The Journal News from White Plains, New York • Page 9

RAMAPO CLARKSTOWN ORANGETOWN HAVERSTRAW STONY POINT Monday, January 18, 1999 The Journal News IB THE MORNING BRIEFING Nyack OKs renovation tax brea SAD HISTORY REPEATING? Although the frank portrayal of the slave trade shocks viewers of "Amistad," the audience finds itself swept away with the story of a re The the first year. Nyack had been one of a handful of municipalities and school districts that hadn't adopted the tax break before Village Board members unanimously passed the measure at their last meeting Thursday night. State law gives local officials the option of enacting the tax break, which can offer reduc tions for as much as $50,000 worth of renovations. All five towns in the county offer the tax break. Villages that dont offer it are Airmont, Grand View, New Hempstead, Piermont, Pomona and Upper Nyack.

School districts that don't offer the tax break are Clarkstown, Nanuet and Nyack. But Nyack Schools may now consider offering the tax cut af ter the village spoke with the district, said Gail Fleur, spokeswoman for Nyack Schools. Village officials said they hope the break will spur business owners to make improvements and attract new businesses to the village. Nyack is a frequent destination for shoppers and diners from around the county and the tri-state region. Lionel Aurelien for The Journal News Rev.

Jean Holmes discusses film "Amistad." bellion on a slave ship and the trial that follows. Some even find parallels in today's use of sweat shops World countries. 3B CLOSE-UP: TRANSPORTATION if i tin LOCAL rr'S ALWAYS SOMETHING: Teachers of after-school Jewish religious education find their students want to do just about anything else with their precious free time. But teachers in strict religious schools have to convince parents that religious studies are as relevant as the three R's. 3B OPINION MARTIN LUTHER KING In these times of concern over the loss of family values, in the worries about crime and the economy, and as we question whether some people realize the national purpose of tolerating different views, it is appropriate to recall the words of the slain Martin Luther King Jr.

6B LOTTERY: Boost sales through better marketing rather than by copying the Powerball game. 6B NYACK NURSES: Letter writer Mary Lou Cahill details complaints at Nyack Hospital in nurses' contract dispute. 6B ACHIEVEMENTS EDIBLE MATH: Clarkstown South's Math Honor Society cooks up some fun with a contest of edible items that demonstrate a mathematical concept, formula or graph. One winner Follow the Yellow Pi Road." TOYS FOR TOTS: Several dozen toys are given to the East Ramapo school district's prekindergartners after a PTA-spon-sored holiday party and toy drive. HEALTH LEADER: Nyack Hospital's chief is chosen to lead the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association for 1999.

The association promotes accessible, affordable and high-quality health care for the Hudson Valley region. Jesse Mobley The Journal News This passageway will allow riders to access the northwest corridor once it is open for use. Grand Central Terminal is constructing corridors to offer a variety of exits from the station. COMING TOMORROW TRAINING TOMORROW'S TEACHERS: A cutting-edge program at Marymount College in Tarrytown offers future teachers practical experience overseeing classes that mix special-education students and nondisabled peers. CLOSE-UP FUli COUNTY REPORT, 4B at IT3 C3 Jesse Mobley The Journal News in the northwest corridor, later date.

"It is more spacious and airy than I thought it would be," Mount Kisco resident and Metro-North committee member Ronnie Ackman said. "I thought it would have more of a tunnel effect. It is worth waiting for." Under the measure adopted Thursday, business owners who spend $30,000 or more on their business receive a 50 percent reduction on the first year of village taxes on the amount their property value increases because of the improvements. The tax break diminishes by 5 percent each year after that, with the business paying full Please see TAX, 2B Still more growth coming to Rte. 59 Residents concerned about impact of planned shopping centers KATE BOYLAN The Journal News RAMAPO The landscape along Route 59 in Airmont and Montebello is changing as woods and an antique school jhake way for two new shop-jbing centers.

I Chain restaurants, drug Stores and the long-awaited Lower Hudson Valley Challenger Center all are under construction in south-central Ramapo, housed in the Airmont Village Square and Indian Rock in approved for 60,000 square feet And there's more to come. Airmont has issued approvals for a third mini-mall of 11,000 square feet on the north side of "Route 59 near Spook Rock Road. Several more neighborhood shopping centers and a Super megastore t-are being discussed in the vil-Jage. The little more than a mile of Route 59 in Montebello-Air-mont doesnt approach the heavy development of the road in some stretches, like Nanuet, but residents have been worried about the traffic the new centers will generate in the increasingly busy area. "Applebee's, Walgreen's, seven banks within a quarter-mile.

"And how many pharmacies and how manypizza parlors?" Airmont resident Richard Qreenblatt said. '1 mean, when does it stop?" At the Indian Rock development, a McDonald's with a drive-through window is now located on the southwest corner. An Outback Steakhouse, which opened last month, is also there. Inside the center's main building, a CVS, pizza parlor and other shops are set to open over the next few months. Though developer Eric Bergstol named the center Indian Rock for the boulder that Please see ROUTE 59, 2B Those Christian groups will use whatever means necessary to convert Jews, from using Jewish religious ceremonies at Messianic temples to mailing out brochures and magazines, Sigal told 20 people at Congregation Sons of Israel.

Sigal showed the listeners several magazines published by messianic groups that put people dressed like Hasidic Jews on the cover, with names like, "The Chosen People." Some articles are, "How to Study Torah." Sigal said the fight against converting Jews remains the last vanguard for the soul of the Jewish people. "Their theme is they are just another branch of Judaism," Sigal said. "They use Jewish traditions. They dress like rabbis. They use deception.

Their one goal is to convert Jews and send them off to the churfih at Please see JEWS, 2B Village officials hope deal lures businesses to set up shop in the area JOHN W. BARRY The Journal News NYACK Village business owners who put at least $30,000 worth of renovations into a new or existing establishment can get a 10-year tax break on the work, starting at 50 percent the No light yet at end of tunnel 48th Street exit from Grand Central Terminal faces another delay BILL VARNER The Journal News NEW YORK Commuters who have been looking forward to the day when they could get off a train inside Grand Central Terminal and walk as far north as 48th Street underground are going to have to be patient a while longer. Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members who were given a tour last week of the North End Access Project, as it is known, came away impressed with the work that's been done, and what remains to be done. They concluded that the next step in Grand Central's renovation will not be finished Feb. 15, the latest in a long line of unmet goals.

"It is impressive. It is massive," said Ernest Salerno, a board member from Spring Valley. "I'll wait to hear from the experts, but my eyes tell me it is a long way (from opening)." One of those experts, Project Director John Seaboldt, said it would take at least six more weeks before the MTA can begin testing everything from escalators to liquid-crystal train schedule displays, and putting in such finishing touches as news stands and ticket machines. "We want it to be complete, fully ready for use when we open it," said Garrison resident Edward Vrooman, chairman of the MTA's Metro-North Railroad Committee. "It will be ready soon within the near future but it has to be right" At present, much of the project is still a maze of pipes and wires.

There are numerous leaks from the ceilings. The terrazzo tributors, with 1,100 participants in the 1997-98 edition. This year, the almanac has a special focus on bald eagles, whose population has been growing in the Hudson River Valley over the past two years. Lake said there are about three or four nesting pairs living south of Albany near the river. While more than 1,000 nesting pairs exist in Alaska and hundreds exist in Canada, the Hudson River Valley's numbers are impressive, considering heavy development in the Northeast, Lake said.

"It took a while for the eagle to find the Hudson River and come back," Lake said. In the past two years about five bald eagle births were recorded south of Albany. In the winter, up to 100 adult eagles migrate from Canada to the area 't 4 i in -J J. i 4 I A look at the new passageway which has not yet opened. cast-glass tiles and ceramic mosaics representing visions of the night sky from different cultures.

There will be four exits, extending from the Helmsley Walk to 47th Street and Madison Avenue, and 48th Street and Park Avenue, with at least one more to come at a "Uppers miiea many Data mil, floors on the walkways running parallel to the tracks are still being laid. Work is just beginning on some escalators. Even the most complete portion of the project, the passageway under and parallel to 45th Street, may not be ready for another month. The project, which was approved by the MTA board in 1991, was originally supposed to open two years ago. It was also supposed to cost $64.5 million.

But as he took a Journal News reporter on a private tour, Seaboldt said the final price tag would be at least $112 million. The ceiling in one of the major hallways connecting the platforms is the same blue-green color as the main terminal. There is pinpoint, recessed lighting that is designed to look like the stars in the constellations, like the terminal's famous ceiling. The walls are decorated by Joe LareseThe Journal News Marymount education majors Lakeya Mack, left, and Laura Mockel, right, talk with Marymount professor Joan Black. INSIDE BEST BET Celebrate Rockland's ethnic communities and Martin Luther King birthday at Rockland Community College's Cultural Arts Center, 145 College Road in Ramapo.

Expressions and performances by community groups reflect the county's diversity. The 4 to 8 p.m. event is free. Information: 425-8910. Achievements 4B Obituaries 4B Letters 6B Opinion 6B Jews for Judaism fight against conversion efforts Hudson Valley full of life, if you take the time to look AMERICAN BALD EAGLE The head is covered with white feathers, as is the "SS-V.

tail. Young bald eagles are brown with scattered light markings. Found only in North America, the bald eagle nam i is the national bird of the -jr United States. Until mid-1 900s, hunters have been considered an species throughout much America since the 1 960s and '3 a eaales. NESTING PAIRS, LOWER 48 STATES I963 4l7 1970s.

Bald ISPiHJ federal mdadtam 1993 The birds endangered of North Some Christian groups believe Jews are key to the second coming STEVE UEBERMAN The Journal News HILLCREST -Alan Reiman yesterday recalled a man who packed groceries at the Monsey Pathmark. The man wore a yarmulke and preached to shoppers that Jesus Christ is the messiah. Reiman just wanted his groceries bagged. He did not want to be proselytized to by a con-vertee of Jews for Jesus. Yet, Jews remain the prime target for conversion across the world by many Christian evangelical groups that believe only Jews can bring about Christ's second coming by believing in him as the messiah, said Gerald Sigal, a teacher and official of Jews for Judaism, which counters missionary efforts among Jews.

River and everything along the entire Atlantic Coast," Lake told about 10 people yesterday at a Barnes Noble lecture and book signing of "The Hudson River Almanac Volume IV." In an age of cellular phones and laptop computers, many residents dont take the time to enjoy the Hudson River Valley's natural offerings. Lake told his audience to pick a spot along the Hudson and visit regularly to see how the seasonal changes affect the area's surroundings from weather patterns to sunsets and wildlife. Those observations, by scientists, naturalists, fishermen and fourth-graders, make up The Hudson River Almanac. Lake solicited these observations from a variety of con Author Thomas Lake tells audience to pick a spot and observe the changes in nature LAURA FASBACH The Journal News WEST NYACK Between the mid-commute nap, perusing the sports section and taking sips of coffee, there is one thing that naturalist Thomas Lake urges Metro-North Railroad commuters to do each morning: Look out the window. Commuters have a first-class seat for viewing wildlife that may include the occasional bald eagles from Canada during winter months or a gargantuan sturgeon during the summer.

"There's a tremendous connection we have with things that happen in the Hudson srares ana since i jo in miushu. Due to protection provided by the Endangered Species Act, there has been a resurgence of bald eagles nesting in the lower 48 states: from 41 7 in 1 963 to 4,01 7 in 1 993. By the late 1 980s, about 5,000 bald eaqles were thought to inhabit the lower 48 states; 30,000 to 60,000 are estimated in Alaska and Canada. Wild eagles can live 20 to 30 years; in captivity they may live to5- Eagle nests are called aeries or eyries and are usually in high trees or cliffs, such as the Hudson Palisades. Soura World Book Encyclopedia, U.S.

Fiih Wildlife Servk eagles have been protected by law since 1 940 in the lower 48 i irco: At I Jorm ComellTtie JoumolNews write to Tom Lake at 3 Stein-haus Lane, Wappinger Falls, NY 12590-3927, or send faxes to 297-8935. between Albany and Rockland, he said. To contribute observations to the Hudson River Almanac,.