very challenging, to say the least. To those who have endured losses this year, our hearts go out to you. And while Thanksgiving looks very different this year for most of us, we want to express our gratitude for our village and for each other. The Castleton-on-Hudson Main Street Association (COHMSA) team feels very grateful that we live in a welcoming community with kind neighbors, low crime, lovely homes and beautiful scenery.
We launched our annual membership drive at the end of October and we are grateful to those who have renewed their membership or joined for the first time. Your support helps us accomplish our goals of visible change and forward our efforts in the areas of economic growth and community pride. We are 100% volunteer and the support of the community helps keep us going. It’s not too late to donate for the 2021 year!
Those who donated $50 or more got a free “I Love Castleton-on-Hudson” face mask. We are also selling them for $12 each. If interested, please email info@castletonmainstreet.org and we’ll get one to you.
In addition, while we encourage buying local and shopping small businesses, if you do shop on Amazon, consider enrolling in their Smile program and choosing us as the charity to receive a portion of your purchase. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps our organization.
We would like to congratulate Joe Keegan for his win as Mayor of Castleton and Jen Pratico and Lissa D’Aquanni as Village Board Trustees. We thank Marianne Carner for always being a great liaison between COHMSA and Village Board and we welcome Lissa to joining us. We thank Bob Schmidt for his service as Mayor and Gina Giuliano for her service as Trustee.
RIVERKEEPER SWEEP: On October 17, COHMSA, in partnership with Mayor Joe Keegan and village Trustees Sharon Martin and Lissa D’Aquanni, led Riverkeeper’s annual Sweep which had been postponed from May due to COVID-19. With strict COVID safety guidelines and safe track crossing procedures, we did a huge cleanup of Riverfront Park. Drive or walk by and check out the beautiful views!
Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who came out and helped and to the Castleton Department of Public Works. We represented Rensselaer County as one of more than 65 locations from Brooklyn to Watervliet with more than 900 volunteers who came out to care for the Hudson River. Together we removed 8 tons of trash, 1 ton of recycling, and 98 tires, and planted or maintained 500+ native trees and shrubs.
Here are some other updates:
HALLOWEEN PARADE: We were delighted to participate in the vehicle parade organized by the Castleton Public Library in conjunction with the Fire Department and attended by village trustees. What a joy to see all the families lining the parade route in their costumes, excited to get the candy being tossed their way.
FALL DECORATIONS: Thank you to Swartz Dairy & Produce for their generous donation of corn stalks and pumpkins for decorating Main Street.
CASTLETON VIDEO: You might remember that COHMSA submitted a video for HGTV’s new show, Home Town Takeover, last February. We didn’t win, unfortunately, but for some reason, it has begun circulating widely recently and we are happy for the attention and positive feedback.
MAIN STREET PROPERTY OWNERS: We see you! Thank you to those who have recently made improvements either by painting, cleaning or repairing your property. Every little bit helps Main Street look nicer.
NAUTICAL FLAGPOLE: The nautical signal flags, which spell “WELCOME HOME,” have been taken down for the winter. The American flag will continue to fly and will be replaced as needed. (Last year, the replacement was delayed due to shipping issues related to COVID.)
As always, we welcome ideas and suggestions.
Email:
info@castletonmainstreet.org
Website:
www.castletonmainstreet.org
Facebook and Instagram:
COHMSA
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season –
Team COHMSA
