October 29, 2024

The Ossining Recreation Department has two more community activities for Halloweek starting on Wednesday with the Special Needs Kids Halloween Night Out, followed by our annual Trunk or Treat in Market Square on Halloween!

Special Needs Kids Halloween Night Out! at The Community Center

October 30^th @ 6:30 - 8:00 PM

This recreation program is designed to cater to our special needs population and their caretakers. It's a chance to participate in a variety of activities at the Community Center - from playing in our gym and game room to doing a craft and enjoying a snack with friends. There's something for everyone to enjoy.

Click here to register: https://bit.ly/4dJ3pfm

Trunk or Treat at Market Square

October 31^st @ 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Please join the Ossining Recreation & Parks Department in welcoming our DPW crews, Park's Crews as well as the Police Department, Fire Department, and OVAC to this year's Trunk or Treat event in Market Square on Thursday, October 31st, from 6-8 PM.

You'll enjoy games, fun, and candy while listening to a spooky DJ. While you're there – be sure to Meet the Fleet – where kids can explore our trucks, earth movers, ambulances, and squad cars!

No registration is necessary – come join us!

The Village of Ossining Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to convert lower Linden Avenue to a one-way street northbound between Croton Avenue and Glen Street, changing traffic flow from its current two-way operation in order to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians. This intersection is greatly in need of improvement, as a high number of traffic accidents have been reported, according to data from the Ossining Police Department, due to drivers experiencing blind spots when approaching Croton Avenue from Glen Street.

Prior efforts to improve safety at the intersection include new signage and marked crosswalks installed in the Spring of 2024, which has helped to encourage safer pedestrian crossings; this is of critical importance everywhere, but particularly throughout the Croton Avenue corridor, a busy state road (NYS 133) that regularly carries Bee Line Buses, school buses, commuters, and residents traveling from destinations within and outside of Ossining. Prohibiting vehicles from turning onto Croton Avenue from Lower Linden will further enhance the safety of drivers and pedestrians in this challenging intersection. 

Turning this section of lower Linden Avenue into a one-way will provide safety to pedestrians and drivers. This section of Ossining serves as an area with significant businesses and foot traffic by community members of all ages. Anything we can do to enhance safety with the least inconvenience is always a welcome change.

The Village of Ossining Department of Public Works is committed to ensuring the safety of all residents and commuters. We expect the work in this area to begin by the end of October and be completed by December 2024.

Have you noticed our new bike racks? I am pleased to share that with the assistance of the Placemaking Committee, the Village picked out helix-style bike racks in Hunter Green, which have been placed throughout the Village on Village-owned property adjacent to area destinations. Each helix stores 6 bikes. These bike racks were funded by a $5000 Action Grant under NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities program awarded in 2021.

In late 2020, the Village of Ossining partnered with the Town of Ossining, Village of Briarcliff, Green Ossining, and Sustainable Westchester to work on the EnergySmart Communities campaign; the mission was to help educate property owners and renters in our community about various ways they could decrease their carbon footprint, whether through low-cost energy savings improvements to permanent changes to how they heat and cool their homes. One of the Village's Community Campaigns entailed spreading the word about Grid Rewards, a "demand response" program; the Grid Rewards app, once linked to a user's Con Edison account, sends alerts to reduce energy consumption on the warmest days, and participants can get cash back for meeting their reduction goals. We got the word out on social media and received a great response, bringing us here today.

Upon notification that the Village was eligible for an Action Grant, we asked our partners in the Village of Ossining Environmental Advisory Council and Green Ossining for some ideas. The request, loud and clear, was for the Village to request funding for bike racks as part of our local push to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation. We conducted an online survey of the community to assess where residents believe new bike racks should be located, and that information informed the amount and size of bike racks we purchased with the grant funding. You’ll find the racks in the following locations:

• Nelson Park
• Spring Street Bus Stop
• Richard Wishnie Park
• Henry Gourdine Park
• Ossining Train Station
• Veterans Park
• Joseph G. Caputo Community Center

It's budget time! A local government’s annual budget indicates a community’s civic priorities, projected revenue and costs, capital expenditures, investments, and plans for the future—what revenue will pay for which departmental services. Our staff has been working on the 2025 budget and is ready to present it to the Board of Trustees for discussion and approval. As part of their fiduciary responsibility, only the five elected Village officials, the Mayor, and the Trustees can approve the annual budget. We take this role very seriously. The development of the annual budget in the public sector is more than just number crunching; the budget reflects a strategic plan, and its conception considers the needs and priorities of all stakeholders, from government administrators and employees to residents, businesses, and volunteers, and affects decisions of future Boards. We hold a number of meetings to review the recommended budgets and welcome the public to observe these discussions. Here is a preliminary meeting schedule:

• Monday, November 11^th - 12:00 - 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, November 13^th - 3:00 PM - 10:30 PM
• Thursday, November 14^th - 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
• Friday, November 15th (if needed) - 6:00-10:00 PM (estimate - if needed by the Board)

All meetings are held in the Board Room at Village Hall and will be recorded via Zoom.

Congratulations to the Village of Ossining's new business, The 19^th Hole, who had their ribbon-cutting ceremony this weekend.

This week is a fifth Wednesday of the month, and the Village officials will be taking this Wednesday off. We will meet again on Wednesday, November 6^th @ 7:30 PM for a Legislative Meeting at the Courthouse, where Village Manager Karen D’Attore will present the 2025 Tentative Budget.

Village of Ossining | www.villageofossining.org