Update 11-Apr-2008: the number of indictments associated with this drug bust has risen to 27. The bust also garnered the praise of the DEA, who released more details about the bust in their press release. According to the press release, the operation resulted in the seizure of an impressive cache of drugs and guns: 4 kilograms of heroin, 10 decks of heroin, 3 ½ kilograms of cocaine, scales and drug packaging material, a .25 Caliber Beretta handgun, $31,000 of US Currency, 5 handguns, handcuffs, bullet proof vests and ammunition. Sounds like a pretty serious operation. Again, it’s a good thing we have the mall as a buffer between Nyack and the second safest city.

There was just one problem with the article, regarding the quote beginning, “The scenes are there to be photographed …” You can’t photograph anything at the mall.

According to Pyramid management, to take photos anywhere at the mall you need to set up an appointment, have a $1 million insurance policy, and have the approval of mall management. There are no exceptions for amateur photographers. This also applies if you are taking photos on your phone. Even if you just bought a new camera at the mall, you couldn’t use it until you got home. When asked how this rule could be enforced, they couldn’t answer, likely because Pyramid will only enforce the rule if it suits their needs.

If you’re spending money like a good consumer there likely won’t be a problem. But taking a picture of the rusted stairwells, where doors are smashed in, where walls are covered in graffiti, where the smell is reminiscent of a Port Authority urinal, where discarded drug bags litter the floor — taking a picture of those stairwells could get you kicked out of the mall. Then again it might show people that Clarkstown isn’t the la-la-land “safest city” fantasy world we always hear it is.

Anyone else remember how the mall was supposed to lower our property taxes with all the revenue it brought in? Whatever happened to that?

The charges stem from an incident that started in New City, when Santiago attempted to purchase a $52,000 vehicle from a local dealership using another man’s identity. The NY DMV recognized a discrepancy when the car was registered, and notified the dealer. The dealer in turn notified the Clarkstown Police, who attempted to arrest him when he returned to pick up the car. The arrest didn’t go smoothly, and Santiago attempted to drive into one Clarkstown officer, who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Clarkstown Police failed to apprehend Santiago, who made it as far as Fort Lee, NJ before being arrested by New Jersey State Police. While being apprehended in New Jersey, he attempted to run over those officers as well.

Police say the women got a lap dance and from one of the dancers. When they were about to leave, one of the women hugged the dancer while her friend reached over the bar and took the dancer’s purse, which contained about $400. Employees stopped then women when they tried to get to the front door, and called the police.

Police have accused Aragon of having the dancer’s purse. Also, police say when officers tried to arrest Setiff, she resisted, kicking one of them. She then kicked out the side window of the police car. Police charged Setiff with assaulting a police officer, criminal mischief, as well as petty larceny, resisting arrest and criminal possession of stolen property. Aragon is charged with petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Both women are free after posting bail.

From the outside, the Palisades Center has little to recommend it. Vast, inert, lacking any discernible architectural theme, and plunked down next to the cheerless Interstate that leads to the Tappan Zee Bridge, the mall is often described as a series of interlocking coffins. The Brutalist exterior conveys the impression that some senescent, unemployed Eastern Bloc architect was summoned to the developer’s office and threatened with severe reprisals against his family if he dared to introduce a single visual nuance suggesting that someone had actually designed the building. The visible trash gondolas that greet visitors when they enter from the I-287 side do not help.

Inside the cavernous structure, things improve dramatically. With pipes and panels and air-conditioning vents laid bare, the four sprawling floors suggest a retail version of the Centre Pompidou. The gargantuan, airy building is built around a series of atriums, suggesting that it had been modularly assembled by an industrious but agoraphobic child.