So much to see and do!

If you have tried to drive on Broadway any Saturday this week, you know very well what time of year it is - a busy season in the Tarrytowns. Tonight join the Rec Department for Trunk or Treat at the waterfront. Tomorrow head to Pierson Park for Revolution on Hudson, a free event featuring historic re-enactors, crafts and other installations to give a feel for life during the Revolutionary War. Monday celebrate the new downtown mural with a ribbon-cutting and fundraiser sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. And next week the Parade!

Tonight: Trunk or Treat!

Enter your decorated vehicle to participate in giving out candy or bring the kids by in their best costumes to get some treats! Between 4:30—6:30 PM, Parking Lot E (next to Pierson Park) becomes the best place in town to Trick or Treat! A best decorated car prize will be awarded and kids are sure to go home with plenty of candy!

Congratulations, Detective Mathew Garro!

The Board of Trustees was pleased to appoint Police Officer Matthew Garro to the position of Detective at the last Board Meeting. Detective Garro has been working for the Tarrytown Police Department since 2012, and is a graduate of Sleepy Hollow High School. He has taken on increasing responsibilities during his tenure in the department and comes with a strong recommendation from Chief John Barbelet. Congratulations, Detective! 

Ribbon-cutting Time!

Come join the Village's Placemaking Committee, the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trustees for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the corner of Kaldenberg Place and Main Street on Monday, October 24 at 6pm. The celebration of the installation of the mural by artist Tim Grajek will be followed by a fundraiser sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce to support other such projects to improve the downtown. See the flyer below for details about the fundraiser at Horsefeathers.

Tree-planting Season

(L to R: Anthony Ross, Pat Saldis, Ed O'Gorman)

(L to R: Chris Gasparre, Jaime Romero, Carlos Leon, Max Lopez, Bill Avery)

The Parks Department and the Department of Public Works have been busy this fall season planting trees around the Village. Thanks to a program by the New York Power Authority which matches one-for-one native tree purchases, the Village is able to plant 51 trees in a range of public spaces around the Village. Thank you to DPW Foreman William McGuire and Parks Foreman Anthony Ross for driving the tree planting program with support from the Village's Tree Commission.          

A Spooky Halloween Display?

What is going on at the Lakes?

The recently installed scene across from the Water Pump Station on Neperan Road is not an alien moonscape or a creepy graveyard. The inhabitants are very much alive. Thanks to a Trees for Tributaries grant from the State's Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson Estuary Program, the Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council  together with the Village Department of Public Works and other volunteers successfully planted 200 shrubs and trees to help restore native habitat and protect the lakeshore from erosion. Having been cleared periodically through the years, the site had become overrun with invasive vegetation. The tree tubes are designed to give the young plants protection from the deer. The DPW will continue its work to keep the invasive species at bay. When the tubes come off, the site will be populated by native shrubs and trees including Silky and Gray Dogwoods, Serviceberry, Highbush Cranberry, Winterberry, Beach Plum, Willow, Oak and Maple. Check out the video below that Suzy Allman, a TEAC volunteer made about the project.

Accessory Dwelling Unit Law Open for Public Comment 

The Village's Housing Affordability Task Force has put forward a draft local law for consideration to permit the installation of Accessory Dwelling Units as another "tool in the toolbox" in the effort to increase the availability of more affordable housing in the Village. The public hearing for Local Law 10 was opened at the last meeting on October 17 and will continue at the next Board meeting on November 7th. 

For more information about Accessory Dwelling Units including the draft legislation and a presentation recorded by Peter Feroe of the Housing Affordability Task Force for the public hearing, please check out the HATF page on the Village website, and see a summary explainer of the legislation below.

Con Ed Updates  

Con Ed work is still taking place at various places around the Village. Con Ed is increasing the number of crews at work in the Village in anticipation of the cold weather ahead.

Main Street

Beginning November 1st, major work to replace the gas mains on Main Street will begin. This will disrupt downtown activity between 7am and 5pm over a period of two months. The Village will release additional information about the disruption as it is made available. 

E. Sunnyside Lane 

The Con Ed crews continue to move east from Broadway toward Whitetail Road. The crews anticipate reaching the entrance of Tarrytown House Estate in the next two weeks, at which time, access to all homes west of the entrance should be accessible again via Broadway. The Village will update as more information becomes available. 

John Street

Major excavation work will begin next week mid-week on John Street. Expect parking and traffic disruption while work is underway. 

Dixon Lane and Kaldenberg Place

Work will begin on Dixon and Kaldenberg the week after Halloween and is anticipated to last approximately one week.

Paving

Paving will begin on the below listed streets the week of November 7th. Milling should take two days and paving should take two days. The Village will provide information about alternative parking locations for those impacted by the restoration work

• North Washington from Dixon Lane to Central Avenue
• All of Storm Street
• Wildey Street from North Washington Street to Cortlandt Street
• Mechanics Avenue 

Saturday: Revolution on the Hudson! at Pierson Park

Revolution on the Hudson! Living History Experience 

October 22 from noon to 5 p.m. at Pierson Park. 

This family-friendly event is FREE.

Revolution on the Hudson! will feature historical figures such as George Washington, Benedict Arnold, Major John André, Benjamin Franklin, and Patriot David Williams. Multiple military reenactor groups will be on-site, including a cavalry unit, the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, with several of their military horses, and Alexander Hamilton’s militia unit, Hearts of Oak. 

There will be craft demonstrators including blacksmithing, demonstrations of Lenape technologies, colonial-period music, a military tent encampment and a marching/parade demonstration of more than 30 soldiers. 

Theatrical performances will take place at intervals on the park’s outdoor stage (schedule below)—providing immersive, entertaining, and educational experiences.

Produced by Revolutionary Westchester 250   

Sponsored in part by Westchester County Tourism & Film, Village of Tarrytown, and Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and in partnership with The Historical Society Serving Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown and Historic Hudson River Towns

Mobile Shredder: Oct. 29

Location: Lot F, near Losee Field

Time: 9am to 12pm

Residents can bring up to 4 file-size (10”x12”x15”) boxes of confidential papers per household to Tarrytown, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for shredding. Please remove all large binder clips and covers. Papers from businesses, institutions or commercial enterprises are not acceptable and will be rejected, as will any junk mail or newspapers.

Climate-adaptive Design Studio

On October 19, students from Cornell University brought their draft visions for the Tarrytown Waterfront for review and feedback from Village residents. Based on New York State DEC flood projections for 2050 and 2080, the students presented draft designs anticipating that much of the waterfront as we know it will likely be either underwater or subject to frequent inundation. Using natural landscape mitigation and other design strategies including creating marshland, installing levees, relocating critical facilities and other measures, the student designs posed serious questions about how to ensure a viable and enjoyable waterfront for Tarrytown for many years to come. 

The students will go back to the drawing board with information they received from their visit. They are still looking for input. Please complete the survey they have drafted by October 29.

Survey in English: https://tinyurl.com/CAD-Tarrytown-eng

Survey in Spanish: https://tinyurl.com/CAD-Tarrytown-sp

On December 12th, the students will return with their final designs. Please plan on coming to the Open House at the Senior Center to join in this important community conversation.

For more information about the project, we have a Climate-adaptive Design Studio page on our website where we will continue to gather information throughout the semester.

Report From Board of Trustees Meeting 10.17.22

ICYMI, you can watch Village Board meetings online.

• Public Hearing - Cannabis Zoning: The Board of Trustees opened the public hearing to consider a change to Chapter 305 of the Zoning Code to specifically regulate cannabis dispensaries in the Village. The draft law will require that dispensaries are subject to site plan review, and signs will not be permitted to include pictures - only letters and numbers. The Public Hearing will continue at the November 7th Board of Trustees meeting. The Draft Local Law can be found in the October 17 agenda. 
• Public Hearing - Accessory Dwelling Units: The Board of Trustees opened the public hearing to consider a Local Law to amend Chapter 305 of the Village Zoning Code to allow for Accessory Dwelling Units in single-family residential zones. The public hearing was continued until the November 7th Board of Trustees meeting. More information about the proposed legislation including a presentation by the Housing Affordability Task force can be found on the HATF page of the Village website and the draft legislation can be found there as well.
• Support for Climate Action Council Scoping Plan: The Board adopted a resolution in support of the Draft Scoping Plan developed by the NYS Climate Action Council to set forth implementation measures to help achieve the goals established in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The complete resolution can be found in the October 17 agenda.
• Library Ceiling and Lighting Project: The contract for the Warner Library's lighting, ceiling and HVAC vent project was awarded to Graham Restoration of Port Washington, NY. The Library learned last week that they received a $71,150 grant toward the $126,310 cost of the project.
• Taxicab rates amended again: The BOT amended taxicab rates again so that now a trip within the Village will cost $8 for all parties going to the same address, and the Senior Rate was increased to $5 for trips within the Village. 

Bears in the Hudson Valley

Worried about bear sightings in the River Towns? The video above is an hour-long presentation about the DEC's response. If you are concerned, the DEC has some basic advice about avoiding human-bear conflict:

A summary of the information below can also be found in the brochure Living With Bears (PDF).

Frequently, humans unknowingly create potential food sources for bears. This may attract them into close proximity to residential areas and subsequently result in human-bear conflicts. Most conflict scenarios in New York can be resolved or minimized by removing or adequately securing whatever served to attract the bear.

Conflicts are often associated with activities not intended to attract bears, such as:

• feeding birds
• improperly storing garbage
• leaving messy grills and pet food outdoors

Bears are opportunistic feeders and will remember where they find easy food, then return to that location frequently. Intentional feeding of bears or repeated access to human foods without negative consequence can lead bears to become habituated (lose their fear of humans) and to become food-conditioned (actively seek out human foods). Habituated and food-conditioned bears may become bolder in their efforts, the longer they are successfully able to access human foods. They will eventually become involved in human-bear conflicts. Food-conditioned bears are significantly more likely to be hit by cars or shot illegally by people who mistakenly perceive a threat to their own safety.

Report a bear problem. Contact your regional DEC wildlife office to report black bear-related damage.

New York State Small Business Seed Funding Grant Program

The successful recovery and growth of small businesses is key to New York State's future. The $200 million Small Business Seed Funding Grant Program provides grant funding to early stage small and micro businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations impacted by the pandemic.

The grants will be flexible and can be used for a number of different business operating expenses, including payroll, rent or mortgage payments, taxes, utilities, PPE or other business expenses incurred between September 1, 2018 and January 1, 2022.

The application portal opens on September 14.

County Landlord Tenant Assistance Program

The Landlord Tenant Assistance Program (LTAP) will allow small landlords who own eight units or less, who maintain rent levels that are affordable to residents, to apply for up to $25,000 per unit for repairs to their rental properties. To be eligible, landlords/owners must charge rents that are affordable to households earning between no more than 60% and 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and home improvements may include, but are not limited to, roof replacement, or upgrades to electrical, windows, accessibility ramps, plumbing and heating systems. With $10M available in funds, 400 units can be rehabilitated.

Rent levels, with utilities included, must adhere to the following 2022 HUD Guidelines:

A Westchester County Rehabilitation Specialist will inspect the property after an application has been submitted to the Department of Planning. If the property qualifies, a three-party contract will be signed between the County, the landlord/owner and the contractor, for work to be completed by contractors that are licensed and insured to work in Westchester County. Funds will be disbursed directly to the contractor from the County after a progress inspection has been completed.  

Interested landlords/owners should call at (914) 995-2429 or email Gaitre Rambharose in the Westchester County Department of Planning.