Cannabis; Con Edison update; Fall Leaf Program wrapping up, Affordable Housing Unit in Tarrytown application period, & more…
– Tarrytown Link – 12.12.2021 –
Cannabis; Con Edison update; Fall Leaf Program wrapping up, & more…
Cannabis in New York State and in Tarrytown
On March 31, 2021, New York State legalized statewide adult-uses of cannabis and marijuana-based products for recreational purposes, by passing the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). The State also created a new Board under the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) that we anticipate will operate similarly to the New York State Liquor Authority. While there are no stores (dispensaries) and no commercial places of consumption (aka lounges) in New York State right now, it is legal for adults ages 21 and older to possess and consume cannabis and cannabis products.
To be clear about local laws and codes, smoking has been prohibited in Tarrytown’s parks and Village facilities for many years. We recently updated our local laws and codes to update them and make it clear that smoking or vaping of any substance in our parks, buildings, facilities and in our waterfront parking lots continues to be prohibited.
When the State adopted the new laws, they set up provisions that allow municipalities – Cities, Towns and Villages – to Opt In, or Opt out, on the two commercial opportunities for 1. sales / dispensaries and 2. consumption / lounges. By State Law, all municipalities are automatically Opted In. This means municipalities are automatically authorized to participate in dispensaries and places of consumption under the new program, but may opt out on one or both opportunities by adopting a local law by December 31, 2021. Further, by remaining in the cannabis dispensary and/or place of consumption programs, either on one or both commercial opportunities, the Village of Tarrytown becomes eligible to share in the state-wide revenue that will result from the legal sales of cannabis products. If we opted out on both alternatives, the Village would not be eligible to receive any revenues from these programs.
To date, the current and prior Mayor and Trustees held three meetings to discuss this issue – a public forum with a presentation on September 28, 2021, a meeting to allow continued discussion and feedback from the public on November 15, 2021, and continued discussion on Monday, December 6, 2021. At that time, the Board decided to schedule a public hearing on Monday, December 20, 2021, at 7 p.m. on a proposed local law to “Opt Out” on one option - Places of Consumption/Lounges. If anyone has any comments they would like to share with the Board up until the Board Meeting on December 20th, you can send them in to the Village Administrator’s Office by e-mail at Administrator@tarrytowngov.com and all comments will be kept on file and all names will be tallied on a list that will be shared with the elected officials to aid them in their decision on December 20, 2021.
Con Edison gas line construction update
As everyone has seen who has driven up or down Broadway, or on several other Village roads, Con Edison is doing major work to update or replace outdated and worn gas mains around the Village. Here is the lates update on that work:
- Cortlandt and Main Street – the gas repair work has been completed and the road restored.
- Hamilton Place – the gas main work has been completed for now, and the road is scheduled to be restored and paved in mid- to late-January, depending on the weather.
- Wilson Park Drive, from County House Road to Wilson Park – the gas main work has been completed and the road restored to the edge of the park.
- Wilson Park Drive – more work is taking place from Cobb Lane to Beech Avenue
- Hillside is done to rough / base course asphalt – the reason we are not having it repaved to perfect conditions is that the Village will be doing a water main replacement and upgrade project during the construction season in 2022.
- Broadway – McKeel to Hamilton – more night work will be taking place
- Croton and Le Grande Avenues – digging and trenching to replace gas mains will take place into mid- to late January, 2022, at which time the road will be restored and repaved.
- As a cautionary note – as they make connections to and from the mains, or shut off or disconnect old mains as they progress with their work, Con Edison at times needs to close roads temporarily that the Village is not advised of in advance. If and when this happens, we have asked Con Edison to make more of an effort to share notice in advance with us so that we can more completely inform the public, but it is important to be aware that this is not always possible. We are also making every effort to continue to share these updates with the Union Free School Districts of the Tarrytowns.
Curbside Leaf-pile Pickup is completed – Starting Monday, December 13, all leaves have to be bagged and put out for organic waste collection.
- Friday, December 10, 2021 and Saturday, December 11, 2021, the Village crews went all around the Village and made our final big push to collect all of the curbside leaf piles before the snow falls and plowing and shoveling becomes necessary. Starting tomorrow, December 13, 2021, any remaining leaves that need to be picked up by the Village must be bagged. For more information check the Village’s leaf collection website: https://www.tarrytownny.gov/home/news/2021-fall-leaf-collection-schedule
- As another option, we recommend again the “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em” leaf mulching program for lawns. Leaves can easily be mowed over and shredded into mulch that feeds your lawn and makes it healthier, greener and more drought resistant. You can do this by taking the bag or chute off your lawnmowers and mulching the leaves into your lawns. We have been doing this very successfully for several years in many of our Village parks, which reduces the volume of leaves we have to dispose or and makes the fields and lawns around the Village greener. We encourage you to try it too! For more information on the Love em and Leave em program, visit the Love em and Leave em New York website at http://www.leleny.org/.
Announcement of an affordable housing unit available via the Housing Action Council
The Housing Action Council is currently advertising an affordable three (3) bedroom apartment at 12 Hamilton Place in Tarrytown. The deadline to apply is December 20, 2021. For anyone interested, more information is available at the following links:
12 Hamilton Place flyer in English: https://www.housingactioncouncil.org/html/pdf_2021/Hamilton-Place-Flyer-English-Nov2021-v2.pdf
12 Hamilton Place application in English:
https://www.housingactioncouncil.org/html/pdf_2021/Hamilton-Place-Application-English-Nov2021-v2.pdf
12 Hamilton Place flyer in Spanish:
https://www.housingactioncouncil.org/html/pdf_2021/Hamilton-Place-Flyer-Spanish-Nov2021.pdf
12 Hamilton Place application in Spanish:
https://www.housingactioncouncil.org/html/pdf_2021/Hamilton-Place-Application-Spanish-Nov2021.pdf
Village of Tarrytown – Notice of Water System Monitoring violation –
Drawing our water from the New York City DEP Water Supply (the Catskill and/or the Delaware systems) the Village of Tarrytown operates our water system that serves all of the 11,860 residents, plus all of the visitors and business owners and their employees who come to Tarrytown on a daily basis. As part of our regular water system operations, we are required to take 10 samples per month in designated locations around the Village. In November, one of the 10 required bacteriological samples was missed at the Warner Library due to staff vacations and medical issues. No threat to the public health, safety and welfare occurred as the result of this sample being missed. No change in the water system operations has occurred, except to reinforce that the 10 per month testing cycle will resume pursuant to the plan that has been established and that is on file with the Westchester County Health Department.
We wish everyone a happy and peaceful holiday season! Remember to shop local and support our local businesses!