State assemblywoman hosting mobile office today (Mar. 18) in Peekskill
Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg’s office is holding mobile office hours on Monday, March 18 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Peekskill Neighborhood Center. Stop by to get help navigating state agencies, information about state programs and resources, and more.
Visit the Peekskill Community Hub and discover its programs
The Peekskill Community Hub is hosting an Open House throughout the week, starting Monday, March 18 through Friday, March 22. See the schedule of events here.
The week-long Open House is an opportunity for all Peekskill residents to meet and interact with many community organizations, offering helpful program and benefit information to help meet their needs.
The Community Hub is a campus of community facilities (housed at the Neighborhood Center) integrated for optimal use by youth, young adults, families and elderly of all backgrounds. The main focus is a community kitchen as the central element providing nourishment and a table for all programming.
While programming will be available for distinct segments of the population, it will also look for opportunities to bring the entire community young, old, families, and singles to the table for true community activities centered around learning, career development, and life enhancement.
For residents interested in receiving periodic updates about Community Hub programs and events, please sign up for the newsletter here.
Montaldo retires from role as Peekskill’s Recreation Superintendent
Cathy Montaldo, Peekskill’s Superintendent of Recreation for nearly four years, and a long-time public servant in the city, is retiring from her position on April 4.
As the Rec. Superintendent, Montaldo oversees, directs, and guides all programs conducted at the Recreation Department, and coordinates with community organizations and the Peekskill Youth Bureau; she is also responsible for the Recreation budget.
Prior to taking the helm, she was a recreation supervisor for five years from December 2015 to August 2020. In that role, she oversaw and coordinated various community and departmental special events including “Riverfront Summer Concert Series,” Children’s Specials, Movie Nights, and Holiday Events. She also worked for the Rec. Department from 1996 to 1999.
Montaldo is well known throughout Peekskill and the local area for her 13 years serving as Executive Director of “Peekskill Celebration,” the former multi-day festival that included water-related activities for 1,000 participants, a fireworks extravaganza attracting 30,000 residents, 100+ vendors and 15 hours of non-stop entertainment.
Peekskill wishes Cathy much well-earned enjoyment after so many years of service to Peekskill’s kids and families.
District Resource Center seeks ways to help Peekskill families
All community members are cordially invited to the “Community Call to Action Meeting” on March 20 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Peekskill School District Family Resource Center (400 South Division St.). If you are able to attend, please RSVP by email to Dr. Holloman ([email protected]) or Sonia Patino ([email protected]).
The goal of the meeting is to discuss ways to provide wrap-around services for families. The Resource Center would like to identify and discuss resources in the community that can help support Peekskill families in the areas of food, clothing and shelter, etc. The meeting will convene and assess what resources are available and how the group can enhance these resources.
Easter Egg Hunt at Depew Park on March 23
If the grass is growing and the birds are singing, it must be spring right around the corner. Another annual rite is the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Depew Park.
This year’s event is scheduled for March 23 at 10 a.m. Registration is limited and you must pre-register with the Park Office. The cost is $4 for Peekskill residents and $6 for non-residents. For information, call the Recreation Department at 914-734-7275.
City posts three job openings for parking, water department
The City of Peekskill is currently seeking a full-time Parking Enforcement Officer, a full-time Water & Sewer Maintenance Worker Grade II, and a full-time Water Treatment Plant Operator I-A.
To learn more, please visit https://cityofpeekskill.com/jobs.aspx.
¡Aprende a hablar español! (Learn how to speak Spanish!)
The Peekskill School District is offering free conversational Spanish classes for adults only online via Google Meet.
The classes started on March 16 and offer two levels of skill, beginner from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and intermediate from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings. For any questions, please contact Dr. Bridget Holloman at the Family Resource Center ([email protected]).
Red Devils wrestlers win Team Sportsmanship Award
The Peekskill High School wrestling team was honored with the Team Sportsmanship Award for 2023-24 season by the Westchester County’s Section One Wrestling division.
Led by Coach Raul Ortiz and assistant coaches Andre Lee and Bill Thompson, this year’s squad was headed by three wrestlers who were named to Lohud’s list of top wrestlers in their weight class: Martin Palomeque, Naseer Johnson, and Ruben Gray.
Palomeque was named Senior Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2024 Westchester County wrestling championships.
Congratulations to all the team members and the coaching staff for a great season of Red Devils wrestling.
Give blood, save a life – April 2 at the Paramount
The American Red Cross will host a Blood Drive on the stage of Paramount Hudson Valley theatre on Tuesday, April 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p,m. New donors are particularly sought to increase the pool of donors in this life-saving cause.
There is a limited supply of Godzilla vs. Kong: the New Empire and Red Cross T-shirts available to donors. To schedule your visit, go to www.RedCrossBlood.org and enter the sponsor code: Paramount.
You can contact the Red Cross with any questions at 1-800-733-2767.
New Era Creative Space honored by ArtsWestchester
A Peekskill non-profit was recognized by ArtsWestchester with a matching grant and an award for contributions to the cultural landscape of Westchester.
New Era Creative Space received a $1,500 matching grant for its work providing visual and performing arts and STEM/STEAM instruction. In addition, the group was awarded ArtsWestchester’s Advancing Equity Organization Award for their commitment to promoting equity and inclusion through the arts.
Lee Balter of Tarrytown, is being honored with the President’s Award for his extraordinary support of the arts in the Hudson Valley and his tireless advocacy for arts education and access to the arts.
In what has been a record-breaking year for ArtsWestchster, participating arts organizations raised $819,759, the greatest amount raised in a single year, in new private funds from 1,234 donors through the program that ended Dec. 31, 2023.
These private funds were matched with $463,325 in Westchester County support, providing in total $1.28 million in financial support for the arts community at a critical time when arts groups are working to build back arts’ audiences lost during the pandemic.
“Since the inception of the Art$WChallenge in 2007, this powerful public/private program has raised nearly $7 million to support Westchester’s arts and cultural sector, matched with over $3 million in County support,” said County Executive George Latimer. “The County’s arts community has weathered a difficult few years as it recovers from the pandemic.”
ArtsWestchester’s 2024 Arts Awards will be held at 11:30 a.m. on April 10 at the Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. More information is available here.
‘Bones,’ Officer Saintiche train with MTA Canine Unit
Peekskill Police Officer Jonathan Saintiche and K9 Bones partnered with MTA’s Canine Unit and USPCA Region 7 for a training session at Grand Central Station earlier this month. The training session exposed the Peekskill K9 team to different environmental challenges as well as different explosive detection techniques and approaches.
A commitment to training ensures the unit remains ready to successfully handle and complete the different real world tasks and scenarios that arise which ultimately raises the quality of safety for the City of Peekskill.
Bones is named after U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Louis M. Bonacasa, who was stationed at Stewart Air National Guard Base and was killed in Afghanistan Dec. 21, 2015. Officer Saintiche is a veteran of the United States Air Force-Air National Guard and served for a time at Stewart Air National Guard Base.
In December 2022, Officer Saintiche and Bones found a 75-year-old missing Peekskill man with Parkinson’s disease who was cold-to-the-touch and couldn’t move, but was still alive and conscious on a pile of leaves. The man was brought to hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.
The son of the man said his father possibly had early stages of dementia. He told police that his father had last been seen hours earlier and was only wearing slippers, jeans, and a sweatshirt, which left him vulnerable to the freezing temperatures that hovered around 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sign up For Peekskill Arts Alliance ‘Open Studios 2024’
The Peekskill Arts Alliance Open Studios is on its way again! Now in its 25th year, Open Studios is an opportunity for all PAA members in and around Peekskill.
If you have a studio in Downtown Peekskill or at the Hat Factory, visitors can come and see your work and your process firsthand. You get the opportunity to meet prospective collectors, make contacts, and make sales (if not during Open Studios, often at a future date).
Don’t have a studio in Downtown? This year try one of Peekskill’s participating galleries.
Since 1997, art enthusiasts from the Tri-State area and greater Hudson Valley have come to Peekskill on the first weekend in June to meet YOU and learn about your work first hand.
Be sure to register before April 15 to be included in the information booklet that is handed out to visitors. After registering, please upload an image for the booklet and the Open Studios website.
For more information about this year’s Open Studios or to participate, please visit https://peekskillartsalliance.org.
Peekskill stories in the local media (the other media)
Two Peekskill-related firms received coverage in the news this week, showing the dynamic life in the city.
Alchemy Post Sound (APS), an award-winning Foley facility that supplies audio enhancement and texture to big-budget, high-profile films, and television series that you might well have seen, was feature in an article in the River Journal North.
Run by husband-and-wife team Andrea and Leslie Bloome and partner Ryan Collison, the Peekskill business opened some 10 years ago, growing out of Leslie’s decades-long experience in the world of Foley. “I studied music at college and wanted to become a session musician,” he said. “I played bass, some guitar and percussion, toured with the Box Tops and the Drifters, and on cruise ships. Out of the blue, I was invited to be part of a loop group session on a kickboxing film. The owners of the studio took a liking to me and asked if I would like to “give this Foley thing a go.” As a musician, I found it a natural transition from music to creating sounds for film.”
Read the full story here.
And Yonkers developer Chuck Lesnick and his plan to build 57 apartment units on Broad and Howard streets was featured on the cover of this week’s Westfair Business Journal.
“I’ve been coming to Peekskill so often that they actually asked me to run for a seat on the BID (Business Improvement District) board. I’ve been on the BID board now for half-a-year. I come at least once a week to Peekskill.”
Read the full story here.
Westchester Urban County Consortium wants your input
Westchester County is conducting a community needs assessment and fair housing survey as part of its requirements to receive federal funding. This is your opportunity to let the county know what needs are important to you within your community.
Westchester will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support three grant programs that will help to address affordable housing and community development needs. These three grants are:
- Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
- HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)
- Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
Program activities funded by these grants must meet at least one of three national objectives outlined by HUD. The three national objectives are:
- Activities must benefit low-to-moderate-income persons or households
- Prevent or eliminate slums or blight
- Meet an emergency need that poses a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community.
The county values your input and the survey should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. (Responses are completely anonymous).
Complete the survey here.
