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() is a village in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of South Nyack; east of Central Nyack; south of Upper Nyack and west of the Hudson River, approximately 19 miles north of the Manhattan boundary, it is an inner suburb of New York City, directly across from Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow and Nyack are on either bank of the largest expanse of the Tappan Zee, in the lower Hudson Valley. Nyack had a population of 6,737 as of the 2000 census. It is the most urban community in Rockland County.
Nyack was originally settled by Native Americans known locally as the Nyack Indians, from whom the village takes its name.
Stone Indian relics and heaps of oyster shells found along the shore of the Hudson indicate that this was a favorite fishing spot of the natives. In 1675, the first white man settled in Rockland County at Nyack. Three major industries once thrived here: sandstone quarrying for New York City building (ca. 1800-40), boat building - sloops, steamboats, and then pleasure craft and WWI & WWII submarine chasers (ca. 18l5-1948), and shoe manufacturing (ca. 1828-1900).
Nyack was incorporated as a village in 1782. Throughout the 18th century and 19th centuries, Nyack was known for its shipbuilding and was the commercial center of Rockland County. In the 19th century, a number of factories manufactured shoes. The West Shore Railroad connected the village with Weehawken, New Jersey, where ferries took passengers to New York City, until it was discontinued in the second half of the 20th century. With the completion of the Tappan Zee Bridge in December 1955, connecting Nyack with Tarrytown in Westchester County, the population increased and Nyack's commercial sector expanded.
In the 1980s, the village underwent a major urban revitalization project to commercialize the downtown area and to expand its economy. It was at that time when the Helen Hayes Theatre was built and the downtown area became home to many new business establishments.
In 1991 the landmark court case Stambovsky v. Ackley ruled that a house at 1 LaVeta Place on the Hudson River was legally haunted and that the owner (but not the real estate agent) was required to disclose that to prospective buyers. The owner Helen Ackley earlier had organized haunted house tours and was party to an article about it in Readers Digest. After Ackley sold the house to another buyer there have not been recent reports of hauntings.