MAYOR'S UPDATE
From the desk of Mayor Rika Levin
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Last week I was joined by Village and Town Clerk Susanne Donnelly, Corporation Counsel Stuart Kahan and Village Manager Karen D’Attore at the 2023 NYCOM (New York Conference of Mayors) Annual Conference in upstate New York. While in attendance, I had an opportunity to join in several meetings regarding New York State policies, refugee’s resettlement, cannabis legislation, budget discussions, and immigration issues. Collectively, we participated in roundtables, learned about current trends, and roles and responsibilities of municipal officials. We were also able to network with folks from other municipalities throughout New York. |
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My Brother’s Keeper was started by President Barak Obama with the goal of addressing persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential. Ossining sent a group of high schoolers, along with local mentors, to the My Brother’s Keeper Symposium this past Friday in Albany. A special shout-out to our Deputy Mayor! To learn more about the program in Ossining, click here: My Brother's Keeper Program - Ossining Union Free School District (ossiningufsd.org)
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Be sure to join me on Wednesday May 24, @ 4:30 PM for the World Bee Day Celebration in the Village of Ossining! I am excited to announce that we have planted a pollinator garden at Richard Wishnie Park on Pleasantville Road, which we will be dedicating in honor of Assemblywomen Galef for her outstanding leadership and decades-long commitment to her public service to Ossining. Pollinator gardens are easy to plant on properties, large and small, and help our ecosystem.
Important fact: Three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of animal pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insects. You can help pollinators in your garden at home. Pollinators make use of food and habitat anywhere it is found, whether on roadsides, in a schoolyard garden or a planter on a windowsill (https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators).
Posted at the new pollinator garden, you’ll find signage that will help guide you in the creation of your own garden.
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Ossining’s Memorial Day parade is scheduled for Monday, May 29th with the link up beginning at Calam Ave. The parade route will follow a path to Nelson Park, where Memorial Day Service, brought to you by the Ossining Fire Department, Ossining Police Department, and local veterans.
This is a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered and honored.
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I am excited to announce that the Village will once again host the annual flag-raising ceremonies at Market Square for the Pride Flag and the Juneteenth flag. The first event will be held on Thursday, June 1 @ 4:00 PM. The Ossining LGBTQ+ Alliance will raise the official Pride Flag in collaboration with the Village of Ossining. The flag-raising will be attended by local, county, and state elected officials and representatives from the LGBTQ+ community.
"While the LGBTQ+ community is experiencing an increase in backlash and legislation against us, it is important that we call on our allies for support more than ever." Christiana Picciano, Chairperson, Ossining LGBTQ Alliance. "I am grateful for the participation and year-round support of the LGBTQ+ community from our elected officials and advocates. I look forward to kicking off pride month this year by raising the Progress Pride Flag in Market Square in Downtown Ossining and hope you'll join us.”
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The next event will be held on Friday, June 2, @ 6:00 PM for the third annual official raising of the Juneteenth flag in Ossining. We are proud that the flag will be flown throughout the entire month of June to acknowledge and honor the freedom of formerly enslaved Africans in America, as well as the ancestors of Ossining's black community. The flag-raising will be attended by elected officials and representatives from the African American community.
“As Americans, we take pride in celebrating the freedom that our service members have fought so hard to attain,” Joyce Sharrock Cole, Village Historian, and Ossining Juneteenth Council Chair. “Juneteenth commemorates the freeing of formerly enslaved Africans to become free American Citizens. It is our hope that the entire community will join us in celebrating yet another day of freedom that our formerly enslaved ancestors and service members fought so hard to accomplish.”
All are invited to attend these events, rain or shine.
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It's that time again when the Village's Historian, Joyce Sharrock Cole, shares another story called: Ossining History Story Time: "Lions, Tigers, and Elephants, OH MY!"
In this blog edition, Historian Cole talks about the time the circus came to Ossining – and how our very own SPCA, which has been here since the 1800s, worked as tirelessly as they always do for the protection of all animals. Click here to watch: https://youtu.be/mByNF9sTlQ4
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The Village of Ossining Board of Trustees will have a Special Meeting on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 @ 7:30 PM at 16 Croton Avenue.
We will convene on the front steps of Village Hall, where we will be performing three Ossining Police Department Promotions:
- Appointment of Police Lieutenant - Andrew J. Maiorana;
- Appointment of Police Sergeant - Jafeth A. Chavez; and
- Appointment of Police Officer Addison J. Chavez to Detective
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Village of Ossining | www.villageofossining.org
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