Supervisor's Update - Friday, August 13, 2021
- Details
- Last Updated: 13 August 2021 13 August 2021
What could be better than a Hudson River breeze on a balmy evening? Savor it with some tunes, food and drink as Food Truck Fridays and the Summer Concert Series continue tonight! The Mike Risko Band will be playing at the Louis Engel Waterfront Park stage starting at 7pm. Food and bevs start at 5pm, and you won’t want to miss it! This week we have Wanna Empanada, Westchester Burger, Brothers Fish & Chips, EMB Rice Balls, Bazodee Street Foods, Kinwich, La Bella Sophia Pizza Truck and Rockland Kettle Corn serving dinner and treats. Sing Sing Kill Brewery and Captain Lawrence Brewing Company will be pouring at the Craft Beverage Corral. As always, special thanks go to the Chamber of Commerce, Sing Sing Kill Brewery, Mike Risko Music School and recreation supervisor Bill Garrison for their hard work organizing this series!
Please wear your mask when you’re walking around the park waiting for food or grabbing a refill at the Craft Beverage Corral. Thanks to the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services, we have a large stock of disposable masks to distribute to those who may have left their masks behind. Thank you for your cooperation! Masks help us enjoy our beautiful public spaces while keeping each other safe.
Speaking of safety, our very own Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corp (OVAC to those in the know--hopefully all of you!) will also be at the event with the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, so you have options if you haven’t gotten yours yet! Help our community overcome the virus and reward yourself with a treat afterward. Locally, rates of residents with at least one dose are up to 72.2% for 10562 and 75.2% for 10510 - let’s keep pressing forward! As of August 12, active cases of COVID-19 are up to 59 in the Town and its two Villages, according to the county dashboard. Please help us bring these numbers back down by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in public settings. If you have questions about the vaccine, or would like to learn of pop-up vaccination clinics in Westchester, visit VaxUp Westchester as they are a great local resource for this information.
As you might have heard, the Census data was recently released and states are now engaging in redistricting in earnest. The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) will be holding a final statewide meeting this Sunday, August 15 at 3 PM to hear input from residents before the first draft maps are drawn. The meeting will be streamed live on the IRC Facebook page and available on their YouTube page afterward. If you would like to offer input, you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register for the ability to testify.
Last call for Dog Census! The deadline has been extended to this Sunday, August 15. Whether or not you own a dog, please complete the doggie census that was mailed to all residences to help us count the dogs we have in the Town and Villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor. If you have a dog over four months of age, New York State Law requires them to be licensed. Be a good pet parent by registering your dog with the Briarcliff Clerk’s Office printable form or the Ossining Clerk’s Office online form. It protects them and you! If you’re not a dog owner and misplaced your Census form, you can call the Clerk’s Office at 914-762-8428 to let us know.
Once you’ve taken care of your dog census and other responsibilities, come back to the waterfront Saturday morning for yoga! Our Mind Body Spirit Ossining series returns to the Louis Engel Park main stage 8/14 at 9 AM. Bring your own mat and water bottle and decompress under the guidance of Elisha Fernandes Simpson. Pre-registration on Community Pass is encouraged, but not required.
Continue your weekend fun with a lovely walk! The next walking tour of the historic Sparta neighborhood at the south end of Ossining will take place on Sunday, August 15. The tour will begin at the Jug Tavern (Rockledge Avenue and Revolutionary Road, behind the CVS) at 1 p.m. with an introduction to the history of the area. Participants will then walk about six blocks through the neighborhood learning about the historic homes in the landmarked district; the tour will end at around 3 p.m. Dr. Alan Stahl, a neighborhood resident who teaches in the History Department of Princeton University and has served as chair of the Village of Ossining Historic Preservation Commission, will lead the tour. The last tour for this year is scheduled for Sunday, September 19. The tour is free, but participation is limited to 20 people. To make a reservation or get further information, go to the Jug Tavern website: www.jugtavern.org.
If it’s not too hot for you, consider a game of tennis on the newly striped and netted tennis courts at Ryder Park. Thanks as always to our stellar Parks staff for all their hard work!
Keep the fun going with Westchester County Tourism! They have an excellent site, Visit Westchester, highlighting fun things to do across the county this summer. Another great resource is the TravelStorys app, which holds self-guided audio tours of a variety of locations. Historic Hudson River Towns has also organized a tour of the Hudson Valley which includes Ossining and the surrounding communities. A great, fun, safe, and affordable option for summer fun, right here in our backyard!
A reminder that the Town is still seeking community feedback on the latest draft of the Comprehensive Plan! Steering Committee members will be present at a variety of community events and locations using posters as an easy way to engage people in this conversation and to make sure people stay informed as to when the draft Comp Plan is released. If you see a Steering Committee member at an event or stationed at a local business with engagement posters, stop by, say hi and complete the activities! There will be boards up this week at UMAC Briarcliff and Fred’s Auto Body in addition to Food Truck Fridays. We are looking forward to sharing the final result with the community, so stay tuned!
Please remember that the gas powered leaf blower ban remains in effect in the Unincorporated Town of Ossining through September 30. Thank you to Green Ossining for preparing the summary below. An easy way to remember the guidelines for gas powered leaf blowers is that they are generally allowed during the spring clean-up season (which typically wraps by the end of May) and fall leaf season (which kicks into high gear in October). Thank you for your cooperation, and please share this information with your friends, neighbors, and landscapers. We have made this available for download in both English and Spanish as JPG and PDF files. Please help us spread the word! This week, we mailed this directly to all landscapers who are based in Ossining for their reference.
If you or someone you know is struggling with rent payments, assistance for those impacted by COVID-19 financial losses is still available. Renters and landlords who are not sure where to turn can use this new website from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which makes it easy to find rental assistance providers in our area. Be sure to share with others who may benefit from this assistance as well.
There are also many local organizations, like Neighbors Link, assisting with the ERAP program. You can apply online, and please visit the Westchester County website or simply dial 211 for assistance.
Also note that New York State has funds available for New Yorkers who lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic and were ineligible for other federal relief programs due to lack of citizenship or other factors through the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF). Visit the Department of Labor’s website to learn more and apply.
Looking for community service hours and/or a way to learn a bit about local history? Kill two birds with one headstone - join OHCC tomorrow, 8/14 from 9 AM until noon for a gravestone cleaning workshop at Dale Cemetery.
Here’s another way to earn community service credit - the Youth Event Planning Task Force has started its weekly meetings. This is open to middle and high school students. Register on Community Pass.
Bethany Arts Community will be featuring Performing Families with Inti Andino and Mariachi Sol Mixteco on Saturday, August 21 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Celebrate the bonds of music and dance with two family ensembles as they explore the connections between kinship, tradition and the arts. Bring your lawn chair or picnic blanket! This event is co-presented by ArtsWestchester and Bethany Arts Community and sponsored by Con Edison, Etain and New York State Council on the Arts.
Westchester County is conducting a Construction Jobs Career Fair on Wednesday, August 25th from 11-2pm at 123 Main Street in White Plains (the New York Power Authority Building). Those attending should bring their resume and be prepared to interview on the spot. Make sure to pre-register!
Save the date: from 4-6 PM on Thursday, August 26, the Ossining Schools will be hosting a Community Kickoff party in anticipation of the start of school. The party will be on the lawn of Ossining High School and feature a school supplies giveaway, books, resources & activities for families! Join in the fun!
Our next Town Board meeting will be on August 24. We will be taking a week off from Town Board meetings this coming week so the Town Board and staff (and hopefully you too!) can enjoy a much needed summer break. When we return to meetings on August 24, we will be opening a public hearing on a local law to opt-out of on-site consumption cannabis lounges in the Unincorporated Town of Ossining. On-site consumption lounges are one of the two uses municipalities can opt-out of before the end of 2021. The other use is dispensaries. At this time, the Town Board is only considering opting-out of on-site consumption lounges, which means by default, dispensaries will be allowed in the Unincorporated Town of Ossining in the future. This move is in line with the Village of Ossining, which yields some additional financial benefits for the Town as with both the Town and Village allowing dispensaries, there is an opportunity for a revenue sharing agreement to be put in place for tax revenue from dispensaries in the Village of Ossining. As we open the public hearing at our next Legislative Session, we look forward to hearing more from the community on this topic.
This opt-out/not opt-out decision is the first policy decision the Town will make in reference to legalized recreational marijuana use. Next will be to evaluate our zoning ordinances to ensure any future dispensaries align with the needs of our community. The Town Board will also have an opportunity to consider how the revenue from marijuana sales may be allocated within the Town’s budget, likely with a focus on youth programming and addiction prevention.
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend!
--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 flyer and brief description to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 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!
Planning Board Meeting - Wednesday, August 18, 2021
- Details
- Last Updated: 11 August 2021 11 August 2021
A meeting of the Planning Board & Architectural Review Board of the Town of Ossining will be held on:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 7:30 P.M.
THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD IN PERSON & ON ZOOM (the public may attend at any location/format) AT:
John Paul Rodrigues Ossining Operations Center
First Floor Conference Room
101 Route 9A
Ossining, NY 10562
YOU CAN ALSO JOIN THIS MEETING BY VIDEO CONFERENCE ON ZOOM:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82773463554?pwd=VlR5WUZDU0FPOTEwT0NoYU5ZeExzQT09
Meeting ID: 827 7346 3554
Passcode: 093438
One tap mobile 1-929-205-6099
Meeting ID: 82773463554#, *093438# US (New York)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kx3KdnWIU
**Please note that by dialing in, your phone number will be visible to the host, participants, and attendees of the meeting**
NOTICE: Planning Board Member, Donna Sharrett, will be on location at 101 Route 9A in the Second Floor Building Department Office, Ossining NY 10562. Member Sharrett will be joining this meeting using the Zoom Link above.
Preliminary Agenda
- Rinaldi Subdivision, 39 Stormytown Road, 9-Lot Subdivision PUBLIC HEARING CONTINUED
- Shriram Kasinathan, King Development, 540 North State Road, Site Plan Amendment PUBLIC HEARING
- Armstrong P&H, 593 North State Road, Site Plan Amendment
- Capasso, 34 McCarthy Drive, New Single-Family Residence, Architectural Review
Please call our office 914-762-8419 if you have any questions or concerns about the Planning Board Meeting process.
Please visit the Planning Board Projects Page to view PDF copies of the documents pertaining to the agenda for Wednesday, August 18, 2021.
Town Board Regular Meeting - Tuesday, August 10, 2021
- Details
- Last Updated: 06 August 2021 06 August 2021
Town Board Regular Meeting
Tuesday, August 10, 2021, 7:30pm
Municipal Building, 1st Floor Boardroom, 16 Croton Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
Members of the public may view and participate in this meeting in person or via Zoom.
Via computer or mobile app:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86075865553
Meeting ID: 860 7586 5553
Members of the public can listen to the meeting by dialing in via phone:
(929) 205-6099
Meeting Agenda: pdf 08 10 21 Regular Meeting (242 KB)
Supervisor's Update - Friday, August 6, 2021
- Details
- Last Updated: 06 August 2021 06 August 2021
Food Truck Fridays and the Summer Concert Series continue tonight with Drew Bordeaux and Friends at the Louis Engel Waterfront Park stage starting at 7pm. The Food Trucks and Craft Beverage Corral will start serving earlier in the evening at 5pm. As we have all seen in the news for the past few weeks COVID-19 continues to be a threat, so we are requiring all concert goers to wear masks when in crowded situations and walking around the park waiting for food or grabbing a refill at the Craft Beverage Corral. Thanks to the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services we have a stock of 1,000 disposable masks to distribute to those who may have left their masks behind. Thank you for your cooperation, we know this change in protocol will go a long way to keeping us all safe.
The Food Truck line-up for tonight is looking very tasty with Cravin’ Jamaican, EMB Rice Balls, Bazodee Street Foods, Brothers Fish & Chips, Wrappers Delight, and La Bella Sophia Pizza Truck. Sing Sing Kill Brewery and Peekskill Brewery will be pouring at the Craft Beverage Corral tonight.
It is actually a two concert weekend, with the rescheduled performance of The Sleepy Hollow String Band scheduled for this Sunday, August 8 at 5pm and Food Truck Sundays starting at 4pm. Cravin’ Jamaican, Bazodee Street Foods, EMB Rice Balls, Brothers Fish & Chips, and Wrappers Delight are slated for the food truck line-up, and Sing Sing Kill Brewery will be back with Soul Brewing Company at the Craft Beverage Corral. Thank you to the Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce, Mike and Miriam Risko, and Sing Sing Kill Brewery, with help from Recreation and Parks Superintendent, Bill Garrison and the Town Parks Department for organizing and supporting this summer’s events, it has certainly been a bit challenging navigating rainouts and the changing COVID-19 landscape, so thank you for your help.
Unfortunately, the Delta Variant has brought COVID-19 back into the headlines again. Active cases in the Town of Ossining, including both Villages, are at 56 with 3 new cases as of August 4, according to the Westchester County dashboard. Masks are now required to be worn by all visitors and employees, regardless of vaccination status, in Town and Village of Ossining buildings in public areas like lobbies, public facing offices, restrooms, and meeting rooms. We strongly recommend that all residents follow this guidance and wear masks in public settings like grocery stores, restaurants when not eating, gyms, and more. Many businesses have taken it upon themselves to require masks once again, so please be respectful of these changes and follow the guidance provided. We now know that masks are critical to our defense against COVID, even among those who are fully vaccinated. Westchester County and most of the surrounding counties are now categorized as areas of “substantial” or “high” transmission by the CDC, so these recommendations carry to those areas as well if you are travelling this weekend.
In better news, 71.2% of people in the 10562 zip code and 74.8% of people in the 10510 zip code have at least one dose of a vaccine, and 64.8% in 10562 and 68.6% in 10510 have received both doses. On the national level, there has also been a huge uptick in people getting their first dose of the vaccine over the past two weeks. These are promising numbers and evidence that people are responding to the call to get vaccinated. Remember, all three approved vaccines in the United States are proven effective against infection, but most importantly very effective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Vaccines have never been easier to get – most pharmacies are providing vaccines with no appointment necessary. If you have questions about the vaccine, or would like to learn of pop-up vaccination clinics in Westchester, visit VaxUp Westchester as they are a great local resource for this information. Please follow the facts and get vaccinated now!
To that end, we are planning a pop-up vax event with OVAC at our 8/13 Food Truck Friday/Summer Concert (The Riskos are playing!) so bring your tired, your hungry, your unvaccinated friends and family with you!
Westchester County Department of Health is another great resource for vaccine information as they have set up a phone line for residents to speak one-on-one with nurses and doctors about the vaccines. Call 914-995-5800 to be connected with a healthcare professional in either English or Spanish to ask questions. Please get your facts from verified sources like healthcare providers, because we know and the data shows that these vaccines save lives with extremely, extremely low risk for serious negative side effects. The County also has ongoing vaccine clinics at 20 S. Broadway in Yonkers and 134 Court Street in White Plains for COVID-19 vaccines and back-to-school vaccines for eligible young children. The Yonkers clinic is open Mondays and Thursdays from 4pm to 7pm and the White Plains clinic is open Fridays from 10am to 1pm. Call in advance for an appointment for back-to-school vaccines at 914-995-5800, but walk-ins for COVID-19 vaccines are welcome.
Public outreach for the Town of Ossining’s Comprehensive Plan “Sustainable Ossining” continues. As we near the release of a Draft Comprehensive Plan, we are seeking additional community feedback in an effort to highlight some of the larger policies and ideas to be discussed in the draft plan. The Plan will continue to incorporate the input from this summer engagement into the final guide for the initiatives and policies for the Town to consider for further planning and development as defined in the Plan. The Steering Committee members will be using posters as an easy way to engage people in this conversation and to make sure people stay informed as to when the draft Comp Plan is released. So, if you see a Steering Committee member at an event this summer or stationed at a local business, with engagement posters, please take a moment to say hi and respond to the activities. There will be boards around this week at Club Fit, Torview Swim and Tennis Club, UMAC Briarcliff, Fred’s Autobody, SBS Print and Ship, and the Ossining Public Library. In the picture below below is Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Member and Town Planning Board Chair Gareth Hougham at a recent Friday night concert getting lots of post-it note ideas from concert goers. We are looking forward to sharing the final result with the community, so stay tuned!
The deadline for the Ossining dog census has been extended to August 15. We ask that everyone complete the doggie census that was mailed to all residences to help us count the dogs we have in the Town and Villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor. New York State Law requires all dogs over four months old to be licensed. Be a good pet parent by registering your dog with the Briarcliff Clerk’s Office printable form or the Ossining Clerk’s Office online form. It protects them and you!
Please remember that the gas powered leaf blower ban remains in effect in the Unincorporated Town of Ossining through September 30. Thank you to Green Ossining for preparing the summary below, but an easy way to remember the guidelines for gas powered leaf blowers is that they are generally allowed during the spring clean-up season (which typically wraps by the end of May) and fall leaf season (which kicks into high gear in October). Thank you for your cooperation, and please share this information with your friends, neighbors, and landscapers. We have made this available for download in both English and Spanish as JPG and PDF files. Please help us spread the word, we also plan on mailing this directly to all landscapers who are based in Ossining for their reference.
With COVID-19 cases rising, I am sure many of us are considering “staycations” more local to home. Westchester County Tourism has an excellent site highlighting fun things to do across the county this summer. Check out the Visit Westchester website to learn more. And don’t forget about the TravelStorys app which is a self-guided audio tour and Historic Hudson River Towns has organized a tour of the Hudson Valley which includes Ossining and the surrounding communities. A great, fun, safe, and affordable option for summer fun, right here in the Hudson Valley.
Assistance for those impacted by COVID-19 financial losses is still available. Renters and landlords who are not sure where to turn can use a new website from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This website makes it easy to find rental assistance providers in our area. Visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and be sure to share with others who may benefit from this assistance as well.
There are also many local organizations, like Neighbors Link, assisting with the ERAP program. You can apply online, and please visit the Westchester County website or simply dial 211 for assistance.
Please also remember that New York State has funds available for New Yorkers who lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic and were ineligible for other federal relief programs due to lack of citizenship or other factors through the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF). Visit the Department of Labor’s website to learn more and apply.
Don’t miss the last installments of the Village of Ossining’s Family Entertainment Series and Acoustic Series this week! On Tuesday, August 10, there will be Family Zumba at Nelson Park, then on Wednesday, August 11, Two’s Company will wrap the Summer Acoustic Series at Market Square.
It’s National Farmers Market Week! Down to Earth Farmers Markets, which organizes the Ossining market, are participating in the 2021 National Farmers Market Week (August 1 - August 7) and there are fun ways for children and adults to get involved. Shop at the market this Saturday to get ready to celebrate! Children ages 12 and under are encouraged to take coloring pages home (or download here!) from the market and color them, and return one completed artistic masterpiece to the following week’s market and be entered to win a set of fruit & vegetable-themed temporary tattoos. Make sure to include your child’s name, age, and parent/guardian contact info on the back of the coloring sheet and return by the August 13 market. For the adults, get ready for a cooking challenge! Buy your dish’s ingredients from vendors at the Ossining Farmers Market and post the finished product and recipe online. Tag Down to Earth Markets on Facebook or Instagram and be entered to win a Down to Earth t-shirt. I am IN!!! If you don’t have social media, you can also e-mail your picture and recipe to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Village of Ossining is seeking community input for their anticipated 2021 application to the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative. In its fifth year, the program will invest $200 million in up to 20 downtowns statewide. Participating communities will be nominated by the state’s ten Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs) based on the downtown’s potential for transformation. Within the Mid-Hudson region, where the Village of Ossining is located, the Mid-Hudson REDC (MHREDC) will nominate either two downtowns to receive $10 million each or one downtown to receive an award of $20 million to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and implement key catalytic projects that advance the community’s vision for revitalization. This is an opportunity to think big and to realize a vision for a thriving downtown. In 2019, the Village of Ossining was a finalist and your input is needed to make Ossining a winner this year! Join the public input session on Thursday, August 12 to learn more about this exciting opportunity and to provide your thoughts and ideas. The session in English will take place at 5:30pm and the session in Spanish will take place at 7:30pm.
Artists in the Time of COVID: Paralyzed and Prolific, which explores the effect of the pandemic on art and artists, continues showing at Bethany Arts Community thru August 11th. I had a chance to catch the opening reception and I strongly recommend you don’t miss this!
The Youth Event Planning Task Force started its weekly meetings. This is open to middle and high school students and is a great way to earn community service credit. Register on Community Pass.
Save the date Saturday, August 14 from 9am to 12noon for a Gravestone Cleaning Workshop led by the OHCC at Dale cemetery. This is another great opportunity for community service hours, and you get to learn about some really interesting stories from Ossining’s history to boot!
Bethany Arts Community will be featuring Performing Families with Inti Andino and Mariachi Sol Mixteco on Saturday, August 21 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Celebrate the bonds of music and dance with two family ensembles as they explore the connections between kinship, tradition and the arts. Bring your lawn chair or picnic blanket! This event is co-presented by ArtsWestchester and Bethany Arts Community and sponsored by Con Edison, Etain and New York State Council on the Arts.
Westchester County is conducting a Construction Jobs Career Fair on Wednesday, August 25th from 11-2pm at 123 Main Street in White Plains (the New York Power Authority Building). Those attending should bring their resume and be prepared to interview on the spot. Make sure to pre-register!
I hate to admit it with still a whole month left of summer, but I know many families are gearing up for back to school shopping. The New York State DEC recently sent out a very informative version of their “Living the Green Life” newsletter with some suggestions for making your back to school to do list a bit more environmentally friendly. One suggestion is to consider “precycling” or shopping from your own store of school supplies. I am sure we all have a pretty good stash of pens and pencils, crayons, notebooks, and more that can be re-used for the school year (hint: look under the couch!) Read the full newsletter here, and consider signing up for the DEC newsletters yourself. A fan favorite in the Supervisor’s Office is the weekly Hudson River Almanac – it’s a great newsletter featuring the beautiful natural world right in our backyard.
Next week’s Town Board meeting will be a Legislative Session and we are keeping to our hybrid format with members of the public having the option of joining us virtually or in person. Please note masks are required for all if you choose to join us in person. On Tuesday, we will be taking action on a couple of important items, including setting a public hearing on a local law to opt-out of on-site consumption of marijuana in the Town of Ossining. The public hearing will start on August 24, and we look forward to hearing from the community on this in the near future.
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend! It is going to be quite hot, with an air quality alert, so if you have asthma or other conditions that make you sensitive to high pollutant levels, please remember to exercise caution and maybe hang out in the AC instead of taking part in any strenuous activities outdoors. Summer is back, after a bit of a cool week-enjoy!
--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 e-mail a flyer and brief description to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 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!