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Spring 2007 The Onion plus
PINE ISLANDCHAMBER OFCOMMERCE
Next GeneralMeeting:
Tuesday, May 15,7:00 PM at
Orange CountyAutomotive
Cnr, County Rte 1and LibertyCorners Rd.
All welcome!
Inside
End of a Jolly Era
Farm Stand for PI
Hudson River Sail-
away
Art Meets Agriculture
PI Wine Store
COUPON
Trees for the
Crossroads?
P.O. Box 354, Pine Island NY 10969 www.pineislandny.com Pine Island’s Newsletter
By Cheetah Haysom
One of the oldest and bestknown restaurants in theWarwick Valley, and thecommercial landmark in PineIsland, has changed handsafter 30 years of being owned,all or in part, by the Greinerfamily. Ye Jolly Onion Inn wasbought in March by PineIsland resident Joe Donnelly,and his partner, Theirry Guyeof Long Island. They also ownthe building where Black DirtBeauty remains as a tenant. The other tenant, Little BitO’ Pine Island, closed a few
YE JOLLY ONION INN CHANGES HANDS
Housing BOOOOM Coming: 70 units? FLOODING FACTOR?
Pine Island’s quiet uplandhills could soon resoundwith the sound of const-ruction. About 70 newhouses are planned fortwo cluster developments.
A “conceptual clustersubdivision plan” for 33lots, averaging about anacre each, has beenapproved for Merritt’sIsland hillside. The Entryis on County Rte 1.
The development is call-ed Warwick Isle and islisted for sale for $5.4-m.
weeks prior to the sale. (Thepremises are vacant whilethe owners search for a newretail tenant.) Donnelly grew up inQueens where, with his wifeLinda, he ran a successfuldisplay business for almost15 years. The couple hasfour children and lives closeto the restaurant, which theynow run fulltime. Pine Island has welcomedthe new owners warmly andcustomers have packed therestaurant since it wasacquired. BEER GARDEN For now Donnelly has made
no dramatic changes. He willbring in a new chef and sayshe plans to add some lightdishes to the menu, such asfish, chicken and veal. Donnelly will use localproduce and stock localwines and Polish beer. “Eventually,” he said, “Iwant to have open air dining,perhaps a beer garden.” SERVING LUNCH “The Jolly” is open for a barlunch Fri. & Sat. and bardinner Mon. & Tue. Dinnerhours are 5:00 – 10:00PMevery night. For reservationsphone (845) 258-4277.wwwyejollyonioninn.com
The go-ahead is almostcertain for about 38 unitson the 93.1 acre EdsallFarms property off LibertyCorners Road.
The growth in populationwill bring welcomebusiness to the region.
But the floods thatsubmerged the black dirtfields in up to 4 ft. of waterthis month are attributedin part to the growth ofupland development.(Page 2).
Penny Steyer of theWarwick ArchitecturalReview Board worries, “It
will also bring traffic andpotential pollution of thewater aquifer which feedsthe farm land.”
Steyer is concerned thatthe density of populationgrowth in Pine Island willdamage the agriculturalviability of the black dirt.
And many farmers worrythat new residents, whiledrawn by open country,are not warned that farmregions can also meannoisy predawn operations,farm smells, and trafficspeeds set by tractors -not rush hour commuters.
The Onion plus Page 2 of 3
Apart from the concernover devastating damagewreaked on their lands,crops and incomes for theyear, many local farmerswere wondering how justseven inches of raincaused the worst floodingin 50 years. Water levels not seensince the floods of 1955submerged fields under 4feet of water, some of itwashing across causewaysand closing roads.
RECORD FLOODS - Frustrated Farmers
The Chamber’s annualthree- hour sunset cruiseon the Hudson River isset for Sunday, August26 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.
The sail-away on theRiver Rose, a NewOrleans-style paddleboat, has become themost popular event inthe chamber’s summercalendar.
A plentiful and top-notch buffet dinner is
Chamber’s Hudson River Cruise Earth Day
The Pine Island Chamber ofCommerce is bringing backits emphasis on the visualarts as complementary withour agricultural surround-ings. We will be joining ourPine Island ElementarySchool, its PTA, and JaneHamburger, Principal, to
ART Meets AGRICULTURE in Pine Island
The worst damage wasfrom the Wallkill Riverand Pochuck Creek whichover-flowed their banks.“But this year was worseand seven inches of raindoesn’t explain it,” saidChris Pawelski who had100% of his planted onionfields under water. Much of the farmers’frust-ration was because,after the floods of 2005,New York Senator ChuckSchumer (D) promised
that the Army Corps ofEngineers would work onflood prevention here. Butit was not done. At a recent press conf-ference, appeals weremade to elected officialsfor flood relief andprevention. “We farmerscan’t fix the river on ourown,” said Pawelski. Some farmers suggestthat local buildingdevelopment is alsoaffecting drainage andwater run-off. CountyLegislator Michael R.Pillmeier, a retired blackdirt farmer, agrees thatboth housing and farmbuildings might becontributing to the severeflooding problem.
part of the fare. “It’sromantic, it’s fun, it’s agreat mixer, and itsworth every penny,” saidlast year participant, LewLain of NAPA AutoParts.
Tickets, at $50 each formembers and $55.00 fornon-members, will sellfast. Order ahead fromDiane Ferretti at (845)856-4440 or BrunoFerretti at (845) 258-4444.
* The Chamberorganized a sweepand clean-up of theIntersection at theheart of the hamlet inpreparation for EarthDay festivities.
* The Chamberunveiled its sixth andlast “Welcome to PineIsland” sign onCounty Rte 1.
display artistic inter-pretations of "The Beautyand Bounty of the Black Dirt"at the school's gallery settingduring October ’07. Throughout the season ofplanting to harvest, artists ofall ages should capture thatbeauty and bounty. Entries
must be appropriate forfamilies. Adults pay $5.00entry fee per piece. Art maybe offered for sale with 15%going to the PTA and itsefforts for the students. Watch for further details. You can also call JaneHamburger at 987-3190.
Also:
The River Rose onthe Hudson River
The Onion plusPage 3 of 3
John Madura of JohnD. Madura Farms onMissionland Road, alongwith his wife Kristie, arebehind the fresh produceand flower market in theheart of Pine Island thisyear.
The new business,named JADS – the initialsof his four children –brings a splash of springcolor to the crossroads.Pansies fill the tubs at theroadside and the stall isbrimming with flowers andvegetable seedlings.
The JADS Farm Marketwill sell the 40 varieties ofvegetables and herbs
John Madura Keeps a Farm Stand in the Hamlet
From places far andwide, customers have beencoming to Ye Jolly OnionInn, week after week, yearafter year.
Loyalty was also a trade-mark of “The Jolly” staff,some of whom gavedecades of service to therestaurant, creating a senseof family, and familiarity.
The restaurant, whichwas built in 1961 as atrucker’s diner by VinceKosuga, had been closedfor a while when it wasbought by Germanimmigrants Hans Grossand Walter Greiner in1971.
Jolly Onion: End of a Greiner Era
Ye Jolly OnionInn wasn’t forsale.
“We said no.Then we thoughtabout it a bitmore….”
grown at Madura’s farm allyear.
The stand occupies theprominent corner spotwhere Pine Island farmersRay and GaryGlowaczewski ran aproduce market for severalyears.
Madura, who has beenmaking pre-dawn runs to11 Green Markets in theNew York City area,heard the site was vacantand decided to gamblethat people in the PineIsland region will support alocal farm market.
He will stock a variety of
exotic greens, mesclunmix, gourmet mix, headlettuce, basil, dill and otherherbs and seasonalvegetables. Top soil andmulch is also sold.
JADS, an acronym forJoshua, 8, Alissa, 3,David, 2, (seen to theright) and Skyler, 12.
The markets is openWed-Sun, 9:00 AM – 5:00PM. The hours will beextended in the summer.
----------------
Keep itLocal KEEP ITALIVE They recreated it as a
German-American restaurantand attracted customers withhearty country fare.
Hans Gross left in 1987 tostart his own Real Estatebusiness. The Greiners ran it foreleven more years before thebusiness was taken over by theirsons Walter and Jeff. They,with wives Carrie-Ann andCathi, kept the traditionalGerman-American fare andregular customers.
“We were not planning tosell,” said Jeff. Then JoeDonnelly, a successful NewYork businessman now livingin Pine Island, made an offer.“We said no. Then we
thought about it a bit more…”
The Griener brothersdiscussed the offer with theirparents, who had moved toNorth Carolina, and decided tosell.
Walter remains at the Jollyuntil the transition is fullyaccomplished and then willmove on to something new.
Jeff has already done that.His new business is JeffGreiner Small SpaceExcavating. “I’m really enjoyingwhat I’m doing,” he says. Buthe misses the Jolly staff .”Theywere like family.”
His new business number is(845) 913-6449.
Caption describingpicture or graphic.
The Onion plus Page 4 of 4
The Pine IslandChamber of Commercehas launched a majorbeautification plan to bringtrees to the heart of thehamlet. The idea is to transformthe core of Pine Islandfrom a grey asphalt sea toa soft, leafy intersection,more appropriate to thecenter of the agricultural
FROM GREY TO GREEN – TREES FOR THE CROSSROADS?
Chamber Works
The Chamber has repres-ented the community indealings with utilities, theTown and the County, thepipeline companies and otherinstitutions when PineIsland’s interests were atissue.
The Chamber looks for waysto promote the many differententerprises that inhabit thissection of Black Dirt Country.
Rebecca Gottfried, 16, ofTreasure Lane, PineIsland, is decorating thebasement at The AlamoFarm Worker CommunityCenter on Pulaski High-
Pine Island’s Scout Stars - Help Us Get a Gold
Pine IslandChamber ofCommerceAnnual Dues
Individuals: $25Businesses: $35
Members areautomaticallylisted in theMembersDirectory on thePine IslandChamber Website.
The listing can bea major source ofnew business.
MembershipApplications areavailable on thewebsite atwww.pineislandny.com
heart of the valley. The idea has receivedstrong support. A singlepetition at RogowskiFarms on Earth Day gotfive pages of signaturesin five hours. The crossroads is theintersection of CountyRoutes 1, 6 and 26, so theproject needs OrangeCounty approval. Countyofficials have visited the
site and are deciding ifand how the Chamber willbe able to go ahead. There are consid-erations, including safetyand maintenance.However, these havebeen over-come by townsand hamlets all over theUnited States which haveplanted roadside trees. (See an image soon atwww.pineislandny.com)website)
The Chamber concerns itselfwith the beautification of thehamlet, installing andmaintaining WELCOMEsigns, creating colorful streetbanners, and installingflower tubs in summer anddecorations at holiday time.
The Chamber maintains awebsite for Pine Island and amembers’ directory to helppromote local business.
The Chamber has created a
free newsletter to help keepthe community informed ofdevelopments in Pine Island.
The Chamber has created acollege scholarship fund.
The Chamber organizessocial events and fundraisersthat are fun – and that makethe Chamber’s work for thecommunity possible.
Please support our work.
way to make it a comf-ortable, bright, learningand play room. The proj-ect is for her Girl ScoutGold Award, the highestachievement in GirlScouting.
She asks for contribut-ions of any kind that willhelp paint, furnish anddecorate the room,especially tables andchairs.
“We want to give it color
and warmth,” she said.Her deadline for theproject is May 31. CallRebecca at 258-1270.
She is from a strongScouting family. Herbrother, Sam Gottfreid,was one of four stars ofBoy Scout Troop 122 toachieve Eagle Scout atthe Eagle Court of Honorin March. The otherswere Robert Blanco,Alexander Brozdowskiand Michael Geidel.
The Onion plusPage 5 of 5
THE TASTE FOR WINEhas grown so much in thisregion that the Pine IslandWines & Liquor store hasmore than doubled its spaceand inventory in the tenyears since it opened doorshere.
Owner Vito Carlucci nowcarries wines from Australia,Chile, New Zealand, SouthAfrica and all the best knownwine growing regions of Italy,France and California.
He sells reds and whitesthat range in price from $5.00to the prized $149.00 OpusOne, a collaboration ofRobert Mondavi and BaronPhilippe Rothschild.
He also has New Yorkwines, including a range oflocal products from The
SPOTLIGHT ON… Pine Island Wines & Liquors A Wine Buying Boom ©
A growing part of PineIsland Wine and Liquor ‘sbusiness is providingspecialty services tocustomers.
Vito Carlucci will order winebottle labels speciallydesigned for customers’special events such asbirthdays and weddings. Theymust be ordered ahead, butare free with the purchase ofwine.
If customers are unsurewhat wine and liquors toprovide for functions,Carlucci will makesuggestions and handle thewhole order process.
Customers who don’t find
Liquor Store’s Special Services
Demerest Winery in Warwickand the Warwick ValleyWinery in Pine Island,whose hard cider has woninternational awards.
Carlucci came to Pine Island15 years ago when hebought the Pine Island Deli at676 County Route 1. Heexpanded the building into amini-mall and opened aliquor store in a small storefront.
But business – mainly winesales – grew fast and hemoved into bigger premisesnext door. Carlucci sold thedeli business to dedicatehimself to the liquor store.
The wine business hasbecome a labor of love forCarlucci. ”I take home a diff-
erent bottle to try every nightso I can be sure I havetasted all the wine in thestore. I like to be able to tellcustomers what all my winesare like.” If he doesn’t like awine he won’t stock it.
Apart from wines, Carluccicarries a full range of spirits,single malt whiskies,brandies and liqueurs.
Besides wine, the fastestgrowth is in flavored vodka.He carries almost 20 differentkinds. But his own flavoredfavorite is Rangpur, a limeinfused Tanquery Gin.
“Customers comment onthe quality and variety of ourstock,” said Carlucci. “Theyare impressed that a smallstore has such fair prices.”
their favorite wine or liquor inthe store can ask Carlucci orhis staff to order it for them.
The store is a resource forgift giving: apart from avariety of exotic liqueurs,specialty spirits and wines inevery price range to $150 abottle, the shelves carry baraccessories and gift baskets. © --------
STORE HOURS
Open seven days a week.Hours are 9:00 to 8:00 PMMonday through Saturdayand 12:00 noon to 7:00 PMSunday.
Wines from all over theworld and priced between$5.00 and $150.00 a bottle.
COUPON 20% OFF Any SingleBottle of Wine
(Not Sale Items)
Pine IslandWine & Liquors
Expires September 30,2007
The Onion plus
Pine Island Buzz…
* A new mini-mall called“Jack’s Plaza” will be builtnext to the Purta FuneralHome, perpendicular toCounty One. The maintenant will be a restaurant.
The Pine IslandChamber is planning:
• Town-wideBusinessDirectory
• Flower tubsthroughout thecenter of thehamlet.
• A June mixer for
Watch What’s Happening…
Continued Story Headline
The Onion plus is writtenby Cheetah Haysom as avoluntary service to thePine Island Chamber ofCommerce. The mailingcosts (about $100) arepaid by the business
About Our Newsletter
Pine Island Chamber ofCommerce
President: Cheetah Haysom daParma
Vice-Pres: Karl DiefebachTreasurer: Russell KowalSecretary: Diane Ferretti
Recording Secretary: SusanWilk
DirectorsLeonard DeBuck
Greg DeBuckBruno Ferretti
Peter GroenendaalDavid Gurda
Lew LainRobert Matusczewski
Email:[email protected]
Phone:(845) 321-3522
We’re on the Web!See us at:
www.pineislandny.com
THE ONION PLUS
P.O. Box 354Pine Island, NY 10969
The Pine IslandElementarySchool on Oct.
• Fundraising for anew set of holidaydecorations
• Annual Social andInstallation ofOfficers in Oct.
To help call 321 3522
new members
• Pine Island PostCards by ren-owned photog-raphers.
• A Golf Outing atScenic Farms inthe fall.
• Celebration of Artin Agriculture at
* A nail and massagespa might soon beopening right in PineIsland.
* The Polish Legion ofAmerican Veterans isplanning a big Pine IslandFestival for August 17, 18
and 19 this summer.
* The chocolaty “BlackDirt Blast” was the winningflavor at the WarwickValley FFA new ice creamflavor contest at theBellvale Creamery.
under the spotlight: in thisissue it’s Pine IslandWines and Liquors.
Any Chamber member inPine Island who isinterested in being “under
the spotlight” and payingfor distribution, shouldcontact us.
And, please let us knowabout any news of interestto our community.
Call (845) 321 3522
