The Peekskill Common Council unanimously approved a $100,000 settlement on Monday, March 9, for a discrimination lawsuit filed in 2025 by Peekskill Youth Bureau Executive Director Tuesday McDonald.
McDonald claimed in a federal lawsuit filed June 27 that two city officials worked together to attempt to “force” her into resigning. She claimed City Manager Matthew Alexander and department head Johnathan Zamora worked together as part of a “concerted effort” to “discriminate and retaliate” against her on account of her gender, disability, and her assertion of rights.
In a resolution authorizing the settlement, the city agreed that in return for a complete release from all claims asserted by McDonald, it would pay $33,333 to her attorney as reimbursement for McDonald’s professional fees related to the action and settlement, and $66,666 to McDonald, as well as other relief.
“The City has denied all fault and wrongdoing of any kind and the proposed settlement of the litigation is being undertaken solely to avoid the costs and risks associated with further litigation,” the resolution stated.
None of the parties or their respective attorneys responded for comment.
The resolution was one of 12 passed at the Common Council meeting and one of three related to lawsuit settlements.
One resolution authorized a bond of $1.8 million to finance the costs of a settled wrongful imprisonment lawsuit by Marc Douglas, who served 14 years in prison after being arrested by Peekskill police in 2006. Another resolution authorized a $2,007.78 settlement of tax certiorari proceedings with Beecher House Condominium.
City Appoints Part-Time Assistant City Judge
Court Attorney April Mckenzie is the City of Peekskill’s new part-time assistant city court judge, as of Tuesday, March 10.
The Peekskill Common Council unanimously passed a resolution appointing April Mckenzie to the position for a statutory term of up to six years, commencing March 10, 2025, and expiring Dec. 31, 2031.
She replaces part-time City Court Judge Lissette Fernandez, who is currently suing the city over claims she was passed over for a full-time position because she filed a complaint that led to the resignation of a former court judge.
According to Mckenzie’s LinkedIn, she has been a court attorney in Peekskill since April 2025. She was a senior associate counsel at the Legal Aid of Society of Westchester County from July 2017 to May 2025. Prior to that she held the titles of student attorney, law clerk, and paralegal.
City of Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie clarified for the public that she and April Mckenzie are not related.
City Awards $500,000 Comprehensive Action Plan Contract
A consultant company has been selected to help the City of Peekskill develop a new long-term comprehensive plan to guide future land use decisions and capital investments by the City of Peekskill.
The council unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with Interboro Partners to provide consulting services for the preparation and development of that plan for $500,000.
Director of Planning Carol Samol said at the March 2 Committee of the Whole meeting that it was a competitive process that received 16 proposals. Interboro Partners is a Brooklyn firm that has managed comprehensive plans across the state, including the Hudson Valley, according to Samol.
Samol said the firm will review city plans, such as waterfront development, and bring them together,. The firm will also meet with residents, canvassing neighborhoods to solicit thoughts and share information. There will also be a steering committee and advisory committee for the project.
“They have this idea of a plan that doesn’t sit on a shelf, that is alive, that is engaging, that will give us land use plans, but will also help us tell the story of who Peekskill will be in 10 years,” Samol said.
Samol said the city would remain occupied in the one-and-a-half to two-year-plus process.
Other resolutions passed by the council on March 9…
- Appointed Jeffrey Grimshaw to the Industrial Development Agency
- Authorized street closures for the Fourth of July Parade to be held on July 4.
- Retained Sterling Appraisals for $13,250 to prepare tax certiorari appraisals and a miscellaneous tax assessment matter for Beach Improvements Owner LLC and VC Bridgewater (Abstained by Mayor McKenzie recused herself due to her ownership in VC Bridgewater)
- Authorized the Water and Sewer superintendent to solicit proposals for an engineering assessment of the upper and lower Wiccopee dams.
- Authorized the city manager to enter into a $24,519 agreement with Pizzella Bros to install a backflow preventer at the water service line for Fleischmann’s Pier.
- Authorized the city’s participation in the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge
- Authorized the city manager to enter into an agreement with Consolidated Edison Company of New York allowing access over and staging on city property at 2 Nelson Avenue and 658 Central Avenue.
The full list of resolutions can be viewed here.
