Author Archive for Rick Pezzullo
Yorktown ZBA Backs Inspector in Ruling on Sober Home
The Yorktown Zoning Board of Appeals Thursday night supported a written opinion by Building Inspector John Winter that a proposed facility for recovering alcohol and substance abuse addicts on Underhill Avenue falls under the definition of a “convalescent home.” Three of the four sitting ZBA members denied an appeal from neighbors Linda Gironda and […]
Thousands Expected to Enjoy Peekskill Music Festival
Thousands of music enthusiasts are expected to head to downtown Peekskill Friday evening and all day Saturday for a free concert and other events. Formerly known as the Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival, the 2014 Peekskill Music Festival, produced by Paramount Hudson Valley, will kick off Friday at 8 p.m. with local bands competing at […]
Concerns Raised over Safety of Swimming in Hudson
A clean water watchdog organization released a report last week revealing many locations in the Hudson River fail to meet federally recommended guidelines for safe swimming and other recreational activities. According to the “How’s the Water? 2014” report from Riverkeeper, 23 percent of monthly samples for bacteria that indicates sewage and other fecal contamination from […]
Area Artist Exhibits Paintings at Somers Restaurant
By Neal Rentz Carmel resident Vivian Haberfeld is currently exhibiting her acrylic on canvas paintings in a show entitled “In Search of Tranquility” at Somerfields restaurant in Somers. The exhibit title could also be used to describe how she became a professional artist. “I was a Manhattanite for 30 years and I needed to escape […]
BJ’s Looks to Get Jump on Costco with New Gas Pumps
A potential battle for private club customers in Yorktown has begun with BJ’s Wholesale Club proposing to provide 12 gas pumps for members at its Route 202 location while Costco continues through the planning process for a new store and gas station up the road. David Steinmetz, attorney for the owners of the BJ’s Shopping […]
Longtime Yorktown Resident Pat Kibbe Dies at 90
Patricia “Pat” Hosley Kibbe died peacefully at home in Yorktown on Sunday, July 13, surrounded by her loving family. She was 90 and lived a full and well-rounded life. She was born on September 2, 1923 to Loring and Frances Hosley, and grew up in Southwick, Massachusetts. Pat graduated as valedictorian of her high school […]
Parents, Students Seek Return of Hen Hud HighTeacher
A petition with nearly 250 signatures was recently submitted to the Hendrick Hudson Board of Education calling for the return of a popular engineering teacher who apparently resigned following a junior class trip to New York City in March during which a handful of teachers reportedly left students unsupervised. Several parents who signed the petition […]
Plan to Expand Residential Units in Downtown Peekskill Debated
A proposed zoning amendment that would allow the expansion of residential development in downtown Peekskill received a mixed reaction during a recent public hearing that is slated to continue next week. The Common Council and Planning Commission are both considering a plan that would permit upper floor residential units in the C-2 commercial zone and […]
Players Sought for Benefit Basketball Tournament in Yorktown
By Rick Pezzullo Players and teams are still being sought for the first annual Nothin’ But Net basketball tournament being held next week at FDR State Park in Yorktown by the Yorkville Sports Association (YSA). Portions of proceeds from the event, which kicks off Wednesday, July 9 at 5:45 p.m., will benefit the Yorktown […]
Jockeying for Open Seat in Yorktown Begins for Diana, Siegel
The special election for the open seat on the Yorktown Town Board may not be until November, but the two candidates vying for the pivotal position have already begun campaigning and receiving endorsements. Citizens for a Progressive Yorktown, a small, two-year-old group of residents that support “intelligent and responsible business development,” jumped into the race […]
Foul Play Ruled Out in Death of Man Found in Car in Yorktown
Yorktown police have ruled out foul play in the death of a 26-year-old Massachusetts man found in a vehicle Friday morning on Old Croton Lake Road near the Croton watershed. The unidentified man was first discovered by an employee with the New York Department of Environmental Protection shortly before 11 a.m. in the driver’s seat […]
Legislators Seek Law to Modernize Sign for People with Disabilities
State Assemblywoman Sandra Galef (D/Ossining) and Senator David Carlucci (D) joined advocates for people with disabilities in Ossining this week to urge Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation to modernize the Universal Symbol of Access. The legislation, which passed in both the Assembly and the Senate, would make New York the first state in […]
Alienation of Parkland for Pipeline Rejected in Yorktown
A resolution to alienate open space on Stony Street in Shrub Oak to allow for the construction of a natural gas pipeline that could lead to the development of two all-purpose fields and a full-size baseball diamond on the Granite Knolls site did not pass the muster of the Yorktown Town Board last week. The […]
Hundreds Protest Energy Projects Proposed in Cortlandt
With signs declaring “Enough is Enough” and “Stop the Buzz,” several hundred residents and officials held a rally in Verplanck last week to protest two different energy projects that everyone agreed would change the character of the quiet residential community. “This is democracy at its best. This is democracy in action,” remarked Cortlandt Supervisor Linda […]
Council Approves Residency Waiver for Peekskill Police Chief
The Peekskill Common Council last week unanimously waived a requirement for Peekskill Police Chief Eric Johansen to live in the city. The council cited the fact that Johansen, who was appointed in February 2013 to replace longtime chief Eugene Tumolo, resides only one mile outside Peekskill in the Town of Cortlandt as one reason for […]
Yorktown “Relay Replay” to Take Place June 20 at DeVito Field
An abridged version of the full Yorktown Relay for Life that was rained out last week will take place this Friday, June 20 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Jack DeVito Memorial Field behind the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center. An opening ceremony for “Relay Replay” will kick off the event, followed by a […]
Mariano Rivera Honored at Friends of Karen Benefit
As phenomenal as his record-breaking career was with the New York Yankees as Major League Baseball’s most dominating relief pitcher in history, Mariano Rivera’s accomplishments on the field actually pale in comparison to his philanthropic successes, especially for children causes in the United States and Panama. One of the many organizations where Rivera, who retired […]
Hundreds Celebrate Life of James “Jimmy Mack” McNair
Hundreds of family, friends and fans packed the Paramount Hudson Valley theatre Thursday to celebrate the life and laughter of James “Jimmy Mack” McNair, the Peekskill man killed in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday morning returning from a show in Delaware with fellow comedian Tracy Morgan. The more than two-hour […]
Peekskill Teacher Slaps District with Lawsuit over Birth Control Pills
A Peekskill elementary school teacher and his wife have filed a lawsuit against the district for birth control pills given to their daughter without their knowledge three years ago. Anthony Jackson, a teacher at Woodside Elementary School who has been “reassigned to home since January 2014 due to a pending disciplinary matter,” according to the […]
Yorktown Man Sentenced to Prison for Criminal Sexual Abuse
A registered sex offender from Yorktown was sentenced in Putnam County Superior Court last week to two consecutive prison terms for sexual abuse of children. Jonathan DeLaura, 39, who was sentenced last month to 35 years in federal prison on child pornography charges, will spend an additional two to eight years behind bars […]
Mayor Turns Table on Ethics Board; Funds for Probe Denied
In an unexpected partial bipartisan vote, the Peekskill Common Council last week denied a request from the city’s Ethics Board to hire legal counsel to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of bullying and intimidation of some city staff by Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina. Catalina and fellow Republicans Vincent Vesce and Joe Torres were joined by Democratic Councilman […]
Peekskill Police Chief Seeks Residency Waiver from Council
Peekskill Police Chief Eric Johansen has officially asked the Common Council to waive a requirement for him to reside within city borders. Johansen, 43, was appointed in February 2013 to replace longtime chief Eugene Tumolo at an annual salary of $141,000. The 20-year veteran of the department was chosen over Captain Paul Astrologo, a more […]
Yorktown ZBA Reserves Decision on Sober Home
The Yorktown Zoning Board of Appeals last week reserved a crucial decision regarding the interpretation of the town code that could pave the way for a sober living residence on Underhill Avenue. The ZBA closed a public hearing that featured final arguments from attorneys for the applicants, Tom McCrossan and Mark McGoldrick, a/k/a Compass Westchester, […]
Yorktown’s Murphy Receives Republican Nod for State Senate
Yorktown Councilman Terrence Murphy was nominated by the Westchester Republican Committee last week to run for the state Senate seat in the 40th District being vacated by incumbent Greg Ball (R,C,I/Patterson). Murphy, who was elected to a second four-year term on the Yorktown Town Board last November, was chosen over former state Assemblyman Robert Castelli […]
Ethics Board May Probe Peekskill Mayor’s Alleged Bullying
The Peekskill Common Council may vote this week to fund an outside attorney for the city’s Ethics Board to investigate claims made by the Democratic majority that Mayor Frank Catalina has allegedly been bullying and threatening some high level city staff. Judith Ehren, chairwoman of the four-member Ethics Board and a former Democratic district leader, […]
Whimsical, Wonderful Mary Poppins Flies into WBT
By Evelyn J. Mocbeichel At first thought a reader might think the Westchester Broadway Theatre’s (WBT) current production, Mary Poppins is a children’s show. Not so! Although the musical is based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, this is where the similarities end. The cherished 1964 Disney […]
School Budgets Approved in Local School Districts; New Trustees Elected
School budgets were approved in all seven districts in the Northern Westchester region Tuesday, while new school trustees were elected in Lakeland, Croton-Harmon and Peekskill. In Lakeland, the $161 million budget, which carries a 2.5% tax increase in Yorktown and a 1.7% tax decrease in Cortlandt, was passed 941-339. A bus proposition also was […]
Peekskill Guidance Counselor Killed in Route 9A Crash
A Peekskill High School guidance counselor was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer last Tuesday afternoon while heading home on Route 9A near the Briarcliff Manor/Mount Pleasant border. Lenroy Stevens, 27, who had worked for the Peekskill School District since January 2013, was pronounced dead at the scene at about 3:30 p.m. “It is […]
Missing Somers Man Found Dead in Woods
The body of a Somers man who disappeared the morning of May 9 was located Thursday afternoon in a wooded area off Route 202. State Police in Somers said an extensive search was underway when Garret (Gary) McKeon, 67, was spotted by an area worker passing through at approximately 1:15 p.m. No signs of […]
Search Continues for Missing Somers Man
A community search continues for a missing Somers man who disappeared the morning of May 9. The family of Garret (Gary) McKeon, 67, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and dementia, has set up a Facebook page called Missing Man from Somers NY in an effort to bring attention to the search. The page already […]
