Vacant Spaces: What Should This Building Be?

Vacant commercial spaces - a sign of the times. Instead of waiting for a proposal to pop at a zoning meeting to find out the use, we thought we'd get proactive and engage our communities around these properties.

When an interesting property surfaces, we'll ask residents what they would like to see there - a coffee shop, movie theater, pizza joint, bank, or something really different?

From there, we'll take the community feedback to the property owner and town officials, village historians, whomever, to see what they think. And we'll welcome recommendations from residents about additional properties to spotlight.

So, for our first edition of the New Year, let's visit the very visible:

40 Main Street, Tarrytown

' time has come, and gone. In mid-October women's boutique owner Ana Alvarez posted on her business's Facebook that she was packing up for a warmer clime: Arizona. Soon there were going out of business sale signs in the windows and before you know it, poof, the cute-as-a-button corner shop with the pastel-painted details was no more.

Alas, an empty storefront on Main (there's also now , which we can discuss later), but this one shouldn't be too tough of a sell, considering its visibility and that cuteness factor.

The pink and pale green colors of the facade complemented Alvarez's classy collection of jewelry and often-custom clothes. Now what will this little shop be? What kind of store would you like to see on Main that we're currently lacking? What could really thrive here?

Far-fetched or realistic, we'd love to hear your opinions. Then we'll see where they lead us.