News

Hard to believe it’s already March! As spring approaches, we are preparing for summer. At our Board meeting this past week, we passed a resolution to sign an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to administer Food Truck Fridays, the Summer Concert Series and (drum roll please) the fireworks celebration for Independence Day! We are so looking forward to some amazing summer events, particularly in light of the grim milestone we just passed. 

This week marks the two year anniversary of the first identified positive COVID-19 case in Westchester County.  We have all been through so much since March 2020; it is pretty surreal that it has been two years.  Yesterday, I attended the COVID memorial event which County Executive George Latimer held.  It was incredibly moving to hear the stories of those who lost many, as well as the tribute to all those who stepped up to help. We have suffered so much, and all of us know one or many who we lost. 

We also rallied together around a cause, and the message from speakers yesterday was about channeling that teamwork further to solve other seemingly intractable problems.  Yesterday’s event was live streamed so you can watch it here. We will also be planning an Ossining commemoration in the coming weeks–stay tuned for more details. 

We also discussed some tweaks to the Comprehensive Plan as we incorporate your feedback on it. Thank you to all those who have submitted feedback thus far. There is still time to submit comments via the form before it closes on Monday, March 7. We will also be opening the public hearing on the Comp Plan next Tuesday, March 8, during our Legislative Session (Zoom details at the end of this message). Please join us and tell us what you think! This will just be the start of our public hearing. We will likely keep the public hearing open for at least one more meeting, which is scheduled for March 22.  We are also planning on returning to hybrid meetings for our March 22 Legislative Session, so there will be an opportunity to provide comments in person on the Comprehensive Plan as well. 

In environmental news, Victoria Cafarelli from my office has been working closely with Maddi Zachacz from the Village Manager’s Office and Suzie Ross of Green Ossining to establish a joint Climate Smart Communities Task Force for the Town and Village of Ossining to help us achieve Bronze Level Certification under this program. We reviewed a proposed resolution establishing this Task Force, which will be on the agenda for next week’s meeting, and look forward to getting started.

So ends the first week of Women’s History Month. I always find inspiration in the incredible Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her life’s work to advance gender equality.  Justice Ginsburg frankly reminded us of what true equality looks like with her quote - "When I'm sometimes asked 'When will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]?' and I say 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that."  I am proud to work alongside many women in our local, county, state, and federal government here in Ossining, now finally including our first female governor, Kathy Hochul, and first female Vice President, Kamala Harris.  All of the little girls out there can see themselves represented in their leaders, and hopefully dream a little bigger for that reason. I’ll be sharing more resources and events on this theme all month in our new Celebrating Women’s History Month section.

One last time - please join us for the public hearing on the Comp Plan this coming Tuesday, March 8 at 7:30 PM. Zoom details are as follows: 

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85253526411

Or One tap mobile :

US: +19292056099,,85253526411# or +13126266799,,85253526411#

Or Telephone:

Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 929 205 6099 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833

Webinar ID: 852 5352 6411

Please remember that public hearings are an opportunity for members of the public to share their comments with the Board, not necessarily for the Board to engage in a back and forth dialogue.  We look forward to hearing what the public has to say, synthesizing the comments, and considering revisions where they may be indicated.  

We will see you soon - stay safe and be well!

--Dana

If your business, non-profit, or community group has an event that you would like to submit to be a part of the Supervisor's Update, please email a flier and brief description to . We are happy to pass along events that provide a benefit to the community and support our local economy. Thank you for helping us to highlight all the best Ossining has to offer!

Supervisor’s Update – February 11, 2022

Happy Friday! Hope everyone is enjoying the warm (well, warm for February, anyway) weather. 

Lots to share this week! Sadly, this week we had another occasion for a moment of silence at the Board meeting. This time for Aristan Garandeau, an EMT with Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Aristan was just 22 and also served in the Cortlandt and Peekskill VACs. Our hearts and thoughts go out to his family and all those who knew him.

On a happier note, on Monday we learned that the Town of Ossining has once again received the Tree City designation from the Arbor Day Foundation! 2022 will be our 22nd year receiving this designation and we are so proud of our efforts to care for our most precious natural resources year in and year out.  This year, we were able to include as part of our application the introduction of the Ossining Town Parks Habitat Stewards Program, which in its first year, helped restore part of the natural habitat at Ryder Park by the pond.  We look forward to growing this program in the years to come!  Huge shout out to Patrick Vipperman and Donna Sharrett for their work on the Habitat Stewards and to Mitzi Elkes and our Environmental Advisory Committee for serving as our tree board and always advocating for these important initiatives. Also big thanks to our Town Parks department for helping support these volunteer efforts.

On the subject of trees, we are gearing up for some tree work at Ryder and Engel Parks. Victoria Cafarelli from my office met with Parks Foreman Mario Velardo and the Town’s Tree Warden Craig Stevens this week to finalize the scope of work for some tree pruning, and unfortunately a few takedowns too, in both of these parks. We are committed to caring for our trees, and tree maintenance is a very important part of that work.  We are also hopefully going to plan some tree planting events later this year, to keep our community’s forest healthy and thriving! 

In COVID news, as you may have heard, earlier this week Governor Hochul announced the next phase of the State’s COVID response, in response to rapidly decreasing case counts. The new developments include the following: 

• The statewide indoor business mask-or-vaccine requirement was lifted starting yesterday, and will remain optional for businesses, local governments and counties to enforce.
• Mask requirements will remain in place in certain high-density settings. All health care settings regulated by the Department of Health and other related state agencies will continue to require masks. Masks will also be required in nursing homes, adult care facilities, correctional facilities, detention centers, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters, public transit and transportation hubs, as well as trains, planes and airports in accordance with federal regulations.
• Masks will continue to be required in schools for the time being. The school mask requirement will be re-evaluated in early March, after the midwinter break, to ensure that students can continue learning in-person. The state plans to distribute two tests to every K-12 student before midwinter break, and will distribute more afterward.

Please note that if you are visiting our Town buildings, masks will still be required in common areas, such as hallways, lobbies, and restrooms, as well as any office spaces where people cannot socially distance. You can read more about the State’s plans and updated “Winter Toolkit,” as well as the data that informs it, here. 

Declining case counts are great news. Here in Ossining, there were 120 cases in the Town & its two Villages as of February 9, down significantly from the last time I reported on this figure in the Supervisor’s Update. Caution is still indicated, and we urge everyone to continue following the guidelines set forth by the state. At this week’s meeting, we also officially authorized an additional $30,000 from the Ambulance District Fund Balance to OVAC to support their community testing operations. This free testing offering has been a critical aspect of our community’s COVID-19 response and serves as a model to communities near and far for how to ensure everyone can access free and easy testing opportunities in this pandemic.  Thank you Chief Franzoso for all of your hard work!! 

County Executive George Latimer formally recognized OVAC and Scarsdale’s Volunteer Ambulance Corps today for their assistance with the County’s testing and vaccination effort. Our State Senator, Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, and I were on hand to extend our congratulations and thanks, along with Town Board member Liz Feldman and Village Trustee Manuel Quezada.

In addition to a plaque, OVAC also received these yummy-looking cookies!

Now, who is ready to dive into some fun stuff? Check out the Nonprofits & Charity section for details on this Saturday’s Escape from Sing Sing Polar Plunge, in which I will be participating in support of Gullotta House, along with many others. From there, you can navigate to any other section of the Supervisor’s Update blog using the links at the bottom of the page. Happy reading!

Lastly, please join us next week for a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 via Zoom. The topic of the Town Hall will be the newly released draft of the Comprehensive Plan! Our consultants from WXY studios will join us for an overview presentation of the plan and discussion of next steps, including plans for a public comment period and public hearings on the plan. If you want to do some homework before the meeting, the draft plan is available now on the project website, www.sustainableossining.com.  And remember, at Town Hall meetings we do invite members of the public to make comment and ask questions, deviating from our normal Work Session process.  We look forward to this discussion! Click here to join the meeting at 7:30 or dial (929) 205-6099 and put in meeting ID 828 4741 1615. 

We will see you soon - stay safe and be well!

--Dana

If your business, non-profit, or community group has an event that you would like to submit to be a part of the Supervisor's Update, please email a flier and brief description to . We are happy to pass along events that provide a benefit to the community and support our local economy. Thank you for helping us to highlight all the best Ossining has to offer!

Welcome (or welcome back) to the Supervisor’s Update! Hope everyone is safely at home on another stormy day.

We started this week’s board meeting with a moment of silence for John Massey, a well-known member of the Ossining community. He served us as a lifelong member of our volunteer fire department’s Holla Hose Engine 100, superintendent of St. Augustine’s Cemetery, and an active member of the Old Mill Singers for the last 40 years. John will be missed by many, especially for his amateur singing career spreading joy throughout the community, including an annual performance in the Town’s summer waterfront concert series. May his memory be a blessing. 

The Board also heard from Hank Osborn and Myra Romano from the NY/NJ Trail Conference (NYNJTC), as well as Diane Alden from the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct, for a presentation on the 2021 season of the Croton Gorge Unique Area Conservation Corps Trail Stewards program.  This program, now in place for two seasons, has been very helpful at ensuring the Croton Gorge Unique Area, often accessed through Ossining, is properly and safely enjoyed by all as a much needed respite in nature during the spring and summer months. You can read more about the program’s activities and outcomes for the past year in this report. The Town is proud to support this program and grateful to everyone who helps us maintain our open spaces. Big shout out to Diane for her focus and persistence on protecting this critical area while still ensuring public access and enjoyment. 

By the way, the NYNJTC is looking for Conservation Corps members for the 2022 season. You can read more about that position here. Check out their Job Openings page for other employment opportunities. We’ve also added this to the Career & Education section of the Supervisor’s Update blog. Speaking of the blog - we now have a new section highlighting Black History Month programming, and some extra special updates in the Congratulations section (spoiler alert: we have a new reason to be proud of OPD chief Kevin Sylvester, as if we needed any more!).

As a reminder, our Town e-mail system is undergoing maintenance this weekend, so all Town staff will not be able to send or receive e-mails over the weekend.  As always, the Ossining Police Department non-emergency phone line is available if anything urgent arises over the weekend, just call (914) 941-4099. You can also reach out to me directly at (914) 598-7842. Thank you for your patience - we will be back up and running (and probably responding to quite a number of e-mails!) on Monday.  

We will see you soon - stay safe and be well!

--Dana

If your business, non-profit, or community group has an event that you would like to submit to be a part of the Supervisor's Update, please email a flier and brief description to . We are happy to pass along events that provide a benefit to the community and support our local economy. Thank you for helping us to highlight all the best Ossining has to offer!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is safely inside and off the roads as this winter storm gets underway. If you’re reading this email, you also received an email earlier with winter weather reminders. Please refer to it, and do be careful this weekend! 

Some good news on the COVID front: the COVID-19 surge that we experienced in the New York metro area in late December and early January seems to be decreasing significantly.  Case numbers in Ossining and Westchester County are down by more than half, at 673 for the Town of Ossining including both Villages and 16,093 for all of Westchester County.  Of course, this is not the time to let down our guard. We need to continue masking, testing, and getting vaccinated and boosted.  Vaccines and boosters are available at the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps – visit their website www.ossiningvac.org/covid19 for more information, or vaccines.gov to find other locations and dates. 

Recall that the Biden Administration launched www.covidtests.gov last week; all US households can order four free at-home test kits from this site. You can also use it to learn more about other available testing resources, such as insurance reimbursement for at-home test kits you purchase out of pocket. If you’re in need of a PCR test, you can make an appointment at the new testing site at SUNY Purchase, the Westchester County Center, or Westchester Medical Center, or use the state’s database of testing locations to find another site that meets your needs. 

Victoria Cafarelli in my office has been working with the Village of Ossining to ensure we are ready for a return to hybrid meetings in the Town Board meeting rooms at 16 Croton Avenue as well as at the Courthouse. We recognize that even if we need to return to in-person meetings, the hybrid meeting format with the Town Board appearing in person and most members of the public, consultants, and other special guests choosing to appear remotely is definitely here to stay.  Zoom offers products that will make that format seamless for the Board and the public that are cost effective, so we are looking into those offerings for the Town and Village. More to come on that front in the coming weeks!

We are very excited to share that a draft of the new Comprehensive Plan will be available for the public to view next week.  We will be scheduling a Town Hall meeting for later in February to present the plan to the community, and then we will be scheduling Public Hearings on the Comprehensive Plan in the coming months.  We are grateful to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, our consultants at WXY Studios, and all of YOU who contributed to this important planning document.  If you are looking for some light reading for the weekend, there are plenty of materials already posted to the project website, Sustainable Ossining, that you can review as some homework before the full draft plan is released. 

Thanks to all who reached out with feedback, mostly positive, on the new Supervisor’s Update format! We will continue on this way, with some additional improvements thanks to those who shared input on how we can make it even better. There are now links to each page at the bottom of the new Update pages to make it easy for those who like to go through every section to do so. Happy reading!

Last call for the upcoming tax deadline! Village of Ossining taxes are due on January 31, 2022, as well as the second half of this year’s school taxes for both Ossining and Briarcliff School Districts. Click here for the Village of Ossining payment link and here for school taxes. 

We initially indicated that the Tax Receiver’s office will be open from 9 AM until noon tomorrow, January 29 to enable extra time for people to pay their taxes in person, but have to cancel these hours due to the weather. The Tax Office will be open from 8:30am until 6pm on Monday, January 31. Please e-mail or call (914) 762-8790 if you need assistance, and do not wait until the last minute! Pay your bill online and sign up for updates directly from Tax Receiver Holly Perlowitz on our website.

Till next time, please stay safe and warm during this cold, wintry weather! (If staying warm is a challenge for you, definitely check out our Assistance Programs page - there are resources listed for home heating assistance and more.) 

--Dana

If your business, non-profit, or community group has an event that you would like to submit to be a part of the Supervisor's Update, please email a flier and brief description to . We are happy to pass along events that provide a benefit to the community and support our local economy. Thank you for helping us to highlight all the best Ossining has to offer!