Three public hearings were held at City Hall on Tuesday, May 27, including one on a special permit to transform a former beer distributorship on John Walsh Boulevard into a three-level electric go-kart racetrack.

The city seeks to refer the special-use permit application to the Planning Commission for final site plan approval. The Planning Commission recommended a study of the noise levels up the hill from the site.

Residents were encouraged to voice any environmental concerns they had about the project to deliver to the Planning Commission. Two residents spoke in favor of the proposed go-kart race track, including Lee Esther Brown.

“It’s something for our young ones to do,” Brown said. “Let’s get it, let’s go.”

Resident Jen Zawacki also voiced her support for the project and questioned why an additional sound study was needed in an area that she said didn’t seem like a dense residential area.

“A go-kart facility is the exact kind of creative, family-friendly entertainment that draws people in from surrounding towns, even outside of the region while also giving locals more reasons to stay and spend their time and money here in Peekskill,” Zawacki said. “…I hope the city will see this not just as a business proposal but as a vision for what this area of Peekskill can and should be.”

Another public hearing was held on a proposed local law repealing the chapter on the city’s code on procurement policies and creating a new chapter regarding best value bids that updates competitive bidding levels.

Resident Elena Walker raised her concerns that repealing the current chapter would result in the loss of the Common Council’s authority to “to review each proposed procurement.” City Manager Matthew Alexander said all selected contracts will be brought back to the council and would require the council’s approval for him to sign as city manager, as the city already does.

A third public hearing, at which no residents spoke, was held on referring to the Planning Commission a special-use application for an auto repair facility for minor repairs at 614 South Street. The application from Uyaguari’s LLC seeks to renovate an existing vacant first floor space into an auto repair facility, office, and retail shop.

During the Citizens Desiring to be Heard portion of the meeting, resident Leesther Brown called for more funding to be brought to the Youth Bureau, saying there were children in gangs in the city.

“I need these young kids to be out here working and doing something,” Brown said. “I don’t care if it’s cleaning up the streets, and you give them something every week to do. Give them a mop or broom or something. We need these young adults to be doing something.”

She questioned if the $1.5 million no longer being put into the Kiley Center for the Boys and Girls Club could be used at the Youth Bureau. According to the city manager, discussions for the Boys & Girls Club are not yet dead.

Mayor Vivan McKenzie said she was glad that Brown brought up the $1.5 million, pointing out the money was still sitting there unused.

“If we could get the housing authority to do what they need to do, they’ve had a lease since November of 2023 that they have not signed from the county, we could have had a Boys and Girls Club that could address a whole lot of these issues already in place,” McKenzie said.

City looks to address a ‘hole’ lot of potholes

One resident Tuesday night shared with the council photos of about half a dozen potholes he said were dangerous and nearly causing accidents.

The Department of Public Works is partially relying on a list supplied by Councilman Ramon Fernandez to address potholes in the City of Peekskill. 

On Monday, May 19, Director Christopher Gross discussed 11 streets he hopes Con Edison will pave in the summer, as well as the proposed 2025 paving list of 10 streets/sections, much of which were identified by Fernandez.

“We went around to each one of them, and we determined, does the road need to be paved, or can we just simply patch them at this point,” Gross said.

Solutions included paving potholes, purchasing asphalt hot boxes, increasing street restoration enforcement, a new restoration code, resurfacing with CHIPS funding, and pavement joint enforcement materials.

According to Falcon Asphalt Repair Equipment, an asphalt hot box is a purpose-built machine that maintains the asphalt at optimal working temperatures throughout the day. Such a hot box was included as part of the city’s recent $6.1 million bond resolution for vehicles, equipment, and capital projects. 

Gross said they’ve gone through about half of Fernandez’s list and will complete it as soon as possible. Fernandez said the list presented by Gross did not have even half of the potholes he supplied originally. Gross said he would speak with Fernandez about what was missing. He later said the department was trying to pick the streets that are in the worst condition for paving. Those that do not fit within the contract for their CHIPS funding will have to have a patching job.

Regarding residents who say nothing happens after making pothole reports on SeeClickFix, City Manager Alexander said complaints may not be addressed on the same day as they are made.

Mayor Vivian McKenzie then thanked Fernandez for saying he would be willing to drive around looking at the potholes, but said the onus was on residents to report them too.

 “If they have something on their street and we have a system that can guide them, they need to use that system so that you’re not wasting your time driving around, and Councilman Fernandez is not utilizing and wasting his time driving around,” McKenzie said.

Gross told the Peekskill Herald that the majority of pothole notifications come from residents notifying the department, but added department workers also note potholes as they travel in the city.

Council passes 12 resolutions: red light camera program, FOIL policy

On Tuesday night, the Common Council passed  11 resolutions unanimously, and one by majority, including a resolution regarding a proposed red light camera enforcement program for drivers who run red lights.

For the City of Peekskill to adopt such a program, authorization is required from the state legislature. A formal request was issued to state Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg. At the May 19 meeting, City Attorney Eric Gordon said they have introduced legislation for that purpose. As a result, the council voted on a resolution submitting home rule request forms to the State Assembly and State Senate.

The council also voted to adopt a policy that notifies an employee when their disciplinary records are released via a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. As of Sept. 4, 2024, New York State law mandates that agencies have a policy regarding providing notification to public employees when responding to a FOIL request for their disciplinary records.

An attorney for the city said such a public employee could find out who made the FOIL request by making their own FOIL request after being notified.

Other resolutions passed include appointing a hearing officer to preside over an appeal of the fire chief’s determination of benefits case, authorization to bind coverage with PERMA for a workers’ compensation insurance policy, and authorization for the mayor to sign the New York Conference of Mayors and municipal officials letter of opposition of proposed 2026 budget cuts for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The council also voted to authorize the city manager to execute a consent to allow the Paramount Hudson Valley Arts, Inc. to proceed with renovations at the Paramount Theater after being awarded $10 million from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative in 2019.