Michael Forman was a schoolkid when his family moved to Warwick in 1979. "I can remember when everyone came downtown to watch the traffic light get installed," he says with a laugh. Now a contractor and partner in the year-old Last Whisky Bar, located in Wickham Woodlands, the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility, Forman notes that traffic—car and pedestrian—makes it quite a bit tougher to move through the village now, especially on the weekends. Having survived the Covid pandemic, the town of Warwick and its three villages—Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick—are thriving centers of business and family life.
The town spans a diverse area: Hikers and snowboarders appreciate the mountains near Sterling Forest, stretching to the Appalachian Trail; boaters skim across Greenwood Lake; farm-fresh food is grown in agricultural centers in Florida and Pine Island; and shopping needs are met on the village of Warwick's bustling Main Street. New residents are lured by its family-friendly neighborhoods, as well as ample open space afforded by the town's innovative Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) initiative, a town fund that "buys" the right to prevent development of farmland, giving the farm owner a monetary boost.
"Our land-preservation program will have a lasting effect," says town Supervisor Michael Sweeton, who shepherded the preservation of nearly 5,000 acres via the PDR project during his 21-year tenure. The town this year is preserving a 189-acre farm in the Amity area, as well as the 200-acre Astorino farm. And last September the town partnered with the village of Florida to acquire 85 acres adjacent to Glenmere Lake—a key water source in Florida. "Will we run out of land to preserve? We will, actually," Sweeton says. But, due in large part to PDR, he adds, "Agritourism has taken off and pumped money into the economy. When people go to these agricultural spots, they go into the villages and shop as well."
The PDR helped secure two huge tracts that benefit residents directly: The 700-acre former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility that now houses businesses and Wickham Woodlands Town Park, including the 166-acre Wickham Lake; and Mountain Lake Park, the 85-acre former Kutz Camp abutting the Fuller Preserve. The town acquired the camp in 2020, and it's now open with pickle ball courts, a town pool, and other amenities.
Striking a "Wonderful Balance"
Sweeton will be leaving office at the end of 2023. Waiting in the wings is Jesse Dwyer, who ran unopposed for supervisor and held the reins as mayor of Greenwood Lake for a decade. "Mike's done great work, and it's my job to continue that legacy," Dwyer says. "The top priority will be to keep Warwick a farming community and an open space community. It strikes a wonderful balance for those who live in Warwick and for those who want to visit Warwick."
The town's popularity—to locals and tourists alike—stems from two things, according to Dwyer: "Nature, because you feel you're out in the country, and its proximity to New York City." That's drawn people who work in Manhattan to live in Greenwood Lake, according to Mayor Matt Buckley, who's a Greenwood Lake native and retired after 30 years as a city ironworker.
Buckley lauds the recreation available in the village, from live music every Friday and Saturday during the summer at the PDR-paid beachfront Thomas Morahan Park, to the village soccer fields, and the beloved and newly revived Bed Race that's set to kick off September 9 on Windermere Avenue through the heart of Greenwood Lake. "Everybody gets along, whether they're locals or vacationers," Buckley says.
That proximity to Manhattan helped drive a housing boom that began around Covid and hasn't yet screeched to a stop. In fact, the housing inventory has shrunk slightly, and house prices are on the way up. In April 2023, the median listing home price in Warwick was $599,000, a 2.1 percent increase year-over-year, according to Realtor.com data.
Strong Sense of Community
Warwick Village Mayor Michael Newhard says the village is attractive, both physically and culturally, because village officials are cognizant of the importance of a healthy, interactive, and vibrant community. "We've finished the comprehensive master plan for the village," Newhard says; the village reached out to as many different residents as possible for help with it. "We realized people have busy lives, so for them to get to meetings is difficult. We went to our Hispanic community, BIPOC, seniors, youth—voices that often aren't heard."
In April, Governor Kathy Hochul named Warwick a bronze-level Climate Smart community. Newhard—who bicycled to work on the morning of a recent interview—noted that Warwick is the first municipality within Orange County to earn that accolade. And he's proud to note that the village is "pro-pollinator," after proclaiming itself a Monarch Village with the aim of protecting those delicate orange butterflies.
The volunteer Warwick Valley Gardeners are helping, along with beautifying the village, by filling planters throughout the village with flowers and plants. "Pride of place is a good starting point, and it strengthens the community here," Newhard says.
Despite its growth, the town of Warwick has maintained its small-town feel. That's a hallmark in the small village of Florida, whose Polish ancestry is evident in the Florida Bakery & Deli's authentic pierogi and goulash. "We are very proud of our tight knit community. It's a great place to live," says Mayor Daniel Harter. "We currently are hard at work on our infrastructure in order to prepare for the future."
John and Peggy Christison are banking on a good future for Yesterday's, the restaurant and bar that was a mainstay on Warwick's Main Street for over 35 years. The Christisons closed that location in December, and are building a new Yesterday's around the corner on Elm Street. "The area has changed over the years," John says. "When we first opened, I served steak and potatoes. Now we've evolved to include king crab legs, and we make our own fresh mozzarella. But it's remained a family restaurant—everyone's tastes change, that's all."
He's proud to have had four generations of families come through the door, as well as welcoming new neighbors. "People are coming here for the lifestyle," John says. "Warwick is popular for having a thriving Main Street. One of the biggest changes over the years is that a business doesn't have to be on Main Street now—people will find you, whether it's via Google or Yelp or word of mouth."
Families are loyal to their favorite watering holes, and the businesses are loyal to them in return, according to the Christisons. "We have a 35-foot bar, and we had to move it from Main Street to our new location," John recalls. "We put the call out on Facebook for help moving it. On a Tuesday afternoon, 90 people showed up. Warwick Valley Auto Body brought their flatbed, we loaded the bar on the flatbed, and moved it around the corner to the new location. The amount of support by the community is unimaginable."
Sylwia Kubasiak and Arek Kwapinski found that same sense of community when they bought the c.1773 General John Hathorn Stone House in 2016. A diamond in the rough, the historic house needed a major overhaul before the couple unveiled their new restaurant, the Old Stone House Inn, five years later. They were careful to honor the history of the house, to the point of designating one dining room the History Room with artifacts found onsite and donated by the Warwick Historical Society.
Passion and Preservation
If there's a soundtrack in the town, it's provided by WTBQ, the local radio station that's been broadcasting since 1969. Independently owned by Frank R. Truatt for the past 29 years, the station hosts live call-in shows and plays Billboard-charted songs from every genre and decade. Airing on 1110 AM and 93.5 FM, the station reaches three million listeners throughout the Hudson Valley as well as New York City, Northern New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Truatt puts local officials on the air, giving listeners the opportunity to talk directly with their elected representatives.
Forman says that not everyone in town agrees on issues all the time. But he trusts the process. "I'm skeptical of how some businesses will benefit the village, but I think Warwick is going to be fine," he says. "A lot of people care—if they didn't care, there wouldn't be a fight about anything."
Like many native Warwickians, Forman is nostalgic for the time when the Pioneer Diner downtown served a regular rotation of tradespeople: "Like clockwork, farmers would come to eat at 4:30am, the contractors after, then the schoolteachers. It was a tradition, a neat routine. There were a lot of farmers in Warwick back then. A lot more farms."
"I think the politicians in Warwick have done a good job preserving open space," he says. "It has kept a lot of farm spaces open. I'm not sure if it's kept a lot of farmers here, but that seems to be the nature of the beast in these times. We should try to maintain what makes it a great place. It's a good, solid community that invests in itself. It's done a good job evolving, and people are passionate enough to keep it evolving in the right direction."
