Why Verplanck?

I've always wondered why they chose Verplanck, NY as the location for this movie. Many movies use fictional towns as their backdrop, but there is a real place called Verplanck, NY.... although it's not quite a town (it's considered a "hamlet" within the Town of Cortlandt) and it doesn't have it's own police department.
I also found it curious that while the whole movie revolves around the town of Verplanck (with the name of the town clearly visible on the police cars), none of the scenes in the movie appear to have been actually filmed there.
Real-life Verplanck is such a small, obscure area that unless you've lived there, near there or know someone who has, you wouldn't be likely to even know it existed. I wonder if someone associated with the movie has some connection to the area. Anyone ever heard anything about this?


It's only an island if you look at it from the water. - Chief Brody