Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend. You got a great head start on it if you joined us last week for RiverJam; our season finale did not disappoint. Beautiful weather, great food and beverages, and a fantastic concert - take a look!
If you, like us, are missing RiverJam Fridays, thank Mike and Miriam Risko for putting together this RiverJam video recapping some of the highlights of the summer, including snippets of each band’s performances. They also shared the lovely photo below of all the bands who joined us this year. It was a banner year for the concert series, with no rainouts and a truly fantastic vibe expressed perfectly by the new name and the now iconic graphics created by Brian Sheridan of Hothouse Design, which can all still be viewed at the Ossining RiverJam website.
Can’t wait till next year! If you’re a band or vendor that is interested in joining the fun, you can feel free to complete the appropriate form on the RiverJam website to place yourself under consideration.
On a more somber note, this weekend we pause to reflect and remember those we lost on 9/11. Please join the Town, its two Villages and our emergency service organizations at a 9/11 remembrance ceremony this coming Sunday, September 11 at 5:30 PM at Louis Engel Waterfront Park.
Westchester County and Volunteer New York have also teamed up to create a really robust weekend of programming for the 9/11 Day of Service. Click here to check out the full list of volunteer opportunities. The County is also hosting a service at the Kensico Dam in Valhalla, incorporating the now one-year old memorial honoring first responders who died of 9/11-related illnesses.
Whenever I think about this day - picturing first responders running into burning buildings, putting themselves at risk, to save lives - I am struck anew with awe and gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who showed up. This weekend, we mourn the loss of those killed on 9/11 and those who have passed due to 9/11-related illnesses, and honor the bravery and unselfishness of those who rose to the occasion when fate called.
Returning to current events: we are progressing in our application for a New York Forward grant. For those who are unaware, the New York Forward program is very similar to the Downtown Revitalization Initiative that the Village of Ossining won in the last round, but is scaled down to meet the needs of communities without large downtowns. After discussing with our grant writer and Town Planner, we have decided to put our hat in the ring for the Executive Boulevard/Stormytown Road area. We will have the grant application on the agenda for public input during an upcoming Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, September 20 at 7:30 PM. I hope you will join us to learn more and share your input on how that area might be revitalized.
Have you taken the Car Free Day pledge yet? We are hard at work with Green Ossining, the Village, 511NY Rideshare, the Ossining Schools and the local business community planning a fun suite of forward-looking, sustainable activities for the days surrounding Car Free Day. Car Free Week will begin on Saturday, September 17 and run through the official Car Free Day, September 22. Take the pledge now to reduce or eliminate your car usage for at least one day during Car Free Week, and be sure to follow @townofossining on Facebook and/or Instagram to enjoy all the car-free/car-lite fun! Last year, Ossining won the prize for most signups of any municipality in New York, and we were also acknowledged for innovative programming. We’re looking to repeat that feat this year, with everyone’s help!
If you are the owner of a local brick & mortar business that would like to support Car Free Week, please fill out this Google form to let us know what you might like to offer patrons as a reward for participating (for example, $1 off any purchase of $10 or more; a stamp on a frequent customer card, etc.), and we will add your establishment to our promotional efforts.
A reminder that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has begun to draw down water levels in the New Croton Reservoir to allow for routine operational inspections of the New Croton Dam and spillway. As DEP begins lowering the water level of the reservoir, there will be significant increases in the flow of water into the Croton River. Members of the public should be extra cautious while the increased water is released into the river. Activities such as wade fishing and kayaking are discouraged, as the fluctuating flow in the river could make them unsafe. The increased release is expected to continue until approximately September 27th. More details in the message below.
Lastly, a tax reminder - school tax bills have been sent out, and payment for the first half is due by September 30. If you pay directly instead of through an escrow account and have not received your bill yet, please call the Tax Receiver’s office at (914) 762-8790. You can also view and pay your bill online at the Tax Receiver’s page of our website: https://www.townofossining.com/cms/receiver-of-taxes.
That’s all for now! For ideas for what to do this weekend and beyond, keep scrolling! We are now back to our regular meeting and office schedule; we will see you soon!
--Dana
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