How a Rockland intersection, the 'Four Corners,' became a First Amendment soapbox

NANUET — Every Sunday for months, groups of pro-Palestine demonstrators have stood at the northwest corner of the Route 59 and Middletown Road intersection, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Often, just yards west on 59, a group stands together waving Israeli flags in support of that nation, demanding release of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

That they all come to this location — known as the Four Corners among Rockland locals — is baked into tradition.

Going back to Vietnam War protests, those with a political and/or social message have found their way to the busy intersection in the heart of the county.

History of activism, and slow traffic, at Nyack intersection

The multi-lane Route 59 and Middletown Road have long lights and therefore plenty of often-slowed traffic traversing the intersection.

The first mall in the county opened to the east in 1969. Local homes mixed into businesses faded away over the next decades. Businesses have come and gone — including the mall, now the Shops of Nanuet, and a tuxedo shop on the corner, now a Shake Shake and Chipotle — but the traffic has pretty much been consistent.

Clarkstown Police Department has jurisdiction over the location. Years of activism at the Four Corners have shaped the department's approach. Clarkstown Police Det. Norm Peters, spokesman for the department, said police try to keep an open line of communication with organizers for actions at the Four Corners, so everyone understands the rules and guidelines.

The emphasis, Peters said, is "to "not to interfere with any of the participants' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech or the right of the people to peacefully assemble."

Vietnam and beyond

An Aug. 9, 1967 article in the Rockland Independent described weekly peace vigils that had been held since May at Route 59 and Middletown Road for an hour every Saturday. Abbey Berman of Spring Valley, who was a frequent attendee, explained the mission this way: “The least we’re doing is making people aware that there is a turmoil going on and they shouldn’t accept everything the way it is presented to them.”

The May 14, 1969 Rockland Leader documented the two-year mark for the weekly protests. Attendees numbered anywhere from three to 30, the paper wrote, and they showed up in 90-degree heat or snow.

In 2003, peace groups launched weekly rallies at the Four Corners to protest impending war with Iraq. The anti-war demonstrations at the site went on every week, for years.

Rallies at the Four Corners have spanned the political spectrum.

A July 4, 2009, about 75 gathered for one of a slew of “tea parties” nationwide that blasted federal bailouts and economic stimulus payments launched by the administration of then-President Barack Obama amid the Great Recession.

The Four Corners hosted a May Day rally in 2017, one of scores nationwide, to protest then-President Donald Trump’s intention to build a wall at the border with Mexico and crack down on immigration.

Get the Angle: Subscribe to lohud's Rockland-centric newsletter

In August 2017, a week after a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, about 75 joined a vigil at the intersection. Their signs included messages like, "Free Speech is Not a Green Light for Hate" and "White Supremacy is Terrorism.”

An annual “Life Chain” held in October to demonstrate opposition to abortion takes place at the Four Corners. In 1999, the chain of about 500 people stretched around a mile.

Rallies also have focused on hyper-local issues.

In August 1993, people waved banners and signs reading "Peace for Geese" and "Honk if You Like Geese" to protest a planned culling of Canada geese in town.

And in 2007, people showed up to the Four Corners to protest the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to re-route hundreds of plans over Rockland and the Hudson Valley region.

Space for 'movement building'

Ethan Vesely-Flad worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation when it was in Upper Nyack. He joined weekend vigils at the Four Corners during its dozen or so years standing against U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now a North Carolina resident, Vesely-Flad said demonstrations like those at the Four Corners may not be seen by leaders who can end wars. But the actions still have power.

“The point of movement building is to really keep your energies going," said Vesely-Flad, who still consults with FOR, the oldest peace-and-justice organization in the U.S. He had participated in Four Corners demonstrations organized by the Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice in the mid-aughts to stand against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Four Corners' role in providing space for action continues.

"We’re six months into this horrific and tragic cycle of violence," Vesely-Flad said. "That ability to just keep coming together that can strengthen your psyche and emotions for the long struggle are really just essential."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Protests at Rockland County NY intersection show free speech tradition