Straus News relocates to Chester

Chester — The Warwick Advertiser and its eight sister newspapers have a new home. The paper’s parent company, Straus News, has moved to 20 West Ave. in the Village of Chester, in front of the Whispering Hills housing development. The old office in Monroe was “bursting at the seams,” said company president Jeanne Straus. The company started with four papers 20 years ago and has since added five more. It desperately needed room to expand, and now has it — the new office is 10,000 square feet. The move also marked the company’s transition from being a tenant to being an owner. The company rented the Monroe office, lease of which was to expire in 2010. It owns the new office in Chester. “We’re building up equity by owning rather than renting,” Straus said. “We’re betting on the future of our community.” Straus started her quest for a new space about two years ago. She looked at Monroe and Goshen before deciding on Chester. Why Chester? For one thing, it is in the heart of the company’s coverage area. The Chester office publishes all nine newspapers, which cover communities in Orange County in New York, Sussex and Passaic counties in New Jersey, and Pike County in Pennsylvania. The editorial, sales, ad and page design and accounting departments are all here. The newspaper pages are transmitted electronically off-site for printing. Another advantage of the new location is its proximity to Route 17, less than a mile from exit 126, Straus said. This provides easy access for staffers commuting to work, and for trucks making deliveries and carrying newspapers for distribution. The three-fourths of the building containing the newspaper office was completely renovated over the past year. The architects were DeGraw & DeHaan in Middletown, and the builders were Irving and Alan Zuckerman of Verticon in Monroe. All in all, the company invested more than $1.5 million in the community, Straus said. To get the papers out, its 50 staffers report to work days and evenings, during the work week and throughout the weekend. Members of the community are encouraged to come and visit during the work week. The office’s new phone number is 845-469-9000, and the fax number is 845-469-9001. The e-mail address remains the same: nyoffice@strausnews.com. “We’re bullish on the future of Orange County,” Straus said. “And the future of community news is very bright.”