December 19, 2023

This past weekend's Candy Cane run was a huge success. Thank you to the Ossining Fire Department, Police Department, and OVAC for ensuring that Santa saw all the kids in Ossining!



And there is more… The Ossining Recreation and Parks crew held its annual Special Recreation holiday party. I am beyond proud that our special needs community has a welcoming place in Ossining that offers inclusive, tailored programming for all our children who want to celebrate this holiday.

Update about our process for appointing the next Chief of Police:

As you may have heard, Ossining’s current Police Chief, Kevin Sylvester, has announced his retirement effective at year end 2023. After some conversation, the Board of Trustees has decided unanimously to promote an internal candidate to this position in 2024.

Here are our next steps: On Wednesday, the board will be announcing the appointment of Captain Brendan Donohue as temporary Chief of Police. The appointment of a temporary Chief of Police will be for no more than 90 days. We will be spending the first half of January interviewing community stakeholders who will help in informing us about the characteristics that are important to them as we formulate our selection. The interviews will be conducted by a third-party and will be completed by the end of January/ early February. The board will then interview the candidates to select and appoint a Police Chief to carry us forth into the future. The appointment will be provisional pending the results of the Police Chief promotional examination scheduled for March 24, 2024.

Did you know?

Our Police Chief is the top-ranking law enforcer charged with the responsibility of supervising and managing Police Department heads and staff. He/she is the manager of the Police Department, which covers both the Village and the Town.

The Police Chief is responsible for strategic planning, administration, budgeting, public relations, and the day-to-day operations of the police department. While the Police Chief usually works in an office setting within the police department, he/she may be required to investigate crime scenes or hold meetings with politicians outside the office. Other duties of a Police Chief include developing policies and procedures, holding community and staff meetings, developing crime prevention programs, among others.

The Police Chief is appointed by, and reports directly to, the Village Board of Trustees, and keeps them up to date with the goings-on of the police department. The Police Chief must possess exceptional leadership skills and be knowledgeable of 21^st century policing, because he/she is a leader in the community.

A Police Chief is expected to be well versed with the laws since most of his/her role revolves around law enforcement. Police Chiefs do not have specified working hours. They work all hours, including holidays and weekends. The role of a Police Chief is an especially important one because they are liable for the successes and failures of the Police Department.

I will update the community regarding our progress, via my weekly Mayor’s message.

Please join the Ossining Youth Bureau and a Village of One for a Day of Community. This event will be held on Saturday, December 23^rd, at the Community Center from 3-5 PM, and all are welcome. Dinner will be served, and clothing/coats will be available for distribution—another wonderful and gracious service provided by the Village and its dedicated staff.

Be sure to mark your calendars! The Town and Village of Ossining will be hosting our annual inauguration of elected officials on Monday, January 1^st, 2024, beginning at noon. The ceremony will take place at the Joseph G. Caputo Community Center, 95 Broadway, Ossining, NY 10562.

This week marks the Board of Trustees' last Legislative Meeting of 2023. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, 12/20/23, at 7:30PM at the Birdsall-Fagan Police Court Facility. You can find a link to this week’s Agenda here: Legislative Meeting - Dec 20 2023

I want to wish everyone a joyful Christmas season, a Happy Kwanzaa, and a very Happy New Year! I hope that joy and peace replace some of the stresses we are seeing in our world, and I wish everyone the pleasure of spending time with friends and loved ones.

I thank everyone in our Ossining community for giving me the opportunity to be your mayor and make 2023 our best year. I am excited by the prospects of an even better 2024.

Please note that there will not be a mayor message next week. I look forward to corresponding with you in 2024!