After four years as Director of Peekskill’s Department of Public Works (DPW), Christopher Gross will be exiting the role. His last day with the city is August 8, and the professional engineer is not going far.
At the July 15 Town of Cortlandt board meeting, Gross was appointed Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Services (DES).
“It’s an opportunity to have personal growth,” Gross told Peekskill Herald. “I am excited about the new position.”
He continued, “It was a difficult decision because the relationships and the people that I’m currently working with here both in City Hall and down at the DPW have been just really good relationships to develop over the past five years.”
Gross has been in the department for five years, serving as director for four of those years.
City Manager Matthew Alexander told the Herald that Gross “has grown a lot with the city and the city’s grown a lot with him.We appreciate all of his good service and attention and extra time and professional expertise.”
In Cortlandt, Gross will serve as deputy director, reporting to fellow professional engineer and director Steve Ferreira.
Dr. Richard Becker, Town of Cortlandt Supervisor, said Gross has a lot of experience, having worked in Newburgh before his tenure in Peekskill.
“We’ve been searching for the right person for this position for over two years,” Becker said at the July 15 Town of Cortlandt board meeting. “He interviewed beautifully and he gave notice and we’re excited for him to start. He will be very busy.”
A job listing posted by the town said that the deputy director is responsible for assisting in the planning and implementation of long-range goals, administrative procedures, and operational programs of the divisions of Parks, Sanitation, Central Buildings, Central Garage, Highway, Water, and Sewer. The annual salary range was posted as $195,000 to $215,000.
According to Peekskill’s adopted 2025 budget, Gross had an annual salary of $177,300 as superintendent of DPW/city engineer.
City Manager Alexander said the city will have to go through Westchester County Civil Service for the job posting of the soon-to-be-vacant DPW position.
An old job posting for the position by the county stated the position of director is responsible for organizing and directing activities of the DPW, including formulation of departmental policies, planning of long-range programs, overseeing engineering, and major construction performed for the city by outside contractors.
At the Town of Cortlandt meeting, the town also appointed former City of Peekskill comptroller Ann Scaglione as its new comptroller. She replaces Patty Robcke, who announced her retirement but agreed to stay on to help during the transition period for the remainder of the year.
Looking back at Peekskill and ahead to Town of Cortlandt
As Gross, appointed as DPW director in 2021, moves forward with the Town of Cortlandt, he said he feels the public works department in Peekskill is in a good position.
The department recently hired six people, which Gross said has boosted manpower, ensuring all spots are filled on the back of the garbage truck, continuing the work the city is doing at the Highway Department and Parks Maintenance Department.
The City of Peekskill recently passed a resolution for equipment and vehicles that the DPW is going to purchase.
Among the purchases are a 4X4 snow plow, garbage and dump trucks, pickup trucks, six garbage cameras, a fueling dispensing system, and a falcon hot box, which Gross says will significantly help fix potholes quicker.
The department also hired a new general foreman, sanitation foreman, and Parks and Recreation maintenance foreman within the last six months, Gross said.
“I’m very, very proud of the foremen that have been put in place,” Gross said. “All of them are doing an exceptional job in managing their department. The other foremen [who have been there for a while] are doing good too. But with these three, this has been a significant, just a real good improvement for the department.”
Asked what he was most proud of accomplishing, Gross noted an improvement in morale, which he connected to the good work performed by foremen.
In addition, Gross said he is proud of the department’s response to this past winter’s 16 snow events, defined as anytime the department has to respond with either plowing or salting. Gross said the department has done good work pushing snow back to the curb with alternate side of the street parking and there have been very few complaints this year.
