Living rent free for 4 years that is a god sent.I am sure many families living on and off campus will feel the effect of losing their jobs

This article illustrates perfectly the interconnectedness of our community. If you live in Cornwall everything that happens here will eventually effect you. NYMA, St. Thomas, Main Street... They may all seem like isolated hardships but they are all connected.
As for St. Thomas and NYMA, I believe our school district is a factor. I would like to think we have some of the best teachers and programs around available at our school district. The pressure to send our children to private school for a better education is almost non-existent. In my opinion, it is a sign of great success. I wish both schools the best of luck, but unless the can offer the customer what he or she wants they are in the same boat as other local businesses.
We would all love to have the Norman Rockwellian existence of yesteryear. But this is impossible without everyone actually buying into it. This town is a living organism, not some museum of antiquity. The institutions of our youth are not permanent. We would like to see cherished traditions live on, but that is impossible without constant vigilance and fiscal support. If you love Cornwall and would like to see it flourish, then invest in it. It?s just that simple. Shop in town for what ever you can. The old saying of the customer is always right is paramount. We as modern consumers are all looking for the cheapest price, or the quickest fix. We can easily hop in our cocoon-like cars, with our music and videos playing for the kids. We effortlessly drive ten minutes to our hearts desire. The trouble is our hearts desire is not in Cornwall. Or at least that?s what people think. I would implore you all to get familiar with the businesses in town and make a whole-hearted effort to utilize them. If they truly don?t quite meet your needs, then tell them that, and help them meet that need, or start your own enterprise. Eat here, shop here, think local. By spending your money here you keep Cornwall alive and vibrant. And that is what we all want.

Shop in Town for what ever you can? Where would that be. Other than CVS which is national chain where can you pruchase anything in town?

One place you can definitely shop is the Cornwall Community Co-Op, 208 Hudson St., CoH, www.cornwallcoop.com. You do not need to be a member.

I am a huge supporter of purchasing locally when you can. CVS is not the only store in town. Think about your day to day living. Are you getting your mortgage at your community bank? Are you purchasing your fuel oil from a local owned supplier? How about your handyman? Isn?t he local? There are many restaurants, delis, etc. in your immediate community. Shouldn?t you be purchasing your flowers and gifts from the shops just up the street? Don?t you pay property taxes directly to the community to benefit your family and the living standards for the entire community? I think you know where I am going with these examples. Not only does the money spent at these places continue to be spent in your community, but these places employee people and their earnings continue to be spent in your community. The circle of life, you might say.
These examples are why the communities you are most afraid of are successful. They stay to there own. They shop with their own. They keep their dollars, and I might add, all the NYS tax payers dollars that they are awarded by the politicians they buy in their own villages.
This brings me to NYMA. NYMA is a tax exempt organization. NYMA contributes nothing directly to the municiple operations of this community. Sure their resident employees may purchase locally but keep in mind, in a tax paying business, their employees also contribute to the local economy in all the ways previously mentioned.
I wish all the best to every displaced NYMA employee. I hope the village works quickly to get this property on the tax rolls. Let?s focus our attention on getting all our communities back to the beautiful areas that have attracted, any more importantly, kept its families where they ?grew up.? Push hard, really hard on our local politicians to bring tax paying employers into Orange County. If pushing doesn?t work, shove them out in November! The circle of life, you might say?

Shirley, I agree with almost all that you said. To quote Tip O'Neill, "all politics is local."

Here's where I differ. My idea of a successful community is one where, despite my religious or political preference, I see the greater good of the community and shop at the butchers though he might be recently from Korea. I send my child to take dance lessons at a little school, though the proprietor might be from Peru. Though point is I don't hoard my dollars to be spent exclusively amongst my own. And I support community centers with my tax dollars, though I don't necessarily agree with every line item.

With Schools like The Storm King School and The New York Military Academy you have defining pieces of real estate that create the unique bucolic character of Cornwall. What if they were to disappear?

I think an office park might offer a superior tax base, but the physical beauty of both schools would be lost and so would much of the flavor of the area. Moreover, both entities must pass, I believe, to another non profit. Whether that be the Orange County Land Trust, or some other non profit.

NYMA and The Storm King School both contribute mightily to the town and not just because the kids order pizza from Village Pizza, Leo's or Prima (not necessarily in that order).

But because these revenue generators employ people who take their dollars and shop, just as you suggest they should, locally.