Winter weather trends were the focus of two items discussed by the Peekskill Common Council at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole.
The freezing of the Hudson River prompted the Department of Planning and Development to take immediate action to remove the loading docks at Fleischmann Pier to avoid damage.
Director of Planning Carol Samol requested approval from the council to winterize the pier and replace docks costing an estimated $9,800.
The winterization effort, already started due to the emergency, also called for the floating docks, kayak dock and associated gangways to be removed by crane, tug and barge, and stored on land for the winter season at Madeline Marine’s facility in Verplanck, New York, for a cost of $17,000.
“We were not really anticipating having operational costs like this while the pier was still under construction because it was still under construction,” Samol said. “But with the winter weather, we realized we needed to take action quickly.”
According to City Manager Matthew Alexander, this would be a yearly expenditure and that the city had foreseen that the $5 million investment of the newly remodeled Fleischmann Pier would have maintenance expenses.
The council also discussed different methods of warning people about winter parking regulations.
Director of Public Works Christopher Gross said he believed complaints about parking may stem from an insufficient number of signs throughout the city. The city currently has eight signs posted at the entrances of the city warning residents and visitors of winter parking.
Gross proposed adding roughly 40 signs throughout the city, ensuring anyone entering any area of the city will pass at least one of the signs. Gross noted the additional intra-city signs would be of smaller dimension (not specified) than those at city entrances.
Councilman Brian Fassett said having additional signage was absolutely necessary, but was concerned having 40 new signs would possibly be too much. He also said they should use social media and calls to get the word out to the public.
Another proposed idea, shared by a constituent, said Mayor Vivian McKenzie, was a model used in Plattsburgh where several lights in the city will turn on when winter parking is in effect and drivers can’t park.
Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot, who attended the meeting virtually while recovering from a procedure, said she thought it was a good idea.
“Signs start to become background wallpaper after a while,” Talbot said. “When they first go up, everybody looks at them, and then people stop seeing them, for better or worse.”
Chief of Police Leo Dylewski’s concern with the winter parking lights idea was based on past experience when the city tried to only enforce winter parking when it snowed. He said they had major issues with cars remaining on the street and making it difficult for plows to get through during snowstorms.
The chief also noted that Plattsburgh actually provides downtown parking for those cars that have to clear the road for snow plowing and emergency vehicles.
Councilman Dwight Douglas said they could enforce alternate side parking with the lights and not ban both sides, different from Plattsburgh, which bans parking on both sides of the street.
Several council members were supportive of doing a pilot version of the increased signage and lights for the next winter season.
For more information about winter parking, check out the city’s website.
Firm selected to design city’s brand and logo
If the Common Council approves a resolution next week, Trajectory Brands Inc., a Toronto-based firm, will be designing Peekskill’s logo and brand.
According to Director of Planning Carol Samol, the new logo will be something the City of Peekskill can use in marketing efforts, raise the profile of the city, and have a symbol for the city that’s more than the official seal.
When the City of Peekskill received the Downtown Revitalization Initiative award in 2021, the New York State Department of State included funding for marketing and branding and wayfinding.
In August, the city issued a request for proposals focusing on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative’s logo and branding. It ended up receiving 96 submissions. A committee narrowed that number to 15 semi-finalists, then four finalists for interviews and ranking.
According to Samol, the selected firm had the lowest fees of the finalists, $55,000, which accounts for their work as well as travel expenses.
“We found they [Trajectory Brands] had a very clearly defined engagement process, which told us that they understood what it meant to have the public as a client, a city as a client,” Samol said. “And really had some fresh designs and their references really checked out.”
She added that the committee felt like the firm was good listeners in the interview process and had strong sensitivity to diversity and indigenous people.
Trajectory Brands has worked across North America with neighborhoods, BIDs (Business Improvement Districts), municipalities, counties, regions and development agencies, including in Minnesota, Vancouver Island, and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
There will also be public engagement via public surveys and events, and feedback from the council, local stakeholders, local residents, business, employers, tourism, and community groups.
Several council members voiced their support for the firm, including Councilman Brian Fassett.
“I was very hopeful that we would find a local company, but having spent time speaking with Trajectory and really understanding that they are connected to the Hudson Valley and they do know who we are, I felt much better having spent that time with them and spoken to them,” Fassett said.
Next, the Planning & Development Department will secure a contract with Trajectory Brands, assuming the Common Council approves a resolution to do so at the Jan. 27 meeting.
Council wants more information on proposed incubator emporium at 41 N. Division
Matthew Rudikoff, Executive Director of Peekskill Facilities Development Corporation, informed the council that Children’s Village is open to all of the city’s proposed ideas for the “Peekskill Retail Incubator Emporium and Event Venue” (PRIEEV), which would occupy the lower and ground floors of 41 N. Division St.
PRIEEV would include a Peekskill Welcome Center and an African American History Museum “precursor.” The idea was proposed to Children’s Village last September, after it became clear PRIEEV’s originally proposed location on South Street was no longer an option.
Children’s Village responded last December, saying it believed all these ideas could really fit in the ground floor and lower levels, and be positive in terms of being a sustainable economic development project, Rudikoff said.
Part of the funding will come from a $1.5 million grant the Children’s Village was awarded from the Empire State Development to be used for the ground floor and lower-level nonresidential uses, Rudikoff said.
Rudikoff asked the council and city manager to pursue viability questions and reconnect with potential local merchandise makers and supply organizations, as he had last September. He is also hoping Westchester Community College will be involved with the maker space.
PRIEEV was originally proposed for three blighted storefronts at 929-933 South Street in April 2023, but the owner of those properties did not want to pursue the project. When Rudikoff presented the idea to the council in 2023, Mayor McKenzie raised concern with spending city resources to bolster private buildings.
That same concern prevails in 2025. The mayor worried about how much the city was pouring into the project as opposed to Children’s Village and what it would bring to the community.
“It looks like this is all us, versus when we met with Children’s Village it was all about what they were going to do for us and all that,” McKenzie said. “It’s not about money. It’s about who’s going to provide these resources.”
Rudikoff said that Children’s Village said they would be involved in helping to plan and finance it, consistent with the grant they were awarded.
Councilman Fassett said he believed there were a lot of moving parts in the proposal and it was a bit disjointed. He said one goal they should have is to make sure they return engagement on the space that gets people into the downtown and to other establishments.
“It’s not a museum that sits there and you go once and you’re never going to go again,” Fassett said. “It needs to be an activated space. And I think a lot of these ideas can do that.”
Deputy Mayor Patricia Riley said it should be a place that is active all the time.
“I want to see those lights on, I want to see people in and out,” Riley said. “I want to see people shopping. As Councilman [Fassett] said, I want people to be downtown, boots on the ground, going to our other stores, going to our restaurants. So it feeds the community.”
Rudikoff said the next step is for the city manager to identify which staff he wants to work on the project along Children’s Village’s staffing.
Mayor McKenzie said they needed clarification of the city’s role in the project and what the Children’s Village is giving to the city.
Council concerned about lack of staffing at proposed health club at 1101 Main St.
The Planning Commission recommends the council give a special permit to renovate a portion of the former Rite Aid in the Crossroads Shopping Center as a health club.
However, some council members have concerns over the club, Anytime Fitness, being open 24 hours a day six days a week, and not staffed for all of those hours.
Director of Planning Carol Samol said staff hours are subject to change and the club (an international chain) works on a model with either an app or fob to let patrons into the facility. Once someone enters, the doors would automatically lock behind them.
The developer of this franchise of the club, Wilson Narvaez, submitted a petition to amend the City Code to include Health Clubs in the C-2 zoning district by a Special Permit.
Mayor McKenzie said she believed 1101 Main Street was a perfect location for a health club, being accessible in town, but said there was a lot of liability of not having staff from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.
“If somebody has a heart attack on the treadmill, they can’t press the panic button,” McKenzie said. “We can only hope that there’s somebody else there. But I think that’s a long period of time to go without staff.”
The Common Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed club on Monday, Jan. 27. There will also be a hearing on a special permit for the Jan Peek Shelter that would expand occupancy from 24 to 28 clients, and on the local law that would formally establish an advisory board to the council on matters concerning public art.
City seeks resolution opposing Project Maple, discusses replacing missing ‘No Right on Red’ signs
City Manager Matthew Alexander proposed adopting a resolution opposing Enbridge’s Project Maple, a proposed expansion of the Algonquin gas pipeline infrastructure.
Alexander said the significant infrastructure raises substantial environment concerns that warrant careful consideration by their municipal and state government.
“The proposed expansion would substantially increase the pipeline’s capacity to transport hydraulically fractured natural gas through our region, which would lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions,” Alexander said.
Another noteworthy item at the meeting was the Department of Public Works informing the city it is seeking to replace several missing “No Right on Red” signs within the city.
Councilman Brian Fassett asked if the city could look at unifying those types of signs (which have several variations with arrows or just text). Director of Public Works Christopher Gross said they absolutely could.
