Ха́млет Пали́сейдс, Нью-Йорк: История и Наследие Сне́денс Лэндинг

Hamlet in New York, United States

Palisades, formerly known as Sneden's Landing (pronounced SNEE dens), is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York. It is located north of Rockleigh and Alpine, New Jersey; east of Tappan; south of Sparkill; and west of the Hudson River. The hamlet has no mayor, nor any official legislative bodies. It does, however, have its own library, and post office with the zip code 10964 and is served by the 359 exchange in Area Code 845. It is almost entirely residential with the exception of a small industrial area section on the Tappan border. The area commonly referred to as Snedens Landing is located within the eastern portion of Palisades between U. S. Route 9W and the Hudson River. The hamlet has a registered historic district known as the Closter Road – Oak Tree Road Historic District. The district comprises the area from the north side of Closter Road and south side of Oak Tree Road approximately half a mile west of US Route 9W in Palisades. (List of Registered Historic Places in Rockland County, New York)

In 1685 Dr. George Lockhart purchased 3,410 acres along the west bank of the Hudson River which would become Palisades, NY. In the ensuing 20 years the land would change hands twice. By 1702 there were two houses with 14 people, eight being enslaved people.

The Palisades vicinity saw considerable activity during the Revolutionary War. Loyalties were split more than normally in such a conflict, because the area marked the dividing line between American and British combatants. This situation is demonstrated within the family of Mollie Sneden, a legendary resident whose family name was given to Snedens Landing, as Palisades was known at that time. She and most of her sons were Tories, but her son John was a Patriot. He was allowed to keep the family ferry operating across the Hudson River to Dobbs Ferry during the Revolution. An action by Mollie Sneden during this period illustrates the close interaction of British and patriots in this vicinity. The story goes that a British soldier was pursued down the gully by some patriots; she hid him in her house in a large chest on which she set pans of cream to rise, and when the patriots arrived she misinformed them; they were tired and asked for refreshment, and she offered them all the milk she had, but told them not to disturb the pans of cream which she had just set out. In the evening she is said to have ferried the soldier across the river. The British General Cornwallis crossed the Hudson with 6,000 men in November 1776 from Dobbs Ferry and forced the evacuation of Fort Lee. His natural disembarkation would have been Snedens Landing, directly across the river; but a force of 500 patriots armed with four cannon and a howitzer at Snedens Landing caused the British to reroute their crossing to Closter, farther south. In 1780 George Washington ordered a blockhouse to be built at Snedens Landing to serve as a guard for the ferry service, an intelligence center and a means of communication. After its conclusion, the first official recognition of the infant United States was a 17 gun salute fired from the British warship which had sailed to Snedens Landing for General Sir Guy Carleton to meet General Washington at neighboring Tappan. Snedens Landing provided these farmers and quarrymen with the first access for a stretch of about 13 miles above Burdetts Landing, or roughly the spot where the George Washington Bridge connects New Jersey and New York today. The town became so busy that a 500 foot pier was constructed. In the first half of the 19th century steamboats began plying the Hudson. The Sneden family, which continued to ferry passengers and goods across to Dobbs Ferry, also communicated with steamboat traffic, which could not dock in the shallow water at the shore, mid river. With its raison d'etre diminished, Palisades languished. Its 500 foot pier was abandoned and disintegrated. The once thriving river port transformed to an agriculture based economy depending upon orchards, vineyards and farms. In the 1997 film Men in Black Sneden's Landing is referred to as the location of a hidden alien spaceship. It is also mentioned in the Woody Allen film Manhattan. The 1936 Damon Runyon short story "Joe Terrace", involved a murder that took place near Our Town at a cliff known as Lovers Leap. In the 1949 radio drama version the location was changed to New York City and the murder site was The Palisades. The 1988 Neil Simon play Rumors takes place in Sneden's Landing.

Palisades's significant institutions include an HNA conference center, the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (of Columbia University), and a well regarded nursing home. There is also a library and community center.

Palisades is served by the Orangetown Police Department, the South Orangetown Ambulance Corps., and the Sparkill Palisades Fire Department.

Students in the Hamlet of Palisades attend South Orangetown Central School District. Palisades is home to the Red Owl Academy daycare, which was formerly the Palisades School Building. The building is owned by the South Orangetown Central School District. High school aged students attend Tappan Zee High School in nearby Orangeburg. Dominican College and St. Thomas Aquinas College are located in nearby Orangeburg and Sparkill respectively.

Palisades is served by Rockland Coaches (also known as the Red & Tan Lines, operated by Coach USA), with frequent bus service via Route 9A to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal and via Route 9W/9T to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The bus travels down Oak Tree Road and has its main Palisades bus shelter at the intersection of Oak Tree Road and Route 9W. Traveling northbound on these routes provides local service to locations throughout eastern Rockland County, including Nyack, Piermont, and New City.