December 5, 2023

Let's Celebrate the Season – together! Please join the community at the Menorah & Market Square Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 7th, @ 6:00 PM.

The schedule of the night will be as follows:

6:00 PM MENORAH LIGHTING

6:30 PM AFTER SCHOOL RECREATION CHOIR

6:40 PM Soloist Spencer Smith

6:50 PM MIKE RISKO BAND

7:00 PM TREE LIGHTING

SANTA ARRIVES FOR PICTURES

Refreshments provided by:

Chabad Lubavitch of Briarcliff Manor & Ossining

The Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce

Wanna Empanada

Here Coffee + Beer

Some of Ossining’s residents have asked for more information about the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) study of Route 9A. The Village of Ossining is a member of the Transportation Partnering Committee, which includes elected and staff representatives from Mt. Pleasant, the Village of Briarcliff Manor, the Village of Ossining, and the Town of Ossining, as well as the County and State officials who represent these communities. Public engagement is an important component of the study process, and recently, the DOT hosted a public workshop on November 16 at Todd Elementary School in Briarcliff Manor to get feedback from residents of the municipalities involved. DOT representatives shared potential concepts that might be included in the final report as suggestions for solving some of the problems we experience on this stretch of 9A. Click here to review these ideas. 

These are suggestions, not final plans, and the study team seeks feedback on preferred concepts. If you have feedback that you would like to share regarding this or anything else related to Route 9A, you can send it in writing to Sandra Jobson via email at Sandra.Jobson@dot.ny.gov or via regular mail to Ms. Sandra D. Jobson, NYS Department of Transportation, 4 Burnett Boulevard, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. For comments related to this study, be sure to include the project number 810355. You can also provide me with your comments and suggestions at levin@villageofossining.org, and I will be sure to share them with the DOT and the Transportation Partnering Committee. This study marks the first stage of a process that will require ongoing community engagement before any preliminary decisions are made, and final decisions are then funded and implemented. This gathering and phase is scheduled to conclude in February. We will keep you apprised as the study progresses, and the final study results will be available to the community. 

The Central Committee of Organized War Veterans of the Town of Ossining will hold its Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on Thursday, December 7th, @ noon, outside of Village Hall (16 Croton Ave).

Please join us for a tribute to the many men and women who served in that period of American History when the United States of America was attacked by a foreign power seeking to destroy us and our way of life.

Beginning midnight MONDAY, 1/1/24, regular parking enforcement goes into effect for the Spring/Main Street East lot (next to Market Square) and Spring/Main Street West lot (next to the post office) parking lots. Click here for full details: https://bit.ly/3GvKjLA

In 2021, the Village engaged Nelson Nygaard to facilitate our Mobility & Parking Management Study: Final Report. We learned that the most centrally located and desirable lots closest to the downtown businesses needed to be quickly turned over to become available for all visitors throughout the business day. It was suggested that to encourage such turnover, the Village should make the parking spots in both lots metered.

More parking spots are on the way! The Village of Ossining was awarded grant funding through the Department of State as part of the New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative in November 2021, as well as through Empire State Development in 2022, which will help to fund the design and building of a multi-modal transportation hub. This hub will provide approximately 240 vehicle parking spaces, including infrastructure for electric bike and vehicle charging. Our design will be consistent with the historic character of the Main Street Corridor. 

Santa has dropped off a mailbox, “Santa’s North Pole Express,” to the Recreation Department. Children in Pre-K to 3rd Grade have an opportunity to write Santa a letter telling him what they would like for Christmas. Once Santa checks his list, he and his elves will personally write letters in response to each message. Letters to Santa can be placed in the “Santa’s North Pole Express” mailbox through December 15th. To receive a response from Santa, be sure to include the child’s name, age, and return address to receive a response letter.

“Santa’s North Pole Express” mailbox can be found on the lower level of the Recreation Department, near the entrance with the double doors. Our Recreation staff will ensure all letters are received by Santa at the North Pole in time for Christmas!

For those folks attending Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 9th, there will also be an opportunity to drop off letters.

Tomorrow's legislative session is heavy with varied and important items. Of particular note is that our Chief of Police, Kevin Sylvester, became eligible for retirement in August and has approached the Board of Trustees with a request to activate his retirement from the Ossining Police Department. A resolution authorizing me to sign the separation agreement is before the Board for a vote as stated in the agenda. 

This week’s Legislative Meeting will take place at 7:30PM on Wednesday, December 6^th, at the Court House.

I had the pleasure of joining County Executive Latimer at his weekly conference. I look for every opportunity possible to share my love for Ossining and the important work being done by the staff and elected officials that make Ossining a great place to live, work, and play. In short, to build community.