Dear Fishkill: You’re Cute, But Here’s Where You’re Lacking

I can’t tell you how many times I drive through the little Village of Fishkill on Route 52. I’m usually on the way to somewhere else, but I always think to myself, what a cute little village. The other day, on one of those little trips through the Village of Fishkill, I noticed something was lacking.

As I was looking at all of the storefronts (I was the passenger, so it’s okay), I saw lots of restaurants. Lots of them. And I saw a couple of hair salons. What I didn’t see was fun shops for actual shopping. Maybe there are some retail shops in one of those plazas, but in the village I saw very little. Where are the clothing shops? How about the gift shops? A nice little home store? An antique store? Are these things there and I’m just missing them?

I have a friend that I love to go shopping with. We spend hours walking around Rhinebeck, trying on clothes, buying cool things for our home, and window shopping at places we can’t always afford. Beacon can take a couple of days to cover all the stores. New Paltz, Hudson and Red Hook are all great places to park your car and walk around the village to shop. And it looks like Fishkill would be nice to get a meal, but not so much for a day of walking fun.

It’s true that there are many stores on the outskirts of the village. Walmart, the malls, and a couple of plazas. But as far as walking around the village and filling shopping bags, the Village of Fishkill seems to be lacking. Am I wrong? If I am, please let me know. I’d love to spend a day shopping in Fishkill.