Donations sought for Fremont Street fire victims
Four weeks ago, on a bitter cold Tuesday night (Nov. 28), a one-alarm fire occurred at 152 Fremont St., displacing 32 residents. Due to smoke and water damage, residents have lost a majority of their belongings.
The Peekskill Salvation Army is coordinating a community outreach for the fire victims and requests cash or gift card donations for them to distribute. You can drop off or send a check and/or gift cards to the Salvation Army with a note to use the money or gift cards for the Fremont Street fire victims.
Please send to: Salvation Army – Peekskill, 117 Nelson Ave, Peekskill, NY 10566. There is a drop-off box at the Nelson Avenue door 914-737-0280. To make an online donation portal go to: https://give.salvationarmy.org/peekskillfire
Two promotions at Peekskill Police Department
The Peekskill Police Dept. recently promoted Sgt. Alex Demundo to the rank of Lieutenant and PO Kevin Stewart to the rank of Sergeant.
Lt. Alex Demundo is an eight and a half-year veteran of the Peekskill Police Department. Prior to joining the Department, he served as a police oficer with the Town of Wallkill Police Department. Lt. Demundo is assigned as one of the commanding officers of the patrol division.
Sgt. Kevin Stewart is a five and a half-year veteran of the Peekskill Police Department. Prior to joining the Department, he served as a police officer with the City of Albany Police Department. Sgt. Stewart has been assigned as a patrol supervisor.
Red Devils girls basketball team beats Edgemont
The Peekskill Red Devils girls varsity team improved their record to 4-2 with an impressive 45-30 win over Edgemont (Scarsdale) on Dec. 14 on their home court.
Peekskill was led in scoring by sophomore guard Amari Murphy with 26 points. Contributing to the win were junior Guard Jealina Searight with her relentless defense (7 steals, 6 points) and the meteoric rising 7th grader Azarriah Ashley (13 points).
Murphy has scored at least 25 percent of Peekskill’s points in five consecutive games. The Peekskill girls have won three of their last four games.
Peekskill will next face off on the road against Brewster at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18.
Red Devils boys basketball team beats Bronxville to win consolation tournament
The Red Devils boys basketball bounced back from a tough loss on Friday Dec. 15 to post an impressive 59-44 win over host team Bronxville and win their consolation tournament game on Saturday.
Peekskill lost to Byram Hills on Friday 61-57 in OT after Chris Amenedo tied the game with a three-point buzzer beater. Travis Brown led Peekskill with 19 points, followed by Jaden Chavis with 16 and Marquette Webster with 12.
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New law allows Mobile Crisis Response Teams to use flashing green emergency lights
As Westchester County’s network of Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) continues to build and serve communities throughout the county they will soon have a new tool to help them arrive at behavioral health emergencies faster and more safely.
The new state law will allow teams across the state to display flashing green emergency lights in their vehicles when responding to a call.
Westchester County deploys MCRTs throughout the county, connected to law enforcement and a “Crisis Network” phone line that serves to divert people in behavioral health crisis to the de-escalation and services they need.
Unlike flashing red lights, which require drivers to yield the right of way to emergency vehicles displaying them, flashing green lights request drivers to yield the right of way so they can arrive at the scene more quickly and safely.
The new law will become effective 180 days from the day it was signed by the Governor.
Cooking with Peekskill seniors
Members of the Peekskill Senior Citizens Club recently participated in a 4-week plant-based cooking class taught by Plant Powered Metro New York, which featured in-person instruction, food preparation & tasting, grocery store tours that teach how to properly read food labels, and nutrition education.
Leaders urge Assembly to streamline solar canopy construction
A group of state and county legislators, municipal leaders, and advocates gathered last week near the solar canopy at Brookside Elementary School in Ossining to urge lawmakers in the State Assembly to pass legislation streamlining the construction of more such canopies.
“New York is missing out on hundreds of kilowatts of clean, renewable energy every year from solar canopies like these because of a well-intentioned law that needs updating,” said State Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg.
Levenberg is the Assembly sponsor for Assembly Bill 7269, which would remove a key obstacle to the construction of solar energy projects in the parking lots of parks. A companion bill has been passed three times in the state Senate despite languishing in the Assembly.
Current law precludes any changes to the airspace directly above a park’s parking lot. A new law would create an exemption for this airspace, removing an onerous, costly, and time-consuming obstacle to the building of more solar canopies in optimal places.
Airspace for solar canopies is typically leased to a solar power developer, and in return, discounts are often applied to individual, commercial and municipal electric bills. People can learn more about the legislation and show their support here.
Family Music Center opens in Peekskill
Peek-a-Boo Family Music has opened at its new Dayton Lane location in the Beach Shopping Center.
Business owner Alexia Tate of Peekskill had been offering family music and movement classes to the community since 2017 through Music Together with Alexia, renting spaces from Cold Spring down to Croton.
As the business grew and she took on another teacher, “Miss Alexia” decided to rebrand and expand. The name Peek-a-Boo Family Music was inspired both by the vibrant City of Peekskill and what Alexia knows to be a surefire way to make a baby smile. “And we are in the happy baby business,” she says.
Peek-a-Boo primarily offers the Music Together program, classes that are research-based and developmentally appropriate, fun for adults and children alike and offers rental space for birthday parties and special events.
Along with group classes, Peek-a-Boo Family Music also holds holiday events, like October’s Halloween Jam and December’s Holiday Sing-Alongs from Dec. 17 to Dec. 23.
Families can also take classes at satellite locations in Cold Spring (Move at 37 Chestnut St.) and Croton-on-Hudson (St. Augustine’s at 6 Old Post Rd. N.)
For more information or to register for classes, visit www.peekaboofamilymusic.com. To learn more about Music Together, visit www.musictogether.com.
County establishes tax exemption for Volunteer Firefighters, Ambulance Service members
Westchester County legislators passed a new law this month that creates a property tax break for those who serve, have served and their spouse, and lowers the threshold for services from 5 years to 2 years.
If you’re a member of a volunteer fire company, fire department or volunteer ambulance service in Westchester County, along with your spouse, you may be eligible for a tax break of up to ten percent on your property taxes for County and special district purposes.
To qualify, applicants need to live in the city, town, or village served by the volunteer group, use the property as your main home, and use it only for living. The Department you are a member of needs to confirm that you’ve been a member for at least two years.
If you’ve been a member for over twenty years, certified by the authority, applicants may get a ten percent tax break for life, as long as you live in Westchester County.
The law ensures that the spouse of a deceased volunteer firefighter or ambulance worker killed in the line of duty can still get the tax break under certain conditions.
Church receives conservancy grant
Peekskill Presbyterian Church has received a $5,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Conservancy Sacred Sites program to help fund a conditions survey.
The church is one of the oldest congregations in Peekskill, with its first sanctuary completed in 1799, and the present church constructed in 1846. Additions to the current sanctuary in 1858, 1884, and 1964 enlarged the building to the rear. The mid-19th century Fowler House just west of the sanctuary building provides church office space.
The congregation serves about 250 people a year through activities such as a Head Start program, AA and NA meetings, a youth group, a food pantry, and a book club.
