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Population: 284 Located in Rockland County
What the eponymous Rockland County village of Grand View-on-Hudson lacks in size, it compensates for with — you guessed it — grand views: sweeping vistas of the river to the north and south, and of a sunset that bathes the nearby Tappan Zee Bridge just before twilight.
On the west bank of the Hudson River at its widest part, the village has only 284 residents, according to 2000 census data, and one thoroughfare, called — you guessed it again — River Road. The water here, even a half-mile out from shore, is less than 10 feet deep. Large boats must stay farther south. As a result, the river seems more like a private lake than the vast commercial waterway it is actually a part of. That makes Grand View an ideal setting for kayaks and other small boats.
What You'll Find
Mr. Hart and his wife, Elizabeth Barhydt, who owns a marketing company, live in a periwinkle-colored wood-frame Greek Revival home with five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, built in 1789 but added to over the years.
With its large front porch overlooking the river and its historic presence, the house commanded slightly under $2 million about three years ago when the couple bought it. Since then, Mr. Hart said, it has required "a lot of renovation work."
The Hart-Barhydt house is part of the crazy quilt of styles that make up the village; some homes date back 100 years before the Revolution.
There are early gambrel-roofed Dutch houses built on land granted to settlers by the king of Holland in the 1680's; pillared mansions like the one Mr. Hart and Ms. Barhydt live in; Victorians decorated with gingerbread; small river cottages; and contemporaries with plenty of glass to take in the spectacular views.
River Road in Grand View, which connects Piermont to the south and Nyack to the north, has two lanes and is lined on both sides by residences. Those on the river side carry the higher price tags, said David Sanders, president of Sanders Properties, which has its office in Nyack.
On weekend mornings, bicyclists from Manhattan ride along River Road on their way to destinations in Rockland, competing not only with motorists but also with increasing numbers of pedestrians, Mayor Lynn said. The county plans to widen it in 2008 to relieve congestion.
What You'll Pay
Grand View proper — as distinct from better-known nearby villages like Nyack — currently has six homes listed for sale. They range from $1.195 million for a five-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath fixer-upper to $2.4 million for a five-bedroom, five-bath newly renovated home with river view, Mr. Sanders said.
As for property taxes, a home now on the market for $1.2 million lists its annual payment at $14,366. Another, priced at $2.4 million, lists its taxes at $22,624.
The median sale price for a house in Grand View so far this year is $1.002 million, representing six sales, according to numbers published by the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service. That represents a solid, though not huge, increase since 2001, when there were six sales and the median was $937,499.
Only two homes sold in 2005, one for $1,625,000 and the other for $1,632,500. The lower prices so far this year, Mr. Sanders said, reflect, in part, "differences in the size and caliber of the homes sold." But he also acknowledged "some softening in the market." The highest price paid to date for a house in the village was $2 million, in March, for a renovated Italianate house built in 1860's. With six bedrooms and two and a half baths on almost two acres, the house also has a three-car garage that had been a barn, 145 feet of river front, and a private beach and dock.
"In comparison to prices in Westchester," Mr. Sanders said, "that seems like a steal, but for Rockland it isn't. Westchester has always been seen as a wealthy county, whereas Rockland has traditionally been seen as a home for people in the arts."
Even so, Mayor Lynn said, older Grand View residents are finding the added equity in their homes significant enough to capitalize on. A number have recently sold and left, which has brought "an influx of younger, affluent residents," who have "changed the whole nature of village."
"When I first moved here in 1995," he added, "we never saw strollers on the streets."
What to Do
Chuck Callen, an executive with a technology firm in Edgewood, N.J., and his wife, Mary, a stay-at-home mom, often go fishing with their four daughters — Sophie, 11; Lily, 10; Grace, 9; and Katie, 5 — in the waters off nearby Hook Mountain Park. The family resides in the home that Ms. Friedan once owned; many early meetings of the National Organization for Women were held there.
On nice days, Mr. Hart and Ms. Barhydt enjoy jumping aboard their Vespa motor scooter and heading to Nyack to shop and dine. Their all-time favorite place for pizza is Mountain House in nearby Sparkill.
For those looking for an extreme workout on the water, there's the Piermont Rowing Club, whose members train each morning at dawn, just off Grand View's river banks.
For hikers and bikers, there is Hader Park a five-mile-long stretch between Nyack and Piermont along the path of the old Erie railroad. Tallman State Park, about two miles away, has a large pool, hiking trails and canoeing sites. Just inland of Grand View are two other state parks: Blauvelt and Clausland.
The Schools
South Orangetown Central School District, which serves Grand View and several other villages, uses the Princeton plan, in which all students in the same grade attend the same school. In all, there are 3,409 students enrolled in five schools: a high school for Grades 9-12; a middle school for Grades 6, 7 and 8; and three elementary schools, one for Grades 4 and 5, one for Grades 2 and 3, and one for prekindergarten through first grade.
The plan derives its name from the site of its first use, Princeton, N.J., which in 1948 adopted it in an integration effort. The South Orangetown schools instituted it in the early 1980's to offset socioeconomic differences in area villages.
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