The Tarrytown Link is issued the Friday after the regular Board of Trustees meeting, twice per month. We welcome community groups to contribute information about events and activities of interest to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow residents. See more on how to submit information below. Please share this sign-up form with any friends or neighbors who may be interested in receiving regular Village updates.
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Many thanks to the residents who reported the injured hawk in front of Village Hall last week. Greenburgh Animal Control was able to collect the hawk and take it to a site for rehabilitation. | |
Board of Trustees in Brief | |
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Report from the Board of Trustees Meeting on 02.6.2024
ICYMI, you can watch Village Board meetings online.
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Public Hearings on Tax Exemptions Continued: Both public hearings to consider changes to the Tax Code were continued until the next meeting on February 20, 2024.
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Criteria for tax exemption for Emergency Responders: The Board is considering an amendment to the tax code to adopt new provisions allowed by the State of New York in Real Property Tax Law 466-a for tax exemptions that apply to volunteer Fire Department members and volunteer Ambulance Corps members. At the last meeting, there was some confusion about whether all of the changes would go into effect immediately. The Village has since confirmed that upon adoption of the Local Law, all stipulations to which the Village has opted in as permitted by RPTL 446-a will go into effect. This means that if the Board votes to adopt the law at the February 20, 2024 meeting, emergency responders would be eligible to receive the benefits as provided in the law for the 2024 tax year. Eligible parties must apply for tax exemptions through the Town of Greenburgh Assessor's office. For information about all tax exemptions and how to apply for them, please visit the Tax Assessor's website.
| Tarrytown had previously adopted RPTL 466-d in 2007 which allowed for an exemption of up to 10% of assessed property value according to certain criteria. The two laws differ as follows: | |
| Old Law (RPTL 466-D) | New Law (RPTL 466-A) | | Volunteer firefighter and ambulance Corps members must be enrolled for five years. | Volunteer firefighter and ambulance Corps members must be enrolled for two years. | | Volunteer fire and ambulance corps members enrolled for at least twenty years of service are eligible for a lifetime exemption as long as they continue to maintain primary residence in Westchester. | Volunteer fire and ambulance corps members enrolled for at least twenty years of service are eligible for a lifetime exemption as long as they continue to maintain primary residence in Westchester. | | The exemption only applied to living volunteer Volunteer fire and ambulance corps members and their spouses. | The exemption may continue for the un-remarried spouse of a volunteer killed in the line of duty as long as the enrolled volunteer had been enrolled for five years. | | The exemption only applied to living volunteer fire and ambulance corps members and their spouses. | The exemption may continue for the un-remarried spouse of a deceased volunteer as long as the enrolled volunteer had been enrolled for twenty years prior to death. | | |
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The local law under consideration can be found with the agenda for the next Work Session, and the changes to the law under the amendments adopted by the State can be found on the State Department of Taxation and Finance website.
2.Criteria for Senior Tax Exemption: In 2022, the Board adopted an amendment to the Village code pursuant to changes to Section 267 of the State's Real Property Tax Law, which increased the allowable income level for Senior tax exemptions to a sliding scale ranging from $50,000 - $58,400. This 2022 change increased the number of residents who qualified for the exemption. The Town Assessor requested that the Village consider amending the law to reflect income the same way it is calculated at the federal level - Federally Adjusted Gross Income (FAGI) plus social security benefits. This reduces confusion for both residents and the Assessor's office and means that taxpayers are not bearing the burden of granting exemptions to high earning households receiving IRA distributions. The Local Law under consideration can be found at the end of the last meeting's agenda.
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New Digital Permitting System: The Board authorized an agreement to be executed with Brightly Software, LLC for the implementation of SmartGov, a new digital permitting platform to be used by multiple departments for online permitting, licensing, inspections and reports. The platform will provide an important upgrade to the outdated and un-supported platform currently in use by the Building Department, will allow for online payments, will facilitate the sharing of information between departments and will improve workflow efficiencies on multiple fronts. The platform will take 6 to 9 months to fully implement across all departments.
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Updates to the Master Fee Schedule: The full summary of updates to the Master Fee Schedule can be found in red on pgs 3-6 in the agenda from the February 6 meeting. In brief, parking permits were increased by 2%. Camp and Pool fees increased to accommodate large necessary wage increases for seasonal personnel to maintain an adequate cohort of lifeguards and camp staff. The Recreation Department also adjusted the structure of camp this year, and will no longer allow weekly enrollment. Families will have to choose between 3-week sessions or 6-week sessions. This allows the Department to adequately staff the camp on any given week, and provide a higher quality level of care and experience. The Recreation Department will be releasing more information soon about their Camp and Pool season 2024.
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Riverwalk Connection Project: The Board authorized a resolution in support of re-allocating grant funds awarded by Senator Schumer's office to create an ADA compliant trail connection to the Riverwalk and apply them to pedestrian and bicycle improvements along Green Street to better connect the Riverwalk to the Metro North Train Station and Sleepy Hollow. In 2023, the conceptual design underwent a number of changes following consultation with numerous stakeholders including Metro North, and property owners along the proposed trailway. The simplified proposal now includes pedestrian improvements along Green Street to better connect the pathway to the Metro North Train Station, and through to Sleepy Hollow. Scenic Hudson, the lead agent for the project, is getting ready to launch a comprehensive website to keep all apprised on updates and changes. This year, there will be renewed attention and requests for community feedback on this important project as it enters the environmental review phase. The RFP for design services was released on February 9, 2024. Please stay tuned with updates on this exciting project in the near future.
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St. Patrick's Day Parade happening on March 10th: Put the date on your calendars!
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Coming up:
The Board of Trustees will hold its next Work Session on Wednesday, February 14 at 5pm. Please note the earlier time due to the Romantics in the group who need to get home for Valentine's Day. The agenda for the Work Session will be be found here.
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Want to learn what's on the docket for the Board of Trustees? You can sign up to receive agendas in your inbox here.
Interested in what is currently before the Land Use Boards? Sign up to receive agendas in your inbox, or find them posted on the website, three days before the scheduled meeting.
Current applications before the Planning and Zoning Boards can be viewed online:
Planning
Zoning Board of Appeals
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Celebrate Black History Month in February by Documenting Tarrytown History
Trustee Thomas Mitchell and Tarrytown Historical Society Executive Director and Village Historian Sara Mascia are starting a project where they’d like to interview long term residents to document their story in Tarrytown. This month we will be focusing on black lives in Tarrytown, to commemorate Black History Month. We’ll be working with some residents soon to start this process. If anyone has an interest in participating in this process, please contact the Village Administrator’s Office and we will put you in touch with the team working on this project: administrator@tarrytownny.gov or (914) 631-1785.
Check out the Black History Month Art Exhibit at the Warner Library
Celebrate Black History Month with the incredible artwork of three talented artists: Donald Whitely, Ella Hall, and Ronald Brown
Donald Whitely brings a new exhibit of photographs that showcase an array of distinguished gentlemen, including the artist himself, that feel like moments from times gone by.
Ella Hall returns with beautiful new collages and enchanting photography. She’s also debuting her latest artwork style, textiles, in wonderful shapes and colors.
Ronald Brown displays his hand-made masks in all their colorful and enchanting glory. Each one is made by the artist himself, and cultivated from his imagination and inspiration.
These artists are setup in the Main Gallery between the Circulation desk and the Reference desk. All are welcome to view the exhibit.
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Con Edison Updates
Next week:
- Crest Neighborhood: Crest and Ridgewood work is continuing next week to complete the gas main installation and backfill with rough coarse asphalt.
- Miller Park: Riverview and Glen Street gas main work will continue next week.
- Lower Main Street: Con Ed crews continue to work near Sarah Michaels Park and Asbury Terrace on the gas equipment there.
- Benedict Avenue at Highland: Work will continue next week at the intersection.
Future Work:
- Miller Park: Future phases of work will proceed in early March and include Park Avenue, Independence Street, Church Street, and MacArthur Lane.
When service connection work is taking place, please be advised that there will be intermittent traffic disruption. For individual households, they will be connecting new service to the residence, and will connect directly with the property owner to coordinate.
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History Lost and Found
Ray DeFiore with the Department of Public Works was cleaning out a storage area when he stumbled upon a State Historic Landmark sign for the Florence Inn. The sign was one of 12 purchased by the Historical Society back in the 1960's to identify places of historic significance throughout the Village until, to Sara Mascia's dismay, "they started disappearing." In this case, the sign may have been struck by a vehicle or set aside for re-paving, and put aside for safekeeping only to be forgotten. Sara, the Village Historian and Executive Director of the Historical Society is grateful for Mr. DeFiore's keen eye and to Julia McCue of Horsefeathers for making the connection to the Historical Society.
The found Historical Marker had been located at the corner of Franklin and Street and Broadway to mark the former location of The Florence Inn, a renowned stop on the old Albany Post Road for Presidents including Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson, and cultural icons including Mark Twain and Washington Irving.
There are still three or four missing historical markers. If anyone uncovers one in a garage, storage shed or attic, please reach out to Sara Mascia at the The Historical Society located at 1 Grove Street in Tarrytown. Email: historicalsociety10591@gmail.com
The Village will work with the Historical Society to get the Historical Marker cleaned up and replaced in the right location.
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Comparison Between Westchester Power and Con Ed Supply Rates
The Village of Tarrytown has been enrolled in the Westchester Power Community Choice Aggregation Program since 2018. Residents were automatically opted in to the program unless they chose to opt out in order to provide a competitive advantage for bulk purchasing energy in the open marketplace.
While the program provided a cost savings for participants compared with the Con Edison supply over the course of the the first contract period (2018-2021), since the contract renewal in November 2022, Con Ed's supply rates have been lower than the Westchester Power supply rates for both standard energy supply and 100% renewable supply. The default option for Tarrytown residents enrolled in the program is the 100% renewable supply option. Con Ed does not offer a 100% renewable energy supply option.
The Village receives no compensation for enrollment in the program despite what has been alleged on social media and neither do the 28 other participating municipalities. The program has saved 219,000 MT CO2e annually.
The Town of Greenburgh publishes a rate comparison on the 5th of every month which you can find in the news section of their website.
In December 2023:
- Con Edison Standard Supply rate averaged 8.97 cents/kWh
- Westchester Power Standard Supply rates were fixed at 13.36 cents per kWh
- Westchester Power 100% Renewable Supply rates were fixed at 15.13 cents per kWh
Below is an approximate electricity cost comparison for a hypothetical Greenburgh resident in December who consumed 500 kWh of electricity for the month
- For a Greenburgh resident on the ConEd supply, that customer would have been charged roughly $44.85 electricity supply
- For customers enrolled in Westchester Power under the 100% Renewable fixed rate, the charge would have been roughly $75.65
- All Westchester Power Standard user’s charge would have been $66.80
Interested in opting out? It is easy to do.
Not sure who is supplying your energy? Check out this explainer on how to read your bill.
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Dog Park in Tarrytown?
The Village has received numerous requests for the addition of a dog park in Tarrytown, and is seeking community feedback on the possibility, having identified two possible locations:
1) Meadow Street, South of Millbrook Avenue and North of the Thruway.
A dog park in this location could be installed in the near term. The installation would include 5-8 parking spaces.
2) Neperan Park, in the unimproved east end of the park
A dog park in this location would take longer to implement as extensive improvements need to be made to the site for it to be viable. A dog park in this location would not be completed until FY 2025-26.
Please consider contributing your perspective by answering a few simple questions.
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Open Streets Tarrytown in 2024?
In 2023, the Village hosted five Open Streets Tarrytown events in the warm weather months, closing the streets to vehicles and opening them up to dining, shopping, strolling, music and activities. An expansion of the weekly outdoor dining events launched during the pandemic, the Village engaged event coordinator Jenifer Ross to curate and produce the programming. The events were funded through the Downtown Improvement Fund which is financed through 50% of the film permit fees for filming that takes place in the downtown area.
As the Village looks ahead to next year, we want to hear from residents and businesses about the events, whether they should continue in 2024 and/or how they can be changed or improved.
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The Parks and Rec Departments are Hiring!
The Parks Department is looking for two seasonal laborers to work from April to November on warm weather outdoor tasks including weeding, planting, mowing, and landscaping. Find the full job posting on the Village website and reach out to Parks Foreman Anthony Ross for more information if interested.
The Recreation Department is also calling all lifeguards and camp counselors to join the team gearing up for another wonderful summer. Find the online application forms on the Department's webpage.
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RECREATION RUNDOWN
For information about all of the upcoming events and programs organized by the Recreation Department, click here, or sign up to get the news straight to your inbox every other week.
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Find the latest TEAC Newsletter here: | | | |
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Climate Action Planning Task Force,2/12, 7:30pm
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Zoning Board Meeting, 2/12, 7:30pm
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Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council, 2/12, 7:30pm
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Board of Trustees Work Session, 2/14, 5pm
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Planning Board Work Session, 2/15, 8:45am
- Presidents' Day, 2/19
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Board of Trustees Meeting, 2/20, 6:00pm
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Transportation and Mobility Council, 6:00pm
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Architectural Review Board, 7:00pm
Learn more by visiting the Boards and Committees pages on our website.
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The Village of Tarrytown benefits from engaged, caring, and talented residents who volunteer their time and expertise to help create the community they want to inhabit. There are many opportunities to serve, whether contributing to the vision and development of public spaces, environmental issues, housing affordability, transportation challenges or recreation programs. Find out more about the Village’s many Boards and Committees and fill out a volunteer application by visiting: tarrytownny.gov/volunteer-to-serve
For all those who apply to serve on a Committee, because vacancies may be limited, we would like to include you on a general volunteer list for one-off events that may arise. Please indicate in your application whether you are willing to be contacted if the need arises.
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Do you have a Community Event to include in the Tarrytown Link?
The Tarrytown Link is released the Friday after the Regular Board of Trustees meeting, twice per month. All info must be submitted by noon on the Wednesday prior to the Tarrytown Link's release. Submissions included in this listing are intended solely to inform of events and info of general interest to subscribers in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. No events that are religious or political in nature will be posted. The Village of Tarrytown does not necessarily endorse, support or take any position with regard to organizations or entities whose events and/or activities are listed. The Village makes no representation as to the accuracy thereof, nor does it assume any liability in connection with same. The Village reserves the right to reject submissions if the proposals received are not timely or do not adhere to these guidelines in part or in full. If submitting a flyer, please consider submitting a translation in Spanish as well.
You may submit a flyer (jpg or png) or text in the format below:
Title:
What: [Limit description to 100 words or less]
When:
Where:
Contact: [Name of organization/ individual, phone, email]
To review the Village newsletter guidelines, please click here.
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Government News in the Region | |
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Home Energy Assistance
Are you having trouble paying your home heating bills? Affording staying cool in summer? Paying for needed repairs or to improve your home's heating and cooling efficiency to reduce costs? There are programs that can help.
More information on the various programs can be found on the Westchester County Department of Social Services website.
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Turner School of Construction Management to Launch in Westchester County in 2024
Join the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, Turner Construction Company and SUNY Westchester Yonkers Community College for the 2024 Turner School of Construction Management.
Attending this program provides an opportunity to: learn how to do business with General Contractors & Developers, meet other Small Businesses with similar experiences, learn how to Bid projects, insurance & bonding information, enhance your managerial, technical, and administrative expertise, and more!
The Turner School of Construction Management (TSCM) meets twice a week, from 4 PM-6 PM for 6-8 weeks. The sessions will be held at SUNY Westchester Yonkers, 843 Kimball Ave, Yonkers, NY 10704. Sessions will begin on March 5, 2024.
Please apply by February 8 and participation and session logistics will be confirmed by February 15. Participation is limited to those business owners in the construction industry and/or related fields (eg. architecture, engineering).
Click on the flyers below to apply in English or Spanish.
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Minimum Wage to Increase in Westchester
Effective January 1, 2024
Effective on Monday, Jan. 1, the minimum wage in Westchester County, Long Island, and New York City will increase to $16 per hour, and $15 per hour in the rest of the state.
The state's Department of Labor is now beginning a public awareness campaign to make sure workers know about the wage increase. Any minimum wage earners who do not see the increase reflected on their paychecks can file a wage complaint on the department's website or by calling 833-910-4378.
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Relieve the stress of finding child care
Free assistance for working parents
The Child Care Council of Westchester’s specialists are available to help working parents at all income levels find safe, reliable child care so they can work without worry or distraction. There is no charge for these services, and the Child Care Council’s assistance often reduces a tremendous burden of stress.
The Child Care Council can provide:
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Information about financial resources, including scholarships, subsidies, tax credits, and dependent care assistance plans (DCAP’s) that may be available
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Lists of regulated child care providers, after school programs, summer camps, and a complete “Nanny Guide”
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Tips and checklists to help parents recognize safe, quality care and check a child care provider’s compliance/violation history
- Names of child care providers who meet certain criteria, like those approved to administer medication or who may have experience with special needs children
For employers, the Child Care Council has professional material prepared that you can distribute to your employees or display at your place of business. They can accommodate your employees who live and work in other locations, connecting them with sister agencies throughout the region.
Get help for your employees or your family today by calling: (914) 761-3456 x140.
For more information about the Council, visit www.childcarewestchester.org.
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Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
More than $500 million in federal funding is now available to support the resurgence of small businesses across New York State through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a program through the American Rescue Plan Act. Managed by the U.S. Department of Treasury, SSBCI provides funds to support programs for small businesses to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19 and allow them opportunity to succeed in the post-pandemic economy.
Visit esd.ny.gov/ssbci for information on resources available
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Tuition Reimbursement Program for EMS AND Fire Volunteers
Citizen volunteers are often called on to respond to emergency situations in Westchester County. Due to a variety of factors, local volunteer fire departments and volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies are currently experiencing a critical need to recruit and retain members.
As an incentive for local residents to serve at volunteer fire departments and EMS agencies the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services (DES), has developed a program of recruitment and retention incentives for volunteer emergency services agencies. The program is designed to provide tuition or student loan reimbursement to volunteers for their service in the County.
For more info: https://emergencyservices.westchestergov.com/contact-us/h-e-r-r-o
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