Labor Day reminds me of the start of the school year. In Village government, it’s the time when we start looking at planning and budgeting for the upcoming calendar year. For the past two years, being your Mayor has been super interesting, to say the least. Environmental havoc and a pandemic has appended and changed the way government plans and budgets.
Our Falls— ordinarily occupied with strategic thinking about infrastructure improvement, innovation, and sustainability — were utilized almost exclusively for pandemic-driven logistical conversations for two years. How could we reallocate and reconfigure space to allow physical distancing? How do we rethink our many parks in different neighborhoods to allow greater accessibility? What innovative walkable solutions do we have for business districts to accommodate the influx of our two largest demographic shifts: people aging in place and young families moving in droves from the City? What changes will we make going forward as the commuting environment shifts to hybrid work environments and competition grows for ever-changing housing models? How much is a temporary state or a permanent state of readjustments for the long-term good of our public?
As some of us seek to look beyond our Village to learn of successes and challenges beyond our Village, I am moved by the stories I learn about, which gives me a compass for our path forward. Imagine the story of Yellowstone National Park. This summer was supposed to have been a momentous one for the Park. Celebrating its 150th anniversary — the first national park in the world to reach this milestone — officials of the majestic Park planned for a summer of record attendance, highlighted by an exciting process of envisioning the future of this geological/ecological treasure.
Of course, the reality didn’t quite turn out that way. Historic flooding in June caused catastrophic damage to roads and other critical infrastructure, so time that was supposed to be spent crafting a strategic vision for the coming years was instead dedicated to an operational/logistical emergency of the present. “What does the ideal national park of the future look like?” turned into “How can we open our gates safely?”
Educators and government in our community have a similar struggle. For some, this continued uncertainly feels overwhelming. I want to assure you that here in Ossining, the elected officials and municipality are hard at work balancing everyday infrastructure needs while looking forward to taking on large, meaningful long-term projects: Balancing change while preserving the history of this beautiful enclave on the Hudson River.
I will be reiterating some small and large initiatives over the next few weeks, as always, using my weekly Mayor Message to communicate with the public. There are further communications via our Village Facebook page, police Facebook page, and web blasts which include the Town and Briarcliff. Of course, we continue to make sure that all our work and legislative sessions remain publicly accessible and recorded (unedited).
We have already discussed some of the major initiatives happening over the next few years: Affordable housing being built near the waterfront with community space, major enhancements to our community center and parks, and solarizing commuter parking lots, to name just a few. Therefore, I am super excited to share with you that The Village of Ossining is embarking on infrastructure changes downtown. The Village is well on its way to laying the groundwork for redesigning the five-corner intersection, where Main Street, Spring Street, Brandreth Avenue, and Central Avenues converge. This project will transform this antiquated intersection with a complete redesign, including upgraded signaling and enhanced streetscaping, to make the area safer for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists. The five-corner redesign project is an integral piece of a much larger plan to make the Village more walkable and more viable for alternative modes of transportation as we work to reduce our carbon footprint. We will keep the public apprised of our progress and work with nearby local businesses and residents to minimize construction impact and inconvenience. This is a Village project in addition to the projects we seek from the DRI grant we received from the New York State. Stay tuned…
