Peekskill Herald

Years of school work, extracurricular activities, community service and vocational training go into preparing young people in our area for their futures. The dedication of these students and the adults who help them – parents, teachers, volunteers, business and civic organizations – all combine to offer a pathway to rewarding careers and opportunities to give back to their communities. Today the Herald published an article covering some of the young people who were recently honored by several organizations and now look ahead to the next step in their lives. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3KHAQ64

Have a story idea that you’d like to see a reporter from The Herald check out? Ever think of a question that you wish someone would answer? We always want to hear from our readers and here’s your way to reach us. Whether it’s a question regarding a specific event, an economic development project, or just a trend you’ve noticed, we want to hear it. Send us your questions. We’ll review and evaluate the submissions and select those we can answer. We’ll publish the story. Send your question to tips@peekskillherald.com

If a journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step, then the pathway to the City of Peekskill’s vision of 1,000 new apartments was launched with the celebration of a beautiful new park on Main Street this week. Speaking to a crowd of public officials and residents on Tuesday, June 11, City Manager Matt Alexander called the grand opening of the new $1.2 million Pugsley Park the anchor project of Peekskill’s downtown revitalization initiative. Another piece of the city’s grand vision for revitalization was delivered last week when New York state awarded Peekskill a $10 million housing infrastructure grant. Read more here: https://bit.ly/45mt5vI

On the evening of Wednesday, June 5 into the morning of June 6, the City of Peekskill Police Department, along with several other agencies, conducted a joint operation dealing with prostitution and other quality of life issues. Six arrests were made for prostitution as well as one arrest for fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to Peekskill Police Chief Leo Dylewski. Five days after the busts in the downtown for prostitution and illegal drug sales, two men fighting outside a late-night restaurant in the downtown resulted in one of them hospitalized and police searching for the other. Read more here: https://bit.ly/45oNY9V

Where there once stood 45 mobile homes and one of the largest trailer parks in Westchester County, now sits the culmination of a 40 year project. Later today, the Town of Cortlandt will cut the ribbon of a newly constructed “Cortlandt Waterfront Performance Stage.” The town has planned a free afternoon and evening of activities, fun and entertainment for all. The festivities start at 5 pm with a community Touch-A-Truck event. Then from 6-7 pm, enjoy a magic show by internationally acclaimed magician David Levitan. At 7:30 pm grab a lawn chair and enjoy a live music performance by The Fast Lane, NY’s Premiere Eagles Tribute Band. At 8:45 pm, Cortlandt Town Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker, and town officials will officially cut the ribbon and dedicate the new Performance Stage. At 9:00 pm, the community will enjoy a Laser Light Show sponsored by CertainTeed. Food trucks will also be on site for dinner and snacks for purchase. Read about upcoming Cortlandt and Peekskill summer events here: https://bit.ly/3x4zorj

Would Peekskill want smoke-free outdoor dining? The Common Council will find out next week. At its May 28 meeting, the council unanimously passed a resolution scheduling a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the city’s current outdoor smoking code to include outdoor seating areas in the Business Improvement District (BID). The public hearing will be held on June 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council chambers. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3wVPjs0

Three weeks after a story in the Peekskill Herald reported on crime in a downtown Peekskill apartment building committed by homeless trespassers, including allegations of drug dealing and prostitution, new security measures have been added but some residents are still living in fear for their safety. And, the Herald has learned that Peekskill Police average nearly one call a day to Peekskill Plaza, at 901 Main St., constantly investigating reports of unwanted people, suspicious activity, disputes, harassment and disorderly groups. Focus on the unsafe conditions at Peekskill Plaza has drawn the attention of both City of Peekskill officials and the Peekskill Industrial Development Agency (PIDA). The PIDA helped the building owner win extremely favorable property tax reductions on the building beginning in 2005, saving the owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes that would have been paid to Peekskill, Westchester County and the Peekskill City School District. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3Rf4l2K

The Peekskill Herald has started a column, “10 questions…”, for readers to know more about those who work in city government, own businesses, and support our city’s development. Our recent column features Peekskill City Clerk Cassandra Redd. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3KvVHsX

Five multi-family housing developers and the City of Peekskill teamed up to make a winning pitch to New York state, and the prize they won is $10 million in grant money to build new municipal parking that could help bring 1,000 new residential units to Peekskill. Gov. Kathy Hochul included Peekskill as one of the 13 projects in the first round of $67 million in grants from the state’s Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund. The announcement was made on Wednesday, May 29 at a news conference held at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3yQWO3K

The Peekskill Herald has started a column, “10 questions…”, for readers to know more about those who work in city government, own businesses, and support our city’s development. Our recent column features Hugo Pasato, founder of Main Event Barbershop. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3UYW3NE