New York: Giant mall opens "sensory room" for kids to "decompress"

Mar 24, 2025, Lohud: Sensory Room offers space to decompress at giant Palisades Center mall

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/west-nyack/2025/03/24/palisades-center-mall-kids-with-autism-anxiety-can-get-sensory-room-break-west-nyack-ny/82317546007/

WEST NYACK - The fourth-floor storefront in the Palisades Center offers a sometimes rare commodity in a bright, buzzy place like a behemoth megamall — space to wind down.

The Sensory Room, just outside the mall entrance to Target, holds its ribbon-cutting next month. But it's open now for families who need a break during a visit to a big, loud and sometimes busy mall.

The space offers 1,000 square feet of sensory solitude in a 2.36 million-square-foot megamall.

"If a kid is having a reaction, struggling with regulation because the mall is so overwhelming, they can come here, sort of relax," said Carlos Martinez, executive director of BRIDGES, Rockland County's nonprofit independent living center, which supports individuals with disabilities so they can make key decisions about their lives.

What's a sensory room and how is this one different?

For many people — including those with anxiety disorders or developmental disabilities and children on the autism spectrum — noisy places and certain lighting can prompt sensory overload.

Sensory rooms are spaces that offer a soothing environment, often with various kinds of equipment and interactive activities to calm a person who may be stressed.

Other large venues offer sensory rooms — like the Mall of America in Minnesota, Newark Airport and Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.

Martinez said he dived into research and tapped experts to create a space with a variety of ways to unwind, since different people may accomplish that in different ways.

That variety is included in the overall design, Martinez said, with nature-focused art and activities up front and a darker space-themed environment toward the back.

"There are so many things that I love about this place," Martinez said as he absentmindedly patted a rough-textured square of grass-like plastic, a common sensory-integration tool.

Tactile and other tools include a giant pegboard similar to the old Lite-Brite toy; a ball pit, elevated on ropes, which allows a small child to sit inside and spin; and a life-size pin-art board. Water features flow in a soothing pattern; wall displays and floor tiles light up. Weighted blankets are also available.

Several seating areas offer chairs that practically enclose a person to block out a lot of stimuli. Rocking chairs are going to be added, Martinez said.

A book nook has kids' books provided by Rockland libraries; many address topics like autism spectrum.

How the sensory room supports BRIDGES' mission

The Sensory Room is part of BRIDGES' limited liability corporation, Connections. The LLC also operates the Independence Cafes, with locations at BRIDGES' headquarters on the second floor of the Palisades Center, at the county courthouse in New City and in Building A of the county's Yeager Health Complex in Pomona. . . .

Grand opening, in a calm way

The BRIDGES Sensory Room Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening celebration takes place at 10 a.m. Friday, April 4 at the Palisades Center, on the fourth floor adjacent to Target's mall entrance. Dignitaries and the public are invited.

Hours: BRIDGES Sensory Room is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Admission: The room is free until its April 4 grand opening, then it's $15 per half-hour for a child-caregiver unit.

Who can use it: The sensory room is open to children under 18; every child must be accompanied by a caregiver.