Happy Friday! Hope you’re enjoying today’s beautiful fall weather. 

Exciting things are happening in the Town. Last night, the Equity Task Force held an important meeting about equity with members of our municipal boards and commissions. The meeting was well-attended and well-facilitated by Michael T. Holmes of Insights4U Consulting, who is working with the Ossining Public Library on incorporating DEI into strategic planning and programming. We had a fantastic discussion about beginning to do work similar to that which the library and Ossining Public Schools have already undertaken to produce greater equity. 

I spoke a bit about the founding of the Equity Task Force, which began with a meeting between the Town and the local NAACP and has since become a coalition of our local governments, schools, library and community organizations. 

I was joined by Mayor Rika Levin from the Village of Ossining, as well as our County Legislator and Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, Catherine Borgia. Special shout out to our County Legislator for staying with us till the end of the session and engaging with the work. Unfortunately, it conflicted with the Village’s rescheduled legislative session (due to the Jewish Holiday). 

The session was very productive and I’m hopeful that the Task Force has some new wind in its sails as we press on toward a more equitable community. Thank you to everyone who helped pull this session together - our co-chairs Althema Goodson and Sandy McAllister, my fellow Executive Committee members Fran Wills and Kemi Pogue, Acacia Mauriello and Victoria Cafarelli from my office, and Alice Joselow and Jermain Smith who round out the Task Force’s planning group with their insights and input. 

In other equity news, at this week’s Town Board meeting we discussed considering a local law to increase the maximum income limit for the senior citizens tax exemption. The Town of Ossining currently provides the maximum level of exemption allowed under state law, to annual incomes of $37,399.99, and the new maximum level can be $58,399.99. Bringing that income limit up will make living here more affordable for our seniors, by recognizing that fixed incomes do not go as far as they used to due to inflation. We may not be able to control the actions of those causing prices to rise, but we will do what we can to help those most vulnerable to price increases to make ends meet. 

As the weather gets cooler, cold and flu season is upon us, particularly since many of us are becoming more relaxed about mask wearing. Preparing for cold and flu season now includes getting our COVID boosters along with our flu shots. I took a few minutes out of my schedule a couple of weeks ago to get my booster, and encourage everyone to do the same! 

OVAC has the new Moderna booster, which protects you against the original Covid and the new Omicron variant. Click here to register for an appointment to receive a booster. They do accept walk-ins, but there has been a lot of interest in the new Moderna and Pfizer boosters, so they recommend an appointment.

The County is also offering the new bivalent booster at the Westchester County Health Department Clinic at 134 Court St in White Plains from 9am to 3pm on Fridays. Appointments are required – walk ins will not be accepted. Click here to register for an appointment at the County clinic.

If you’re looking for good coffee and conversation, please join Senator Pete Harckham and I at the Ossining Public Library this Sunday, October 9 at 3:30 PM. Hear from us about issues impacting the area and tell us more about what is on your mind. RSVP at .

That’s all for now! For ideas for what to do this weekend and beyond, click here to go to the blog. Tonight is the First Friday of the month and there are a number of businesses and organizations participating in the Community Crawl brought to us by ENU Builds and the Chamber of Commerce - check it out! 

 

 

We’ll be closed for the holiday on Monday, but waste and recycling will continue on its normal schedule. We’ll also be back to our regular meeting schedule on Tuesday. We will see you soon - till then, be safe and healthy! 

--Dana

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