A public safety enhancements project at the City of Peekskill Police Station was left out of the federal government spending bill for fiscal year 2025.
In the leadup to the November general election, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler touted over $30 million being secured in infrastructure projects in Congressional District 17, including $520,000 for the Peekskill Police Station, which he said was at capacity and urgently in need of more space.
Lawler’s request to the Appropriations Committee on May 6, 2024, said the funding would be used for expanding and modernizing the Peekskill police station, with both the expansion and the funding allowing the city to hire 10 more law enforcement officers in the future.
“Public safety is critical to growing low-middle income municipalities like Peekskill to ensure enhanced quality of life, business development, capital investment, and overall economic growth,” Lawler said then.
However, last month Lawler voted not to fund those projects in a Republican-led stopgap spending bill that averted a government shutdown and sought to fund federal agencies through September, ultimately leaving out grants for those once-touted projects.
In a statement, Lawler’s spokesperson Ciro Riccardi said the $520,000 project would be requested again and that Lawler was confident that the projects would be funded as they moved forward.
“All (Fiscal Year 25) projects will be resubmitted for FY26, and Congressman Lawler has already communicated with House leadership about this,” Riccardi said. “We are directly engaging with municipalities to ensure a seamless process for resubmission.”
The blame for the project’s exclusion was pointed at the Senate Minority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer.
“Unfortunately, the only reason we are here is Chuck Schumer’s failure to pass and negotiate on the appropriation bills that passed the House last Congress, inclusive of these projects, and Democrats’ refusal to seriously negotiate at the start of this Congress,” Riccardi said.
Schumer’s office did not respond for a comment. Schumer said he supported the stopgap spending bill in an effort to avert a government shutdown, according to Politico.
City of Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie told the Peekskill Herald on April 1 that the delayed public safety project would hurt the department.
“Not getting that money will cause that project to be delayed and will really affect how our officers are able to work in terms of having proper locker rooms and things like that,” McKenzie said.
City Manager Matthew Alexander said on April 3 that he spoke to Lawler’s office and the plans will be resubmitted mid-April 2025 for 2026.
“The federal earmark process is one that frequently changes with administrations and we did anticipate that there might be a change in the way that the new administration looks at the earmarks,” Alexander said Monday.
Commenting on the project, Alexander said the federal funding would improve infrastructure on the over-50-year-old building, as well as inadequate facilities for both male and female police officers.
Councilman Ramon Fernandez said in a statement on April 2 that the funds were long awaited, particularly by female officers who would have directly benefited from locker room expansion and renovation.
“As a liaison between the Common Council and the police, I was very happy when Congressman Lawler announced that he granted [these] funds,” Fernandez said. “But now I would like to say with all respect that I think Congressman Lawler missed an opportunity to show more strength in defending his constituents.”
The city manager said the project’s exclusion will not affect the 2025 adopted budget (passed November 2024) but that they will be using previous grant money from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York for a portion of the project.
“We will not proceed with the capital project in its entirety until we know that we’re going to have money,” Alexander said.
State Sen. Pete Harckham previously announced an investment of $250,000 from state funding for the Peekskill Police Department, used to purchase a new hybrid squad car and make significant renovations to the department’s headquarters.
The proposed renovations include converting an unfinished part of the basement into an exercise and training room and expanding existing locker rooms with over 60 locker units, as well as a fully ADA-compliant restroom. The renovations were set to start late 2024 and have not yet been completed.
Police Chief Leo Dylewski did not respond for comment on the status of the state project at this writing.
Alexander said they were looking to supplement the state-level grant with the federal money for the work that needed to be done.
