How are you honoring Presidents’ Day?
Today I paid a visit to local presidential historian, and former Village Historian, William Reynolds. I never fail to learn something when I speak with William. Particularly as we approach the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, William is a valuable local resource for learning about contributions to the suffrage movement, from both local and national voices.
Last Monday I joined with mayors (and a few supervisors) from across NYS to fight funding cuts proposed by Governor Cuomo. Holding the line on local property taxes is an important way to keep our community affordable. The governor’s proposal would cut over $200K from our village budget. That would mean a tax hike or a loss of services.
At last week’s work session we took the first step in consideration of allowing food trucks in the village. We were joined by local business owners, entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce to identify some of the goals and challenges proposed legislation should address. The village will review existing legislation of this kind in other communities and gather feedback from local stakeholders to craft a proposal to be discussed at a future village board work session. There were a number of other items discussed, including an upcoming collaboration born out of an Ossining Arts Project event connecting local artists across disciplines. To view the meeting, please visit here.
Community Connections
Open Office Hours with the Mayor will take place tomorrow from 10am-12noon in the Board of Trustees office on the first floor of Village Hall. No appointment is necessary, and all are welcome to discuss any topic, concern or idea of interest to you.
Have a burning question or idea, at any hour of the day or night?… E-mail me mayor@villageofossining.org, the Board of Trustees at bot@villageofossining.org or Village Manager Debbie McDonnell at dmcdonnell@villageofossining.org.
Wednesday Legislative Session
At this week’s legislative session we will be voting on a resolution that will change how ETPA applies to our community. There have been many voices in the public discussion of ETPA, the NYS rent stabilization program. We have actively sought to learn from articles, workshops, stakeholder meetings, community members, and housing and land use experts. A variety of options were considered as part of this process. The option to establish a class of buildings is built into the ETPA legislation.
Wednesday’s meeting begins at 07:30 p.m. at the courthouse on Spring Street. There is an opportunity to speak about the ETPA resolution prior to the Village Board vote. To read the full agenda, please visit here.
Because this week is a legislative session, there are a number of invitations for community members to comment. If you would like to spread the word about an upcoming event, please take up to two minutes during Organizational Announcements. Folks who would like to comment on the resolutions included on that night’s agenda may do so for up to four minutes at the start of the Village Board Resolutions portion of the meeting. The meeting closes with an invitation for community members to comment for up to three minutes during Visitor Recognition about any topic of relevance to the common good of the Village.
As always, work sessions are an opportunity for the Village Board to have discussions with staff and invited experts regarding potential policy or legislative changes. We invite community members to reach out to us by e-mail at bot@villageofossining.org anytime, or to speak during Visitor Recognition at legislative sessions, typically held on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
With regards,
Victoria Gearity
Ossining Mayor
