News

Town Board Reorganizational Meeting

Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 7:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING ONLY

Pursuant to Chapter 417 of the Laws of 2021 signed by the Governor on September 2, 2021

Members of the public can view the meeting via computer or mobile app:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82776595736

Members of the public can listen to the meeting by dialing in via phone:

Meeting ID: 827 7659 5736

(929) 205-6099

Meeting Agenda: document 01 11 22 Reorganizational Meeting (70 KB)

pdf TOWN OF OSSINING VOUCHER DETAIL 01 11 2022 2022 (28 KB)

TOWN OF OSSINING VOUCHER DETAIL 01 11 2022 2021

Thank you to everyone who joined the Ossining Community Equity Task Force on Tuesday, December 7 for The New Giving Tuesday, a day of learning about organ and tissue donation. We heard from local leaders, experts and local residents whose lives have been impacted by these lifesaving gifts; you can watch the interviews and other content using the links below or on the Community Equity Task Force page.

• Watch the press conference, in which Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg, Ossining Village Trustee Omar Lopez, Brookside School Principal Ann Dealy, local resident Tevin Gillespie, representatives from State Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and Assemblywoman Sandra Galef's offices, and Scott Wohl from LiveOnNY speak about the importance of organ donation.
• Watch this interview with Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg and Dr. Jayne Lieb, Chief of Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley hospital, who shared facts and dispelled common myths about organ and tissue donation.
• Equity Task Force co-chair Althema Goodson spoke with local resident Tevin Gillespie who has received two kidney transplants about his experiences. Watch the interview here.
• Task Force administrator Acacia Mauriello spoke with local residents Alan and Sondra Haywood about Alan's experiences leading up to and after his heart transplant. Watch the interview here.
• Local resident Interior Watson, who is currently waiting for an organ, discussed her health issues and a message for viewers with Task Force co-chair Althema Goodson. Watch their conversation here.
• LiveOn New York convened a group of experts earlier this year to talk about what it will take to bring about equity in organ and tissue transplantation. Watch that panel here.
• Learn more about bone marrow donation: the basics, corrections to common misconceptions, and the role of race and ethnicity in matching recipients with bone marrow donors.

What better time than the season of giving to plan a life-saving gift? Here's how you can sign up to make a difference in the lives of others, including people right here in Ossining:

• Register to be an organ and tissue donor, if you haven't already! Click here to complete the registration online. If you have questions about the process, view the conversations above or visit LiveOn New York's website to learn more.
• Click here to start the process of joining the bone marrow donor registry.
• We were unable to have the New York Blood Center join us for today's event, but you can click here to learn more about blood donation eligibility and find local opportunities to donate blood.

Thanks again to everyone who spoke today, to all who watched and shared, and especially to those who will go on to register as donors. The importance of your gift cannot be overstated!

In 2002, the Boston Globe newspaper exposed an organized system of clergy abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. Victims have since been identified across the United States. In 2018 alone, a Pennsylvania grand jury report identified 1,000 victims of approximately 300 abusive clergy members. These two events were catalysts for legislative change in many states, including ours. In February 2019, New York lawmakers signed the Child Victims Act (CVA) into law. This act expands legal protections for victims of sexual assault. It does this in three significant ways:

1. The CVA extends the legal deadline to file criminal and civil charges against a sexual abuser.
2. The CVA created a “look back” window during which any victim can file a civil claim against his or her abuser.  A victim can file a claim regardless of his or her age at the time of abuse.
3. The CVA allows victims to file a lawsuit without filing a notice of claim for sexual offenses committed against a minor.

These protections in New York have been extended in light of the Coronavirus Crisis. With delayed court dockets, stay at home orders, and social distress, New York Legislators felt victims deserved more time to move forward with their claims. Databases of known abusers have been curated. Victims are encouraged to learn about the resources available to them.

"The Child Victims Act brought a long-needed pathway to justice for people who were abused, and helps right wrongs that went unacknowledged and unpunished for far too long and we cannot let this pandemic limit the ability for survivors to have their day in court," Governor Cuomo said. "As New York continues to reopen and recover from a public health crisis, extending the look back window is the right thing to do and will help ensure that abusers and those who enabled them are held accountable."

Under the CVA’s new “look back” window, child sexual abuse survivors may file an expired civil lawsuit in New York State courts until August 14, 2021.Victims are encouraged to learn about the resources available to them here."

The past few months have been unprecedented, not just for Ossining and New York, but also across the entire world.  As Town Supervisor and Town Board, our primary focus since early March has been curbing the spread of COVID-19.  The fear, stress, and anxiety caused by this pandemic, we know has been felt by all.  And yet, our suffering has not been borne equally.   Across the country, and yes, here in Ossining, our experiences with COVID-19 have been divided by the differences in the color of our skin, our age, and the places we call home.

This chasm has only become more palpable following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, while other officers stood by. This horror, in addition to the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahamaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and David McAtee, continues to throw into stark relief the ugly realities of racism that our Black community members live with. Each of these people should be alive. When the people in our government who we trust to protect life instead take life, when we as government officials fail to confront our country’s legacy of racism, or fail to invest in raising up our community members, we fail our public.  We cannot allow this. We believe that Black Lives Matter. Black futures matter. We are committed to amplifying the voices of our Black community members who are advocating for change that is long overdue.

This weekend, young people from our Ossining community came together to remind us of how important it is to listen, educate, and advocate against racism. The horrific and violent actions that led to Mr. Floyd's death cannot go unnoticed anywhere. Here in Ossining where we strive to be inclusive and recognize the beauty of our differences, where we celebrate our diversity, where many come to live, specifically because they believe this is a place of acceptance, we know we are not immune. We must fight this scourge by standing up to hate. We must and we will continue to assert that we will not tolerate it here or anywhere.

President Obama recently shared some compelling thoughts on how, as a country, we can help capture this moment and capitalize on the opportunity to inspire real change.  Mr. Obama noted that elected officials on the local level across the country really are the ones who matter most when it comes to reforming the criminal justice system.  As your local elected officials, it is humbling to read his words, and we want our constituents to know that we take that responsibility very seriously.  We see on a daily basis how important local government is to the real life issues our residents face. It is our responsibility as policy makers, even in a Town such as Ossining whose board is not the direct policy setting agency for the police department that serves us, to demand that law enforcement professionals face the same accountability to the public as we expect from all other public servants.

We are confident that our partners in Village government, including Police Chief Kevin Sylvester, take their responsibility to the Ossining community very seriously. We are inspired by our colleagues in the Village of Ossining, the Ossining School District, and so many other organizations in our community who work hard to build on the aspects that make a community thrive.  As Ossining School Superintendent Dr. Ray Sanchez noted in his recent message to the community, we all must challenge ourselves to confront racism and root out hate within our own circles and our own spheres of influence.  The Town Board and I aim to rise to this challenge. Earlier this year, we announced that we were forming a Community Equity Task Force with the goals of sharing resources and beginning the uncomfortable, yet necessary, conversations surrounding racial inequality with the community as a whole.  The Community Equity Task Force, which is currently comprised of representatives from Town and Village government, Ossining Public Library, Ossining NAACP, former educators, and members of the faith community, will be meeting this week to discuss ways to galvanize the current climate and move towards real change within our own community.  If you, or an organization you are affiliated with, are interested in joining this effort, please do not hesitate to contact me at . 

As always, I remain so proud of the Ossining community in the face of extreme challenges.  We look forward to working closely together with our entire community as we look towards a brighter and more equitable future for all.

Sincerely,

Supervisor Dana Levenberg

On behalf of the Town Board: Deputy Supervisor Jackie Shaw, Councilmembers Elizabeth Feldman, Gregory Meyer, and Northern Wilcher, Jr.