[0:06] Okay, alright, thank you. Thank you. Sorry for the delay. I just want to call the meeting to order and please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:16] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[0:35] Thank you all for coming this evening and welcome. The mayor is somewhere outside

[0:42] these doors but I'd just like to introduce him and say that we've had a

[0:48] wonderful first year in four months along with our colleagues here in working

[0:53] very hard for the city of Peakskill. It's been an enjoyable time for all of

[0:57] us and we look forward to what the mayor has in store for us this coming

[1:01] year and he's going to share his plans for the future tonight.

[1:05] So without further ado, Mayor Frank Catalina.

[1:33] Thank you all and welcome to the city of Peakskill for the state of the city address.

[1:40] I would like to welcome you all tonight and first the woman that goes crazy clapping

[1:45] every time I say anything as my mother sit in the second row I'd like to acknowledge

[1:49] her.

[1:55] This speech is given pursuant to the mandate of our charter that the mayor annually report

[2:00] to all residents the current state of our city with respect to the delivery of basic

[2:04] services the state of our finances and I will in this year I will also deliver my vision

[2:10] for the future of this great city that we can achieve only by working together first

[2:15] I would like to recognize the members of my common council council women Drew Claxton

[2:21] who I believe is not here tonight because she has a prior commitment she's traveling

[2:25] Vivian McKenzie, Kathy Talbot, Councilman Darren Rigger, Vinny Vessey, and Joe Torres.

[2:32] Without

[2:37] their help and hard work, many of the accomplishments we have made in 2014 that

[2:43] I will mention tonight would not have been possible.

[2:46] More importantly, we will not be in a position to address the remaining serious financial

[2:50] issues we face without a commitment to work together.

[2:54] Lastly, the exciting projects I will outline tonight will not become a reality without

[2:59] their enthusiastic support. I am pleased to report tonight that despite some very

[3:04] long years of turbulent financial times the state of our city and our finances

[3:09] are good and getting better.

[3:17] In one short year we have begun the process of

[3:19] turning the six-year tide of bad economic news and although we have

[3:23] hurdles to face together we have turned the corner and the direction of

[3:26] the city and I will show you that before I show you the evidence of that

[3:30] transformation I would like to talk about some of the people that make

[3:33] the city great and a little about what they do.

[3:37] Present here tonight are several of our city employees who do the jobs and provide the services

[3:41] day in and day out, often under difficult circumstances and without complaint.

[3:47] I cannot recognize every single one of them here tonight, but three special persons stand

[3:51] out and deserve special recognition.

[3:54] A few weeks ago, as the grip of a brutal winter was loosening, a nine-year-old girl

[3:58] was walking her dog on these thin ice of Lake Mitchell.

[4:03] Our director of recreation was working in her office atop a hill overlooking the lake and heard her scream.

[4:09] PJ Mail, an employee of the Department of City Services, just happened to be in the park office.

[4:14] He bolted out of the office and ran into the freezing water as the young girl tried to stay afloat.

[4:22] As she went under, PJ broke through the ice with his fists reaching down into the water

[4:26] and pulling the young girl and her dog from underneath the water and bringing her safely to shore.

[4:31] There is no doubt that PJ Mail saved this girl's life and as a lifelong resident

[4:37] born and raised here in Peekskill, he's a true hero upholding the finest

[4:41] traditions of employees of the city of Peekskill throughout the city. Let's give

[4:45] him a sign of our appreciation.

[5:10] And speaking of heroes, several weeks ago

[5:13] our police officers trained in the administration of Norcan, a drug to be

[5:18] given to heroin overdose victims. Within one week of that training, police

[5:23] Police officers Douglas Perch and John Colas are administered nor can to an overdose victim,

[5:28] giving her another chance to straighten out her life and live a productive life.

[5:33] I think those officers are present here tonight and I would ask them to stand and be honored.

[6:01] And further speaking of heroes, I would be remiss if I did not mention that in 2014

[6:06] we tragically lost two highly decorated, longtime employees of the city.

[6:11] Both were dedicated and respected first responders.

[6:13] both were raised right here in Peekskill and we continue the more in the

[6:17] passing of firefighter Kevin Bristol and police officer Christopher Vazios.

[6:30] They both served with distinction and upheld the highest traditions of the

[6:33] Peekskill fire and police departments. Please join me in a moment of silence in

[6:38] their memory.

[6:45] Thank you. At this time I would like to recognize some of our

[6:48] department heads that are present here tonight and they are in no

[6:51] particular order. First our great chief of police and Peekskill native

[6:55] Eric Johansson.

[7:05] I'm going to say a few words about all of them but save your

[7:08] flaws to the end and this will go a little faster. Our great chief of police,

[7:13] he's a Peekskill native, he continues to make Peekskill a proactive police

[7:17] department rather than a reactive one. He has successfully gained the

[7:21] confidence of all facets of our diverse community as an honest broker

[7:24] who treats people the way he wants to be treated. Eric, on behalf of the

[7:28] entire city I thank you for your service.

[7:38] Our city engineer and director

[7:39] Director of City Services Brent VanZant came to Pico from the New York State Department

[7:43] of Transportation. Brent is overly responsive to even the most mundane requests from citizens,

[7:49] leaving our complaint box virtually empty. Brent, thank you for all you do for the city.

[8:00] Our Director of Planning and Development, Mike Welty, who's leading the city to take

[8:04] on a position in the private sector. Mike has served the city well and we wish you

[8:08] nothing but the best in your future.

[8:15] And I would like to welcome his successor

[8:17] as Director of Planning and Development, Gene Friedman.

[8:20] Gene has been an institution in this city for almost 20 years

[8:23] and has done an excellent work with all of our boards,

[8:25] especially the historic preservation boards.

[8:28] Gene, we recognize this appointment is long overdue

[8:30] and we welcome you and look forward to your stewardship

[8:33] of this critical department.

[8:40] Our great Director of Economic Development, Jim Pinto, is here.

[8:43] We were lucky to steal him from Yonkers

[8:46] and I've kept him very busy with the many projects

[8:48] I will talk about tonight.

[8:49] Jim, thank you for all you were doing

[8:51] and we expect you to bring these projects to completion as soon as possible.

[9:00] I would like to recognize our fire chiefs, Robert Fiorio, Vinnie Malaspin, and John

[9:04] Rose, who are doing a tremendous job protecting lives and property in the city.

[9:08] These chiefs are department heads in every sense of the word, who serve without compensation

[9:12] under what I consider to be very difficult conditions we hope to address in that department.

[9:18] Gentlemen, the city owes you and the entire volunteer department a debt that can never

[9:22] be repaid.

[9:22] You are grateful for the services you and the volunteers so freely give, risking your

[9:27] lives to protect ours.

[9:29] We thank you for your service, and I'm going to ask you and all the volunteer firemen who

[9:33] might be here tonight to please stand to be recognized.

[9:47] Being a lawyer, I have to recognize our city attorney, Dave Rothman, and the entire firm

[9:52] of Harris Beach.

[9:53] They have been unwavering in their advice to the city manager, the mayor's office,

[9:57] the common counsel, and the various boards.

[10:00] Their advice has been nonpartisan and independent, as all legal advice should be.

[10:05] As mayor, he has earned my trust, but more importantly, as a lawyer myself, he has earned my deepest respect.

[10:11] Dave, Brett, thank you.

[10:17] Anne Skaglione's our controller who came to the city last year and is doing a fantastic job under difficult circumstances.

[10:24] She has a tough job, giving us sometimes horrific numbers, but does it in a professional and unvarnished manner.

[10:30] Anne, we thank you for all that you were doing.

[10:36] Our recreation department head, Joyce Cochia, has maintained the level of services to our

[10:41] citizens, especially our youth, in face of a 50 percent reduction in staff and other

[10:46] budgetary cuts. Joyce, we thank you for all you do under these difficult circumstances.

[10:56] Fran Brunel is in charge of our Section 8 program and does a fine work running the

[10:59] seniors center. Fran has been with the city for almost 30 years. Fran, we thank you

[11:05] for your service.

[11:11] Michelle Jordan is our city assessor.

[11:14] I hope she's here.

[11:15] Is she here tonight?

[11:17] And Michelle does a very difficult job also

[11:21] under difficult circumstances.

[11:23] She has, to her credit, uncovered long overlooked

[11:25] problems and issues that needed to be addressed.

[11:28] And it seems, every week, she's

[11:29] finding new and creative ways to increase our assessment

[11:32] roles.

[11:33] Michelle, I want to thank you for your efforts

[11:35] and assure you that they do not go unnoticed.

[11:42] Dr. Shauna White is our Director of the Youth Bureau.

[11:47] She just assumed this position last year and continues to get acclimated.

[11:52] She's doing a fine job not only obtaining renewals of existing grants,

[11:55] but also finding new ones. Dr. White, thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of the cities.

[12:05] The person responsible for clean water coming out of every faucet in the city is Edward Coons.

[12:10] Ed is overseeing the reconstruction of two water towers atop the hill at Forest View,

[12:14] and within the past few years oversaw the replacement of the city's water treatment plant.

[12:19] Ed, thank you and your men for all that you do for the city.

[12:27] Is Jim Howard here tonight? Yep, he's standing in the back.

[12:30] There's Jim Howard. He's our guy that makes the building department work.

[12:33] Jim is also a deputy fire chief.

[12:35] He's exactly why I feel employees of the City of Peakskill should live in the City of Peakskill.

[12:40] Whether it's answering fire calls 24-7 or going out on a Saturday morning on his own time

[12:45] to approve a gas line connection so a restaurant can open Saturday night and put their 15 employees

[12:51] back to work, Jim epitomizes public service over self-enrichment and we can never thank

[12:56] him enough for his tireless work for the City of Peaksville.

[13:06] Our facilities manager, Joe Minnerly, keeps the heat and air conditioning working and

[13:10] all the city's buildings in great shape.

[13:13] He is joined by the great Greg Matera who takes care of all of our IT problems

[13:17] and our Director of Communications, Mike Minor, who is also born and raised here in

[13:22] Peekskill, who does a great job bringing the city into your homes through our

[13:25] government channel, which I now understand is beating out the three main

[13:29] networks and the ratings. Thank you, Mike, and thank you all for your work.

[13:39] Are the city court judges here tonight? I don't see them. They were invited to

[13:43] be included and to be a part of the State of the City address. Our city

[13:48] clerk for 30 years is Pamela Beach.

[13:57] What can you say about Pam Beach that

[13:59] hasn't already been said. Pam is an institution in the city and we have been

[14:03] blessed by her charm, grace, integrity and service. Pam, could you please come

[14:08] forward and accept this on behalf of a very grateful city?

[14:35] She's gonna kill me.

[14:41] Lastly, I just want to mention a man who has served the city for over 15 years.

[14:45] He came up through the ranks of the Planning Department to become our

[14:47] Director of Planning and Development and Assistant City Manager and who is

[14:51] now our current city manager, Anthony Regerio.

[15:14] Anthony, you have guided the city through eras of tremendous growth and unfortunately horrific budgetary problems.

[15:21] You have weathered the natural frictions between elected and appointed officials.

[15:25] You have weathered the ambiguity of conflicting charter provisions and competing visions and interests of elected officials

[15:31] of two political parties who have very different personalities and very different visions for the future of the city.

[15:37] While most people don't know, you and I have agreed on 95% of the issues that we have faced

[15:42] together in my short term as Mayor.

[15:45] It is very unfortunate that the 5% we disagreed on received all the press coverage, citizen

[15:50] comment, and served as the basis for political gamesmanship.

[15:54] But as you leave this city, let there be no doubt that you are leaving the city in

[15:58] a better position than you found it, and you have handled this job in a professional

[16:02] and dignified manner.

[16:03] On behalf of the entire council and the entire City of Peaksville, we thank you for your service and wish you and your family well.

[16:24] Now the State of the City is a Ferris.

[16:27] The day-to-day operations of the City continue without interruption.

[16:31] However, the budgetary problems we continue to face have rendered every department, to some extent,

[16:36] shorthanded, overworked and unable to expand services to our citizens who, unfailingly, demand ever more services.

[16:42] Our police department continues to reduce serious and or violent crime last year by

[16:47] almost 25%.

[16:49] The chiefs request to restore a park ranger to patrol our parks, whether they be existing

[16:53] parks or the new parks at the riverfront have gone unanswered by this council.

[16:57] On the one hand, while citizens and those very council members demand ever-increasing

[17:02] services from the existing manpower to patrol those parks.

[17:06] My point is simply that if we expect to address the complaints from citizens

[17:09] for every single complaint right down to curbing dogs,

[17:13] then we as a council have to give him the support

[17:15] and support his budgetary request

[17:18] to give him the tools he needs to do the job.

[17:20] I call upon this council to restore two park rangers

[17:23] in the 2016 budget

[17:24] and consider making budgetary line adjustments now

[17:28] in 2015 to hire even a part-time park ranger

[17:31] to protect our beautiful parks.

[17:34] Our DPW requires new and expensive equipment

[17:36] to pick up the garbage and remove snow in an efficient manner.

[17:40] Without including these items in the budget every year, as the city should have done,

[17:44] the city right now is forced to bond the purchase of capital equipment.

[17:48] I call upon this council to begin to adequately fund every year

[17:51] a capital budget sufficient to meet the capital needs of the city

[17:54] without resorting to bonding these expenses in the future.

[17:59] Our planning department and numerous boards have been very busy

[18:02] and I'll review their highlights later in the speech.

[18:05] Our recreation department continues to provide a full array of activities to our citizens

[18:09] despite budgetary cuts and cuts in personnel, and they do it without complaint.

[18:14] Our Youth Bureau has secured $407,000 in various grants.

[18:18] Over the five-month period, Dr. White has been on the job.

[18:22] Citizens should know that without these grants, the city cannot afford to offer

[18:25] this wide array of services and programs that we currently do.

[18:30] So far, Dr. White has been successful in renewing all existing grants and pressing on to seek new ones to serve our youth.

[18:39] In case you haven't noticed by this short recitation, we are limited to what we can accomplish due to the current state of our city's financial affairs.

[18:47] When I took office, I analogized the city's condition to that of a patient in an emergency room, and I said the first thing a doctor would do would be to stop the bleeding.

[18:56] I am very pleased to report to you tonight that we have stopped the bleeding.

[19:01] The evidence is clear, but more importantly, to look at where we are, we must look at where we came from

[19:08] and a path that we still must travel to achieve financial security.

[19:13] This graph will give you a historical perspective.

[19:16] It clearly shows you the operating deficits of the past six years leading up to this administration.

[19:21] These deficits, these structural deficits are operating deficits totaled $18.3 million in the six-year period prior to my administration,

[19:32] meaning the city averaged an operating deficit of over $3 million every year for six straight years.

[19:42] As you can see, we ended 2014 with a structural deficit of about $1.5 million, which is not good news.

[19:49] But in looking at where we are coming from, I can confidently report to you that we have

[19:54] cut that annual average operating deficit of $3 million and a half, and I believe we

[20:00] have turned the corner and finally have this city heading in the right direction.

[20:12] By working together, we have reversed this past habit of hiring outside consultants, stopped

[20:17] the natural reflex of the previous administration to commission study after study on virtually

[20:22] every issue they faced.

[20:23] We have introduced a degree of reasonableness to disputes anyone may have with the city and thereby avoiding lawsuits.

[20:31] I am proud that under this administration not a single lawsuit has been filed against the mayor or council,

[20:37] and further that this administration has not conducted a single study,

[20:43] hired a single outside consultant, or retained a single outside legal counsel during my administration.

[20:56] Significantly, this reverse is a past practice where over $4 million was spent on those expenditures

[21:01] during the previous six years.

[21:04] I and the council should be very proud of this accomplishment.

[21:08] While no mayor should be happy with any deficit, we are happy that we have changed the direction

[21:14] the city was heading into and have cut that deficit by 50%.

[21:18] I want to thank my council for their hard work in achieving this result.

[21:22] For

[21:30] those who wonder how we possibly could have run up such deficits and survived, the

[21:34] most glaring source of survival was the systemic abuse of a healthy fund balance.

[21:42] The six-year wave of red ink was wiped out a healthy unrestricted fund balance in 2007

[21:47] of approximately $11.6 million and left that fund balance at $7,500 at the end of that

[21:56] six-year disastrous period.

[22:00] As you can see, we have closed the books on 2014 with a dramatic increase in our unrestricted

[22:06] fund balance, but a city or a size to be financially healthy should maintain an unrestricted fund

[22:11] balance of somewhere between $6 and $8 million.

[22:15] While we have a long way to go, by looking at where we have come from in 2013, there

[22:21] can be no doubt that we have turned the corner and have the city heading in the

[22:25] right direction for the first time in seven years.

[22:27] I ask you to join me in acknowledging my counsel for their support and hard work because without

[22:34] them this result would not have been possible.

[22:43] The second step to restoring the emergency room patient's health would be to restore

[22:47] breathing.

[22:48] In our case, we do that by reversing the six-year trend of decreasing total assessed

[22:52] valuation of our city's property.

[22:55] In order to have healthy growth, any city must have a three to five percent increase

[22:59] in assessed values every year.

[23:01] This graph shows the exact opposite over the previous six years.

[23:06] Here you can clearly see our total assessed valuation decreased every single year leading up to 2014

[23:13] with an overall decrease of over 7% or an average decrease of 1.2% per year.

[23:20] This is a sign of a city in bad financial health.

[23:23] By the steps we have taken, as you can see, we have turned the direction of the city

[23:28] by stopping the slide and cutting the rate of declining assessments by 50 percent as the

[23:34] decrease in 2014 was only one half of one percent.

[23:38] I'm very proud of this result and I congratulate the council for that.

[23:50] I believe that we can reverse this trend and increase our assessed valuation and we can

[23:54] do that only with the help of this entire council.

[23:58] Quite frankly, I do not believe it's going to be very hard to do, especially with

[24:02] some of the most talented, forward-thinking, creative, award-winning and talented private

[24:07] investors and developers in this very room tonight.

[24:12] We have been successful with changing little things in Peekskill that have had a huge impact

[24:17] and we have done those things that little or no cost to the city.

[24:21] We have invigorated the city with a feeling that anything is possible and despite our

[24:25] finances Peekskill is still a great place to live, work and invest.

[24:29] How great was it to see 5,000 people on the street in 15-degree weather?

[24:34] No longer will people have to travel to New York City or White Plains to ring in the New Year

[24:38] with a ball drop, fine dining or excellent entertainment.

[24:43] We close Division Street every weekend.

[24:46] And this has resulted in restaurants seeing an increase of 20-25% in their business.

[24:51] How great is it to see formerly vacant streets open and full of diners on a Sunday evening?

[25:04] 2015 is the city's 75th anniversary as a city, and that committee has been very busy for over a year now,

[25:10] planning events including a large fair this summer and a formal gala this fall.

[25:14] They have minted their own coin that's for sale along with shirts, sweatshirts and a journal.

[25:19] I want to thank Jenny Cummings and her entire team for all the work that they've put into this effort.

[25:31] When I took office, the city of Peakskill had the dubious distinction of being the only city in the state of New York

[25:37] that was not open during normal business hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I want to

[25:42] thank the council for joining me and correcting this monumental mistake of

[25:45] the past. In the 2014 budget we inherited the budgetary mistakes of the

[25:51] past were going to be paid on the backs of our most at-risk youth with

[25:54] nickel and dime fees. I want to thank the council for agreeing with me that

[25:58] this proposal was wrong and that it would not stand. When I took office our

[26:05] treasured Depew Park was near shambles. Broken roads were ordered closed. Instead, my administration

[26:11] ordered them repaired and open. Our tennis courts had fallen into disrepair, and citizen

[26:17] cries for their restoration were ignored for years. That changed four months into this

[26:21] administration. Our drop off for citizens at the DPW garage was only opened every

[26:27] other weekend causing long delays and unsafe traffic conditions. I promised to open the

[26:32] off every Saturday and to abolish the fees. Thankfully the council agreed to at least

[26:37] open the garage every weekend, but I will not rest until this unfair and short-sighted nickel

[26:42] and diming of our taxpayers with these fees is abolished. I again call upon the council to

[26:47] immediately abolish these fees.

[26:57] Another little thing that we did that has had great results

[26:59] is the opening of Bank Street to two-way traffic, the way it always was and the way

[27:04] it was intended to be.

[27:06] Besides these little things and more significantly, we have moved long languishing public works

[27:11] projects to completion.

[27:14] At Peaksville Landing, we were able to complete the long-delayed project in less than a year.

[27:19] Significantly and unknown to the public was that I refused to sign a previous agreement

[27:24] which would have forever given Senate cuts in 50% of all park-generated revenues

[27:28] and also give them veto power over anything the city might want to do in the future

[27:32] without their prior consent. I want to thank the council for supporting my

[27:38] objection to these conditions. While we thank Senate Cutson for their assistance

[27:42] in obtaining the park, we stood together in the principle that we would never

[27:46] turn over revenue or control of any city-owned park to any outside group.

[27:57] We have commenced the final stages of the development of the riverfront with

[28:01] the walkway, which as you can see here will be a magnificent edifice

[28:06] just when it's completed.

[28:08] And I'm told that it will be completed within one year.

[28:12] The Lincoln Depot, for reasons I cannot explain

[28:15] other than personalities at best

[28:17] or politics at its very worst,

[28:20] this is the condition the Lincoln Depot project sat

[28:22] for six long years.

[28:24] Upon taking office, I gave resolution

[28:26] of these petty differences top priority

[28:29] and over a few coffees with the consent of this council,

[28:32] the best interests of the city

[28:33] were put before personality and politics.

[28:35] As you can see the grounds have been cleared and being prepared for the construction of the visitor center, which will finally be built this year.

[28:45] I want to thank former Mayor John Testa, former city manager Patrick Garvey, Bob Hales and the entire Lincoln Board Foundation for their hard work in seeing this project through despite these unnecessary delays.

[28:56] And I believe Pat Garvey is here tonight.

[28:59] Pat, thank you.

[29:08] This is the location of the new central firehouse.

[29:10] When we took office, this plan was to build almost everything but a firehouse.

[29:18] It included a museum, a 300-person meeting room, a regional training facility,

[29:23] and unfortunately a $20 million price tag that this city could ill afford,

[29:27] not to mention the removal of an entire shopping center from the tax rolls forever.

[29:32] Together, this council came together to approve an actual firehouse

[29:36] that met the needs of the fire department and the ability of our taxpayers to pay for it.

[29:41] By cutting the size by one-third, we cut the cost by 40%.

[29:44] I'm very proud of this, and the members of this council should be too.

[29:55] The city owns property on Corporate Park Drive that kind of looks like this right now.

[30:00] We are actively discussing developmental plans that may take that property and make it look like this.

[30:07] This project, if approved, will bring an employer of 20 to 25 full-time jobs to Peekskill

[30:13] and five to 600 visitors per week who are members of traveling softball teams,

[30:18] not to mention the return of this seven acres back to the tax rolls where it belongs.

[30:30] While these public projects have changed the face and perception of Peekskill,

[30:34] It is the private sector that is the true barometer of the financial health of any city, not public projects.

[30:41] Based upon the number of new businesses that have opened here, our future looks brighter than ever before.

[30:46] When I ran for office, Restaurant Row was touted as the destination place of Northern Westchester.

[30:52] While we did have a vibrant array of restaurants, I pointed out that our best block had a vacancy rate of over 20%.

[30:59] Together we advanced the plan to increase development of long-neglected areas of Main Street where vacancy rates were much higher.

[31:06] Well today the vacancy rate on our best block, Restaurant Row, is 0%.

[31:11] Due

[31:18] to businesses like MaxTax and the Guitar Shop.

[31:22] But even more dramatic is the development of long-neglected Main Street where new and exciting businesses have opened

[31:27] and they include places like my favorite lunch spot, the Gourmet Deli.

[31:34] McSpecter State Farm Insurance Agency,

[31:37] Sufley Clothing, and Tiffany's Cafe,

[31:41] owned and operated by Tiffany Montoya, who I believe is here tonight.

[31:44] Tiffany, raise your hand.

[31:52] Tiffany Montoya sets an example for all single mothers

[31:55] everywhere

[31:55] that you can go out and create a business and operate that business

[31:59] profitably right here in the city of Peakskill. Berkshire Hathaway Real

[32:03] Estate, Joe and Cynthia Lopoulos, I believe are here tonight.

[32:06] They rededicated their efforts to redo their business and have now opened under the Berkshire Hathaway name.

[32:13] Save More Auto Parts is currently under construction at the site of the former YMCA building that burnt down a few years ago.

[32:19] Finally, that site in our downtown, central downtown district, will return to the tax rolls.

[32:25] And I'm very happy about that.

[32:27] The Iron Vine Restaurant is a new and exciting restaurant on Main Street that in three short months is the talk of Westchester County.

[32:34] having been featured in two county-wide magazines already.

[32:37] I want to acknowledge Gabe Barrango Sr. and his son, Gabe, for their blood, sweat and tears, their faith and investment in Peekskill.

[32:46] Gabe,

[32:53] residents should know that this private investment in Peekskill has resulted in properties selling for over $1 million for the first time in our city's history.

[33:01] In fact, in 2014, three properties sold for more than $1 million each.

[33:07] The result has been highly acclaimed dining and cutting edge nightlife in Peekskill.

[33:12] One person who has been a longtime resident of Garrison and owner of the Hot Rod Hotel

[33:16] and three New York City restaurants who decided to shed those restaurants

[33:20] and establish new ones here in Peekskill.

[33:23] The Hudson Room has changed everything about Peekskill's food and live entertainment offerings.

[33:27] The Hudson Room opened only nine months ago and is already a five star New York Times rated restaurant.

[33:32] I want to acknowledge Lou Lanza here tonight.

[33:34] My

[33:45] friends, the downtown business district is on the move, but for too many years we have been stagnant.

[33:50] Yet despite those dark years, there was a steadfast group of private investors that I would like to recognize here tonight.

[33:57] These people came to Peekskill, saw our rich potential and invested sometimes their entire life savings in our downtown business district.

[34:05] They formed a solid foundation upon which we are seeing this rebuilding happening now.

[34:12] First, the number one employer in the city of Peekskill,

[34:16] White Plains Linnan and Bruce Botchman.

[34:25] Yesterday, White Plains Linnan employed 600 people.

[34:28] Today, 675.

[34:29] Tomorrow, how many, Bruce?

[34:31] Tomorrow.

[34:35] I'm going to list a couple of people here who really have made an impact on Peekskill

[34:38] when nobody else was investing in Peekskill.

[34:41] Sonny Kovr, the Peekskill coffee house.

[34:49] Arone Drew Claxton and Ted Bitter, the bean runner.

[34:51] John

[34:56] Sharp, The Birdsall House, and Gleason's.

[35:02] Maybe I just run down the list and give him

[35:04] a big thunderous applause at the end. Arnie Pagley, Division Street Grill, Rich and Jean

[35:09] Credito, 12 grapes, long recognized by Westchester Magazine of one of Westchester's best. Chuck

[35:14] McGreel, Quiet Man Pub. I first met Chuck when he was working by himself laying down

[35:19] every tile on his floor that one summer. Remember that, Chuck? Bruce Prehault,

[35:24] The Piksgill Inn, the Babalia family who renovated the Riley building and other buildings in town.

[35:29] Marlene Ball, Escort Realty, Marlene Productions, our very own Vivian Mackenzie, the Kathleen's Tea Room,

[35:36] Kaden Loudon, Asmuth Communications,

[35:40] Ros Sankin, her family, Homestyle Desserts,

[35:43] and they renovated the Piksgill Brewery building and many, many others.

[35:46] Let's give them all a round of applause.

[35:58] I think Rose is retired now.

[36:00] Now that she made all of us gain 10 or 15 pounds, she retires.

[36:06] To all of you though, I want to thank you for investing in Peekskill when no one else did.

[36:11] And I want you to know that without your foresight, Peekskill may not be seeing the influx of new business

[36:16] and development that we are seeing now.

[36:19] And even the Wall Street Journal in New York Times is recognizing.

[36:23] I have in the past criticized the lack of new construction in our city.

[36:26] While we welcome the renovation and repurposing of existing buildings, it is new construction

[36:32] by private investors that will add to our tax base and increase our total assessed valuation.

[36:39] In a city that saw the construction of one single new building, a Walgreens drug store

[36:44] in the entire six years of the previous administration, I am pleased to recognize the following

[36:49] new projects that are not cartoons or pipe dreams but are here now on the table

[36:55] ready to be built. First, West Ledge Nursing Home just completed a major renovation where

[37:01] they almost doubled their size to improve care to their patients and added 30 new permanent

[37:05] jobs. Securture Windows, a nationally recognized manufacturer of replacement windows. Securture

[37:13] Windows was on the verge of leaving Peaksville due to the inability to expand. We inherited

[37:18] a legal mess that we tried to expedite that we did expedite and resolved and

[37:23] And now that process will allow secretures to expand to this beautiful building and stay

[37:30] in Peekskill.

[37:31] He will create 10 to 15 new jobs.

[37:34] I want to thank John Secreture and his family for hanging in there while we cleaned up

[37:37] that mess and allowed this project to go forward.

[37:48] Hudson River Health Care Center, Peekskill's number one primary healthcare facility for

[37:54] our citizens.

[37:55] They have undergone growth over the years, but right now with the acquisition of the

[37:59] hardware store side of their building and this new construction they will more

[38:03] than double in size to better serve our community. The story of its origins are

[38:09] legendary around here but I would like to recognize the Reverend Jeanette Phillips

[38:12] for her outstanding contributions to this community.

[38:23] Thank you Reverend Phillips.

[38:28] Finally somebody's had blessed me in this room.

[38:35] This is the lot across the

[38:36] street from Zepp's restaurant on Central Avenue. Herman Peritski has been

[38:41] trying to get approvals for a project there for 10 long years.

[38:46] I'm so happy tonight that this project has been approved

[38:49] and that ground will be broken soon on this luxury apartment

[38:52] building in the next few months.

[38:53] Herman Puritsky, welcome back to Picsco.

[39:03] The Ginsburg Development Corporation

[39:04] owns property up on the hill by Dr. McGurdy's house,

[39:08] where the abbey is located.

[39:11] The abbey project is another project

[39:13] that was, for various reasons, including politics,

[39:15] delayed, which only harm the taxpayers of the city.

[39:20] For the Abbey, Mr. Ginsburg has proposed a world-class inn and spa together with three mid-rise luxury apartment buildings.

[39:28] The convent will be the inn, the church will be the spa, and remarkably, only four of the approximately 70 acres will be disturbed.

[39:36] Mr. Ginsburg will build a professionally designed series of walking trails and an observation tower on the remainder of the property

[39:43] and then donate that 55 acres back to the city of Peakskill, finally making Ford Hill Park

[39:48] an active park for all of us to actually use and enjoy.

[39:59] I call upon this common council and city agencies to act without delay in approving this concept.

[40:05] This property has been in its present state for over 50 years and is long overdue to be developed

[40:10] into something beautiful and great and returned to the tax rolls at full value where it belongs.

[40:15] As part of that project, the Ginsburg Development Corporation is going to be obligated to build

[40:21] 22 affordable townhouses on Main Street directly across the street from Bowman Towers.

[40:26] This will revitalize that entire area with home owners, not home renters.

[40:33] I first met Steve Valliotis in 2013 when I was running for office.

[40:37] He showed me this lot and an office building that he owned

[40:41] and his desire to build a luxury apartment building on that site.

[40:44] He also told me of the problems that he was facing with the city, which prevented him from formally proposing that project.

[40:53] This project, now approved, will breathe new life into the entire area and expand our downtown business district up Park Street.

[41:01] It will force the renovation of the long neglected Crossroad shopping center that now has been saved by the reduced size of the firehouse.

[41:09] You see, all of these projects are interrelated.

[41:11] I want to thank the Council for making the necessary zoning changes that will allow this project to go forward.

[41:25] Ken Carney and his company have proposed a project on Main Street that stretches back to Diven Street on this particular lot

[41:31] that has sat like that for at least 12 years.

[41:34] The Carney project is magnificent.

[41:39] This project is exciting because it will greatly expand both our tax base and provide additional artist loss

[41:44] that will nearly double the number of existing loss in the city.

[41:47] Mr. Carney could not be here tonight, but I want to thank him for his investment and faith in the city.

[41:53] And that's what it looks like from Diven Street, because it's going to stretch the whole length of the block.

[42:00] Chateau Reeve.

[42:02] Bruce and Barry Akron Gold are the owners of Chateau Reeve, the former St. Mary School.

[42:07] This building is only about 50% renovated and occupied due to several issues, namely access roads and lack of adequate water and sewer.

[42:16] Upon learning of Mr. Ginsburg's plans for the Abbey, they came forward with a plan for a complete renovation of this existing historic structure, including new roads, water and sewer service, as well as the construction of new buildings on that site.

[42:30] You see, these projects really all are interrelated.

[42:33] This could be a $20 to $30 million project, simply awaiting a green light upon the approval of the Abbey project.

[42:39] Again, I call upon the council to act without delay, and on behalf of the entire city, we

[42:44] want to welcome the Akron Gold family back to Peekskill.

[42:54] My friends, these projects will not only stimulate property values throughout the city,

[42:57] but will increase our total assessed value and reverse the seven-year trends of shrinking

[43:01] property values.

[43:03] These projects will create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs not only during construction,

[43:09] construction, but after construction is complete, ongoing well-paying jobs that will remain in

[43:14] Peekskill.

[43:15] I call upon this council to welcome these and other development projects to Peekskill and

[43:20] to streamline the process to make these projects get online as quickly as possible

[43:24] as our taxpayers are literally dying for the long-awaited relief that is at hand

[43:29] and in this room tonight.

[43:31] I have a vision for the future of this city.

[43:34] As you can see, these are exciting times.

[43:36] The city of Peakskill. Long, dark financial clouds are showing signs of lifting, but

[43:41] I want to assure the citizens that we will move forward in a smart way that preserves

[43:45] our small-town charm. In the 1980s and 90s, Peakskill was through going through similar

[43:50] economic problems, although not as severe as today's. In response, the city threw

[43:55] open the doors for developers to write their own ticket on any project they wanted to

[43:59] build regardless of how each development fit into the Peakskill Mosaic. But times

[44:04] are changed and all private developers should know that Peekskill's welcoming door is not

[44:08] an open door. For generations, people have boothed here because Peekskill, because of

[44:13] its small-town charm and close-knit tapestry. We are a vibrant artist community and I would

[44:18] be negligent in not recognizing the strength of that community and transforming Peekskill

[44:23] into a city with an identity, kind of a rudder on a mighty ship. I would like

[44:28] to recognize all of the artists here, but that would be impossible, but I will

[44:30] give public recognition to Maureen Wenzig, president of the Peaksville Arts Alliance, the governing

[44:35] body that acts like a glue that holds that community together. Maureen, thank you for

[44:41] all that you do and the entire artist community. On behalf of the entire city, we want to acknowledge

[44:47] it.

[44:54] As you can see, we are a vibrant city and we're on the move. In order to bring

[44:57] in smart development, we desperately need

[45:00] We will do so in a manner that preserves the character and charm of our city.

[45:04] Therefore, I am calling upon the common council to pass and approve two major initiatives I am unveiling tonight.

[45:10] First, to pass a strong unbendable legislation that restricts building height in the downtown business district to four stories.

[45:19] We will permit taller buildings outside of the immediate downtown business district,

[45:23] but no one wants to turn Peekskill into another newer shell or white plains.

[45:27] Second, I asked the council to join me in changing the face of our downtown business

[45:32] district by opening McGregor Brook from Broad Street to the Hudson River.

[45:37] The opening of Brooks and Rivers and Streams, even in closed rivers, has been successfully

[45:42] done in cities across this country, most notably in San Antonio, Texas, where the

[45:47] San Antonio River walk was created and is now an example of being followed everywhere

[45:51] across this country.

[45:52] The city of Yonkers in the past few years has successfully opened one of the most neglected

[45:57] areas of that city to new life by creating its own river walk.

[46:01] Just last week Mayor Michael Spano unveiled a plan to open the enclosed portions of the

[46:06] Sawmill River to spur development.

[46:09] My friends, if Yonkers can do it, Peakskill can do it.

[46:19] Just imagine the new life such an opening would bring to Park Street and Central

[46:22] Avenue as McGregor Brook is open and flowing freely.

[46:25] A river walk in Peekskill will stimulate the development of the entire central corridor

[46:30] unlike anything that has ever been proposed and will bring about the long talked about

[46:34] connection between the downtown business district and the riverfront.

[46:38] I urge the council to join me on these two initiatives that will ensure that Peekskill

[46:42] forever remains the jewel of the Hudson River.

[46:45] My friends, while we have serious financial issues at hand, I believe with all my

[46:49] heart that despite these issues, the state of our city is good in getting better

[46:53] every month.

[46:54] The darkness of the past is lifting, and there's a new spirit of optimism sweeping our city,

[46:59] acknowledging that smart intelligent growth is good for our city.

[47:03] With a welcoming administration, these projects show the clear pathway out of this malaise,

[47:08] a clear path to restoring our finances, a clear path to increase and restoring our bond rating,

[47:14] and a clear path to rebuilding our great city.

[47:17] My friends, it's Dawn and Peakskill and only together can we have a generational impact

[47:23] like none ever before seen.

[47:25] And believe me, by working together we can achieve these goals.

[47:29] I want to thank you all for attending.

[47:31] May God bless you all and may God bless the City of Peakskill.

[47:59] We're going to take a 15 minute break before we start our regular meeting.

Common Council 2015 State of the City Address

Transcript