January 9, 2024

We all know Ossining is a wonderful place to live, work, and play, so it is especially nice when a publication spreads the news to the world! TheTravel.com has listed Ossining as one of 10 Hidden Gem Villages In New York That Should Be on Your Winter Bucket List. We are thrilled to have been included on this exciting and diverse list.

Village Historian Joyce Sharrock Cole sent a very interesting article that was included in the Miami Herald at the beginning of this year, which I think our diverse community will find interesting: Black and Jewish Americans have a history of mutual support. We need that again now. The article is an excellent start for folks to begin to connect the dots between the past and present. You'll find it summarizes the legacy of support between both black and Jewish Americans – which is rooted in the sense of solidarity over their histories of oppression—specifically, the reference to the Rosenwald one-room schools, which were built in the South. 

Are you a graduate of one of these schools, or do you know someone who is? The historian and I would love to hear your story. levin@villageofossining.org

The Ossining Public Library Presents BUILDING BRIDGES: The Remarkable Story of a Jewish and African American Partnership

DOCUMENTARY FILM ROSENWALD AND PANEL DISCUSSION TO KICKOFF THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The Ossining Public Library, Congregation Sons of Israel, Journeys To Change and the Ossining Chapter of the NAACP invite you to a special event on Thursday, January 18th at the Ossining Public Library to kick-off the Bethany Arts Community Black History Month Exhibit February 1, 2024 (through March 8, 2024).

This kick-off event featuring the documentary film Rosenwald will tell the remarkable story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined forces with Booker T. Washington and African American communities in the Jim Crow South to build more than 5,000 schools. It will be followed by a Panel Discussion led by Joyce Sharrock-Cole, Ossining Village Historian with Rabbi Dina Rosenberg, Congregation Sons of Israel and Althema Goodson, Ossining NAACP President.  

BUILDING BRIDGES, DOCUMENTARY ROSENWALD AND PANEL DISCUSSION

When: Thursday, January 18th, 2024, 7PM - 8:30PM

Where: Ossining Public Library, Ossining Camille Budarz Theater - 53 Croton Ave., Ossining, NY 10562

NO FEE FOR THIS EVENT. EVERYONE IS WELCOME

Click here to register

Police Chief hiring process update: Stakeholder engagement interviews are being conducted in January. In February, the Board of Trustees will be interviewing the internal candidates for the position of Chief of Police.

Please join our community in celebrating Martin Luther King Day Events in Ossining:

Happy Birthday, Dr. King! Storytime at the Ossining Public Library on Saturday, January 13^th in the Children’s Room from 11AM – 12PM.

Please join me in the BOMA Interfaith Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Service is Sunday, January 14 @ 5PM with Keynote Speaker: Reverend Dr. Que English Dir. of the Center for Faith-Based &Neighborhood Partnerships U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services Location: Star of Bethlehem Baptist Church 304 Spring St. Ossining, NY 10562.

The Village of Ossining has several places for the public to find information. Here is a handy list of where and how to find what you're looking for:

Ask Ossining:

• To Contact the Mayor - click here
• To Contact the Village Board of Trustees - click here
• To Contact the Village Manager - click here
• For Press Inquiries - click here
• Building Department Inquiries - click here
• Public Works Inquiries - click here
• Recreation Department Inquiries- click here

Village Forms

Sign up for the following Email Subscriptions:

• Village meeting schedules, agendas & minutes
• Subscribe to Town of Ossining email news and alerts
• Sign Up for NIXLE Alerts
• Sign up for the Mayor's Update
• Sign up for updates from Ossining Recreation
• Sign up for Ossining Weekly Web Blasts

Social Media:

• Village of Ossining Facebook/Instagram
• Ossining Recreation Facebook/Instagram
• Ossining Youth Bureau Facebook/Instagram
• Ossining Police Department Facebook/Instagram
• Policia de Ossining Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

Village Website: www.villageofossining.org

Report a Building Department issue (i.e., suspicious-looking construction)

• During regular business hours: (914) 941-3199
• After hours, weekends, holidays: (914) 941-4099 (OPD non-emergency number)

Public Works issue (i.e., illegal garbage dumping)

• During regular business hours:
• Highway/Sanitation/Sewer: (914) 941-4660
• Water: (914) 941-6111
• Water Emergencies: (914) 941-4660
• Water Billing: (914) 941-2581
• After hours, weekends, holidays: (914) 941-4099 (OPD non-emergency number)

Beeline Bus information

Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps (OVAC)

Westchester County Parks

ConEd consumer contact info: 1 (800) 752-6633

• Sign up for ConEdison Customer Alerts via Text: Use your cell phone to text REG to OUTAGE (688243) and follow the prompts. You will need your account number and zip code. To retrieve your account number, log in to My Account or check your next bill. This information is also located on the ConEdison website at coned.com/text

Village Code

How to contact the Village Board of Trustees: bot@villageofossinig.org

• Mayor Rika Levin: levin@villageofossining.org
• Deputy Mayor Omar Lopez: lopez@villageofossining.org
• Trustee Robert Fritsche: fritsche@villageofossining.org
• Trustee Manuel Quezada: quezada@villageofossining.org
• Trustee Dana White: dwhite@villageofossining.org 

This week’s Work Session will be held on Wednesday, January 10^th, at Village Hall. The agenda will be as follows:

• We will begin with a presentation by Mohit Sood, PharmD of Best Buds Thirteen Dispensary, who is applying to NYS to open an adult-use cannabis dispensary at the former Ossining Bakery Site.
• Next, Felicia Marquie of the Landlord Tenant Relations Committee (LTRC) will join us to report their 2023 activity.
• As a next step in our work with the Ossining volunteer fire department (OFD), we had discussed getting a proposal from Bob Mitchell (the architect with whom we worked on the DOS-funded study for the consolidated facility) to triage the safety issues throughout the firehouses that were identified last year while we explore a site for the new house; this will help us create a comprehensive preventive and ongoing maintenance schedule for all Village-owned buildings.
• Treasure Dale Brennan will be with us to discuss 2024 Capital Projects as detailed in the 2024 Budget.
• Finally, Village Engineer Paul Fraioli, PE, will join us, along with representation from Creighton Manning, to discuss the previously proposed concept of converting Linden Avenue to a one-way street between Croton Avenue and Glen Street.

The following is a memo sent to the municipalities participating in Westchester Power Con Edison. Please direct all questions to the contact information provided directly:

As you may recall, when new residents and small commercial entities move into your community for the first time, they are automatically enrolled in Westchester Power. As part of this process, we send a letter to each of these new customers welcoming them to the program and explaining their options. (These new enrollments do not occur on a rolling basis, but instead are aggregated three times a year – for meter read dates in March, July, and November.)

I am writing to you as a municipal leader to let you know that the next mailing for new customers, associated with the March meter read, will be issued shortly and should arrive in the next few days. Along with a program description, this mailing will give each new customer the choice of opting out of the program before their enrollment commences. (Of course, customers always maintain the right to opt out at any time after their enrollment.). Please note that the specific language of this letter (click here for samples) is not chosen by Sustainable Westchester but rather is dictated by the Public Service Commission.

This new customer enrollment process and the associated mailings are part of long-standing practice and are consistent with your current Electric Service Agreement with Westchester Power. Even so, like prior similar mailings, this may generate some inquiries for you and your team from customers. So please remember that Westchester Power always stands ready to answer any questions you may have and to assist in addressing community requests. Please never hesitate to refer resident and commercial members of your community directly to us, if that is easiest and most convenient for you. We can be reached at (914) 242-4725 or westchesterpower@sustainablewestchester.org.

Westchester Power has been instrumental in helping our county make historic environmental progress. Thank you for your participation and for your invaluable contributions to this vital priority.



Thanks and regards,

Dan Welsh

Program Director, Westchester Power

Village of Ossining | www.villageofossining.org