CITY OF PEEKSKILL
Teachers School Police and Firefighters in Friendly Game of Hoops
“The Books vs. Badges.” Peekskill Middle School teachers accepted a challenge from the City of Peekskill Fire and Police Departments to a friendly game of basketball on Wednesday, April 22, and made the grade with a victory.
The fire department wrote on social media the game was to celebrate the hard work of the students that just completed annual state testing and to give them “some time to focus on fun, taking a break from studying.”
“We are glad to report that everyone had a blast, and no injuries were reported – plenty of soreness today, but no injuries!” The fire department wrote. “We’re always grateful to get out into our community, especially our great schools, and have some fun! We look forward to the next one! (After some ice, Tylenol, and a little rest!)”
The Peekskill Police Department wrote: “Peekskill Middle School faculty, along with members of the Peekskill Police Department, Peekskill Fire Department and Peekskill EMS went above and beyond to accomplish this goal. Everyone had a blast! Thank you to all who participated, the Books took the win, but, a rematch is in order!”
Kenya Tilford Sentenced to Life in Prison for Peekskill Murder
Kenya Tilford has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the torture and murder of Peekskill native Concetta Morton in 2023. The office of Westchester County District Attorney described it as the first time a torture-murder case has been prosecuted in the county’s history.
Judge George Fufidio imposed the sentence Thursday morning, April 23, and provided permanent orders of protection for Tilford’s multiple victims, according to a press release from the DA’s office.
Tilford, 43, of New Rochelle, was convicted at trial in March of murder in the first degree, under the torture-murder provision of that statute, in additon to multiple other felonies.
Morton, a 27-year-old developmentally disabled woman who was dating Tilford, moved in with Tilford at her New Rochelle apartment in 2023.
New Rochelle police previously said that Tilford tortured Morton for three months and ultimately caused her death by asphyxiation before concealing Morton’s body inside a storage bin at her apartment in New Rochelle. During this period, Tilford was captured on surveillance video purchasing a hooded coverall, bleach, tarps, paper towels, rubber gloves, a chainsaw, and the storage bin in which Morton’s body was found.
Tilford was also charged with intimidating one individual, threatening another individual with a knife, physically and sexually assaulting one intimate partner, and sexually assaulting and attempting to physically assault another intimate partner whom she also allegedly intimidated.
The New Rochelle Police Department arrested Tilford on Sept. 15, 2023, at an Elmsford hotel after Tarrytown police received a tip about the victim’s deceased body.
Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said in a press release, “There are no words that can adequately convey the horrors experienced by Concetta Morton at the hands of the defendant, who tortured her with deliberate cruelty for three months before suffocating her to death.
“Today, after years of sustained effort from this office, the New Rochelle Police Department, the Dunn family and the surviving victims of Ms. Tilford’s sexual abuse, the Westchester community can finally begin to heal from these traumas. Ms. Tilford will be spending the rest of her life in prison.
“I want to commend the tireless, painstaking work of the New Rochelle police, who investigated this case so thoroughly, and the ingenuity of my office’s Hi-Tech unit, which unlocked critical pieces of evidence for use at trial. The frontline prosecutors and trial assistant who so expertly managed this case helped ensure today’s resolution.
“I hope that with this sentence, Ms. Morton may finally rest in peace, and that the Dunn family may find a small measure of comfort knowing she has finally achieved the justice in the afterlife that was denied to her during her brief time on Earth.”
The case was investigated by the New Rochelle Police Department and the Hi-Tech Unit within the District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Division Chief Lana Hochheiser and Sr. Assistant District Attorney Courtney Johnson with the assistance of Alessia Vicari.
Court Vacates Former Councilman’s Misdemeanor Plea After Community Service
Former Democratic Peekskill Councilman Robert Scott’s misdemeanor plea for governmental obstruction on Oct. 7, 2025 was vacated, leaving him charged only with a violation of disorderly conduct after he did a required 250 hours of community service.
Scott withdrew his misdemeanor plea at a sentencing at the White Plains City Court on Monday, April 20. It comes two years after he was arrested and charged with filing designating petitions containing forged signatures for a seat on the county Board of Legislators in the June 2023 Democratic Primary.
The misdemeanor plea conditions from Oct. 7 required Scott commit to 250 hours of community service within 365 days. Because he met the conditions, he was able to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of government obstruction.
At his sentencing, Scott acknowledged to White Plains City Court Judge Eric Press that the process had been “really tough” on his family. Press said Scott’s penance was his community service and that he could move on with his life.
Scott and his attorney declined to comment at the sentencing. Scott and did not respond to a request for comment over the phone. Scott’s attorney Mayo Bartlett declined to comment when reached by phone.
Scott was elected to the Peekskill Common Council in 2021. His term expired on Dec. 31, 2025. The plea deal struck in fall of 2025 did not require him to step down from his seat.
- Eric Harvey
Foreclosure Settlement Conference Seeks to Resolve Peekskill Tax Liens
It’s a dispute between a city seeking to fund essential services for residents, homeowners fighting to stay in their homes, and property owners leaving properties vacant to dry.
After the City of Peekskill filed tax foreclosure lawsuits against 25 properties with unpaid taxes from 2016 to 2019 totaling $1.56 million, a foreclosure settlement conference was held at the White Plains Supreme County court on Tuesday, April 21.
Christopher Feldman, Harris Beach Murtha attorney for the City of Peekskill, told Judge Doris Gonzalez that three of the 20 property owners have since paid the taxes that they owe across four properties, including for the former Clinton Funeral Home at 730 Division St. North, which owed $131,594.
Five property owners were released by the judge, meaning the defendant failed to appear after being properly notified or appeared but failed to settle their case. The release enables the city to file a motion with the court to order that the property is handed over to the city. Property owners have until Sept. 23 to pay all delinquent taxes on the property.
Many of the other properties require the notice of foreclosure to be renoticed due to mail returning or the locations being vacant. Many of the listed property owners did not respond to the foreclosure notices, which Judge Gonzalez acknowledged could be due to some owners being deceased.
There were three present property and homeowners at the settlement conference, each telling the judge and attorney they were attempting to make payments. One property owner told the judge her late husband used to take care of the taxes at three properties until he died two years ago.
An agent from a condominium was attempting to redeem a condo currently in use by a tenant and owned by a property owner apparently residing in Australia who has allegedly not paid taxes since 2018.
Judge Gonzalez was sympathetic to one homeowner and his family, who were in tears. She told him she knew he was trying to pay it and that he was worried about losing his home, but that he had to take action to pay the taxes. She said the City of Peekskill, which she noted had to do a lot of work due to the bad winter, requires those taxes to pay for their services.
Gonzalez also said those attempting to sell were not getting a return on properties and that she couldn’t resolve settlements if people can’t sell their properties.
Attorney Ralph Leonart was at the conference not for a specific case but identified himself as an interested party to provide counsel to homeowners, some of whom expressed interest in his services.
The foreclosure settlement conference was adjourned to July.
- Eric Harvey
Maria Gordineer Wins 2026 State Financial Aid Award
Peekskill High School’s Maria Gordineer was selected as a winner of the 2026 New York State Financial Aid Navigator Award, Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Mauricio shared in his weekly newsletter of April 17.
The award celebrates individuals who have gone above and beyond guiding students and families through the complexities of financial aid, ensuring they receive the support they need to succeed.
The newsletter said that in Goordineer’s 20 plus years of working at Peekskill High School, she has secured millions of dollars in scholarships for Peekskill City School District students.
City Looking for Juneteenth Participants
The City of Peekskill is holding its 15th annual Juneteenth Parade and Festival on Saturday, June 20 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Peekskill.
The city seeks parade participants, entertainers, food vendors, craft vendors, retail/merchandise vendors, and community vendors.
Those interested in participating can click here. For more information, contact Darryl Francis at [email protected]
Civic Hub Project Is Moving into Next Phase
The contractor of the new “Civic Hub” project has completed the necessary utility work in advance of construction at Brown Plaza, the Peekskill Business Improvement District and City of Peekskill wrote in a joint social media post on Friday, April 24.
The gazebo at North Division Street and Park Street is part of the Downtown Civic Hub and Public Realm Improvements project. It will be reprogrammed to “create a more attractive and functional civic space” to host Peekskill’s public events and accommodate more visitors for daily social gatherings.
Park Street, along with on-street parking and sidewalks, is now fully reopened. In certain locations, areas have been temporarily backfilled with asphalt (pictured), however all brickwork, concrete cubing, and sidewalks will be fully restored as part of the project once construction is complete, the BID and city wrote.
With utility work finished, the project is now moving into the next phase. Construction work is scheduled to begin during the week of May 4 as construction on Brown Plaza gets underway.
“We appreciate the community’s patience and will continue to share updates as this project continues to progress,” the BID and city wrote.
TOWN OF CORTLANDT
Former Toddville Elementary School Being Replaced by Self-Storage
Town of Cortlandt supervisor Richard Becker shared the following in his weekly newsletter on Friday, April 24…
Construction Notice: Demolition of the former Toddville elementary school on Route 202 and Locust Avenue has commenced. It will be followed by the construction of a new self-storage facility.
The Town Planning Board, after a year-long review, approved a 75,000 sq. ft. self-storage facility. The Toddville School was built in 1930 and closed in 1976. The building was later used by Consolidated Edison and subsequently Hudson Valley Hospital Center. It was subsequently sold for redevelopment.
This vacant and now privately owned building was dilapidated and had been subject to repeated acts of vandalism. The Planning Board worked with the applicant, a local resident, and his design team to ensure that the self-storage facility was designed to reflect the character of the former school building.
The 3-story storage building will be clad in a brick veneer with horizontal banding, a limestone veneer base and symmetrically aligned windows. While the Town was sad to see the Toddville School demolished, it is hoped that the new building will blend into the existing mixed-use character of Route 202. And, with this use, it will not increase any traffic or congestion along the Route 202 corridor.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
DA Cacace Announces 244 Gun Arrests, 220 Crime Guns Seized in 2025
Local police agencies across Westchester County made 244 arrests in 2025 incidents related to a gun crime, recovering a total of 220 firearms, announced County District Susan Cacace in a press release on April 20.
Among the 220 firearms recovered in 2025 were 16 ghost guns, representing a 33 percent increase in the number of ghost gun recoveries compared to the prior year. According to the DA’s office, ghost guns are unserialized, untraceable firearms made with 3D printers or assembled from partially finished gun parts.
Guns were recovered most frequently from Yonkers (102 guns recovered), Mount Vernon (56), New Rochelle (14) and White Plains (12).
The majority (70 percent) of arrestees were from Westchester, with the remaining portion coming from other New York State counties (19 percent) and from out of state (11 percent). Of the out-of-state arrestees, half were from Connecticut.
The DA’s office said the plurality of arrestees were between 21 and 30 years of age (36 percent), followed by 20 and under (24 percent), 31 to 40 years old (17 percent) and 41 to 50 years old (16 percent), with the remaining age categories each constituting five percent or less of the total number of arrestees.
Cacace stated: “Gun violence is among the most pernicious public safety challenges we face as a county, permanently shattering families and tearing apart communities in an instant. Removing 220 guns from the streets represents substantially fewer opportunities for criminals to use these weapons to bring harm to our loved ones and neighbors.
“Coordination with our local law enforcement agencies is instrumental to these efforts, and I commend the committed work of our front-line partners that has made a significant dent in the incidence of gun crime in recent years.
“My administration will continue pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy in our efforts to combat gun violence, focusing on undercover work, precision policing, aggressive prosecution of firearm offenses and sponsorship of gun buyback events.”
STATE OF NEW YORK
Four Harckham Environmental Bills Are Passed in Senate
State Sen. Pete Harckham had four of his bills passed by the Senate on April 21 as part of its package of Earth Day legislation, which Harckham’s office said was advanced to protect New Yorkers and the state’s natural environment.
A press release from Harckham’s office stated the bills included measures to invest in electrification and solar infrastructure, reduce waste and emissions, and remove harmful substances from the state’s environment.
Among the bills passed was the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act, which raises New York’s distributed solar target to 20 GW from 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2035 and streamlines the process for connecting new projects to the grid.
Harckham’s office said the bill also revives the NY-SUN program, making solar more accessible to homeowners, and directs the Public Service Commission to advance reforms to the utility interconnection process to ensure timely and cost-effective integration of new small-scale solar energy projects. The enactment of the legislation will save ratepayers $1 billion per year, according to a study from Synapse Energy Economics.
Another bill passed will enable the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to administer a program that would provide grants, loans, and other assistance to help residences switch to electric heat pumps from delivered propane or fuel-oil heating systems.
Harckham’s office said other passed bills aim to protect the environment: one would prohibit the use of grade number four fuel oil in any building or facility in New York State after July 1, 2030, and the other would extend and enhance the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act. It would also require manufacturer and producer responsibility organizations to submit a mercury collection plan and create a cash incentive to turn in old mercury thermostats for proper and safe disposal.
“When it comes to transitioning from dirty, expensive fossil fuels to affordable clean energy and effectively safeguarding our environment, New York needs a bold vision and real action,” Harckham said in a release. “I thank Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for bringing these bills to the floor, and I thank my talented Senate colleagues for their important contributions to the Earth Day legislative package as well.”
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