Rally New York racers have now come and gone from the area and the task for local officials is to decide what were the benefits (if any) and the drawbacks (if any) of hosting the event that took place from September 6-8.

When race organizers Ivan Orisek and Rich Otis first appeared before the Wawarsing Town Board the pair said that a racing event in the town would draw 35 to 50 entries, bring crowds of spectators and create an estimated $200,000 in revenues for local businesses. Each entry, Orisek noted, would consist of a driver and co-driver as well as a four-person crew.

The argument for the large revenue number was that each racing team and the event's spectators would need places to eat and stay while they were in town.

In the end, the race drew 25 entries and the crowds of spectators were not as prevalent as officials were led to believe. That may have been due to the event's late start in publicizing the event since the board only approved it on August 2, giving the race organizers just over a month to produce press materials for the event.

As for spectators, any group of people who did not live on the roads being used for the races had only one designated “spectator area”, located on Ottens Road, from which to view the race. The most significant gathering of people during the weekend's events attended the opening and closing ceremonies, which Ellenville Police Chief Phil Mattracion estimates brought a total of 300 people to Liberty Square.

In terms of generating revenues for local businesses, a survey of Matthews Pharmacy, Aroma Thyme Bistro, The Candlelight Restaurant, Cohen's Bakery, Peters Market, James' General Store and Dunkin' Donuts found that none of those businesses noticed any significant economic benefits from the weekend's event.

However, an employee from the Lighthouse Deli did say that they noticed an increase in sales on both Friday and Saturday morning. Ellenville's local McDonald's also reported a dramatic surge in orders throughout the weekend.

The weekend's biggest beneficiary by far was the Nevele Grand, which sources inside the hotel claim saw 250 room nights rented to the drivers and their crews over the three-day period. The resort, which acted as the race's headquarters charged roughly $100 per night making the resort's take an estimated $25,000.

“It was a godsend,” said one Nevele employee. “We look forward to doing it again. As the event gets bigger the number of rooms will increase and the number of staff we'll need will increase.”

Calls to other businesses, including the White Wolf and Richard's Restaurant and Lounge, were not returned.

As for reports of local residents being inconvenienced, other than the letters to the editor published in last week's edition, this paper only received one call regarding a woman living on Old Greenfield Road who claimed that she was not allowed to return to her home by the safety marshal at that entrance to her road, causing her to miss work since she was unable to retrieve her uniform.

Whether or not Road Rally New York Ltd. will be allowed to return to Wawarsing's roads will be up to town residents and their board. The event's organizers have been invited to provide a report at the Village of Ellenville's next board meeting on Monday, September 24. No meeting has been scheduled between the town board and the race organizers at this time.

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