MAYOR'S NEWSLETTER

From the Desk of Mayor Brian Pugh

February 10th, 2024

Quasquicentennial Concludes With Packed House Event

The 125th Anniversary Committee concluded a year of celebration with the presentation of its oral history project at the Croton Free Library before a standing room only audience. The hour-long video recording celebrates Croton’s 125th Anniversary with storytelling from over 30 residents who have spent decades in our Village and watched it grow and thrive. The video will be available on the Village website and will premiere on the Village's PEG Channel (viewable on Channel 78 or Live Stream at crotononhudson-ny.gov) at a later date.

Special thanks to all the members of the 125th Committee for making this a very special anniversary for our Village: Carolyn Whiting, Committee Chair, Ann Gallelli, Marc Cheshire, Nicole Belle DeRise, Joel Gingold, Eleanor Kwei, Nancy Libow, Matilda Weekes, Nenad Bach, Joe Streany, Marie Considine, Bob Whiting, Linda Simon, Jim Christensen, and Len Simon, Trustee Liaison.

Crotonites past and present gathered at the Croton Free Library to watch the premiere of the 125th anniversary oral history film.

Croton-on-Hudson Named Pro-Housing Community

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson was officially designated as one of the first 20 Pro-Housing Communities in New York State on February 7th. The certification, first announced by Governor Hochul, recognizes localities taking meaningful steps to address the housing shortage and gives them priority consideration for up to $650 million in state discretionary funding. Deputy Mayor Len Simon joined fellow officials in Albany for a roundtable meeting with Governor Hochul to discuss the program and the future of housing in New York State.

More information on the announcement, including video, can found here.

20th Eaglefest Held at Croton Point Park

Teatown celebrated America’s symbol at its annual Hudson River Eaglefest last Saturday at Croton Point Park, marking the festival’s 20th anniversary. Participants took bird walks, viewed eagles through spotting scopes, learned about adventure technology, and experienced the many bird shows in the Eagle Theatre and Eaglet Stage.

Eaglefest also featured a presentation from Croton-on-Hudson's very own Bird Commissioner, Cary Andrews. CET students also contributed eagle-themed artwork that was featured throughout the Eagle Theatre.

The rebound of the bald eagle population is an environmental success story. Like the reclaimed Croton Point Park landfill, formerly an active waste dump, Eaglefest is a symbol of what we can achieve when we work together to protect our environment.

Bald eagle viewing during the winter months, from a safe distance, is an exhilarating and memorable experience. Eagles begin arriving in December, concentrations peak in January and February, and most head back to their nests by mid-March. Teatown maintains a map of common eagle spotting sites along the Hudson River.

Fire Chief John Munson Honored

Last Saturday, I had the honor of joining members of the Board and recognizing Chief John Munson for his service to the Village of Croton-on-Hudson’s Volunteer Fire Department. John concluded his second term as chief at the end of 2023. John is a third-generation Croton-on-Hudson volunteer firefighter. John leads by example and is consistently the top responder in the department. In addition to a proclamation from the Village, Chief Munson received a proclamation from State Senator Peter Harckham and a resolution from County Legislator Emiljana Ulaja recognizing Monday, February 5th as John Munson day in Westchester County. The electronic billboard at the County Center was illuminated in his honor.

At the end of last year, we welcomed our new department leadership: Chief Josh Karpoff, Assistant Chief Chris Colombo, and Second Assistant Chief Chris Caterino. On behalf of the Board and the larger Croton community, I thank all our first responders for their service to our Village.

Village Receives Impact Award

The Hudson Valley Regional Council presented its Impact Award to members of the Board of Trustees, Village Manager Bryan Healy and Sustainability Chair Lindsay Audin for the Solar Canopy Project at the Croton-Harmon Train Station. The award honors municipal projects that have a significant impact on the environment. The carport solar array, which is currently under construction, will produce 4 MWDC of clean power, and includes 3.5 MW of battery power storage. When completed later this year, this integrated solar generation and storage system will help avoid about 1,800 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

More information about the solar array and other Village projects can be found on the Projects & Initiatives page of the Village website.

From the left: Village Manager Bryan Healy, Trustee Ian Murtaugh, Hudson Valley Regional Council Executive Director Carla Castillo, Mayor Brian Pugh, Croton-on-Hudson Sustainability Committee Chair Lindsay Audin, Hudson Valley Regional Council Coordinator Elizabeth Sun at the site of the Solar Canopy Project (rendering of completed project pictured below).

Accessory Apartment Law Adopted

Following a public hearing, the Village of Croton-on-Hudson recently updated its Village Code related to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) with the adoption of Local Law 21 of 2023.

Both accessory apartments and accessory structures (also known as accessory cottages) are now permitted in residential districts, subject to review by the Village Engineer and Planning Board approval. ADUs must be a minimum of 300 square feet and no greater than the lesser of 800 square feet or, in the case of an accessory apartment, 40% of the habitable floor area of the building it is located in. The owner of the property must occupy either the primary dwelling unit or the ADU as their primary residence. There is a maximum of one ADU per single-family home.

The Village Board has temporarily waived penalties for existing construction undertaken without an Accessory Apartment Permit. To take advantage of this opportunity, owners of properties with unauthorized structures must apply for amnesty for the period of January 11, 2024, through April 12, 2024. After this period, noncompliant accessory dwelling units will be subject to enforcement action, and a penalty will be applied.

To learn more about a ADU’s please visit our ADU FAQ. Further questions about ADU regulations can be directed to the Village Engineering Department at (914) 271-4783.

Board Endorses Gouveia Park Plan

Gouveia Park, located at 1300 Albany Post Road, was gifted to the Village of Croton-on-Hudson in 2015 from John and Laurel Gouveia. The Village accepted the gift of the 15.69-acre property and house along with a $1,000,000 endowment and agreed that the property shall be preserved and maintained, and its principal use be a park which shall be open to the public.

At the January 31st Work Session, the Board met with the Chair of the Recreation Advisory Committee and Chair of the Arts & Humanities Advisory Council, who respectively were the chair and vice chair of the Gouveia Park Working Group. The Board reviewed the Working Group’s memo and endorsed its recommendations that the Recreation Department office be relocated to the first floor of the Gouveia home with the second floor being dedicated as space for recreation & cultural programming; that the portions of the first floor not used for the Recreation office be made available as gallery space to highlight local art; that the Village should explore reusing the to-be-vacated space at the municipal building currently occupied by the Recreation Department to be made available for public use, including arts & community programming; and that the park building be dedicated to former Trustee Ann Gallelli, who was instrumental in the creation of the park and devoted decades to protecting public space in the Village as member of the Board of Trustees, the Planning Board and other civic & community service.

After discussing the memo, the Board unanimously endorsed the recommendations of the working group. Recreation and Public Works departments will continue to collaborate on additional details that can be referred back to the Board of Trustees and included in the Village’s capital plan.

Recent Actions by the Village Board

At our February 7th meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted the following resolutions:

Adopting new rules and regulations for the use of Senasqua Park.
Accepting a proposal from the Laberge Group to conduct a review of the organizational structure and functions of the Village Engineering Department;
Authorizing a Change Order 1 for the Marine 12 fire boat with Inventech Marine Solutions LLC;
Accepting the proposal from Integrated Technical Systems, Inc., of Parsippany, New Jersey, for a new parking permit management system;
Giving notice to property owners about their unpaid tax balances, authorizing the Village Treasurer to take all action prescribed by law to collect such unpaid taxes through the advertisement and sale of taxes or tax liens, and thus designating March 18, 2024 as the tax lien sale date;
Authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the amount of $10,869.50 for the purpose of covering the cost of repairing storm damage to the walkway railing at Senasqua Park and fencing at Black Rock Dog Park;
Authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the amount of $10,000 to fund a part-time employee to complete the New York State Climate Smart Community (CSC) Program recertification process for the Village of Croton-on-Hudson.
Accepting Sections 1 through 8 of the proposal from Tectonic Engineering of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, to provide consulting and engineering design services related to the reconstruction of the Half Moon Bay Bridge.

Video and back-up material for the meeting can be found here.

Upcoming meetings and events in the Village include:

● IDEA Advisory Committee Meeting - Monday, February 12th - 10:00am

● Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting - Tuesday, February 13th - 7:00pm

● Conservation Advisory Council Meeting - Tuesday, February 13th - 7:30pm

● Police Advisory Committee Meeting - Tuesday, February 13th - 6:00pm

● Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee Meeting - Thursday, February 15th - 7:30pm

● Tax Grievance Day - Tuesday, February 20th, 4:00pm to 8:00pm

For more information on these events click here. Recordings of the statutory board meetings (Board of Trustees, Planning & Zoning) are available under the Village’s live stream channel.