Stay Aware and Get Involved

By Dean Gallea
 

Public meetings are great opportunities for Tarrytown residents to communicate directly with Village officials – the Mayor, Trustees and others – on any issues that concern them.

Each meeting (held on Zoom during the pandemic restrictions) provides a period during which residents may speak out on agenda items or – for Board of Trustees Meetings – on any topic they like.

All meetings have their minutes posted publicly, are broadcast live on the Government cable TV channel, and are recorded for later viewing on the website.

There are several large residential building projects proposed in Tarrytown, and these projects bear scrutiny by residents. As plans develop, these large projects go through a process of public hearings, modifications and permitting and involve many public meetings of both the Tarrytown Planning Board and the Board of Trustees and TEAC encourages all Village residents to look at the meeting agendas posted on the Village website, and consider if there is anything they wish to convey to the officials, or put on the public record.

Large development projects have the potential to change the way Tarrytown looks and feels, the way people move through the village, and the general quality of life, the very things that make the Village an enjoyable, healthy place to live, work, or raise a family.

• The “built environment” – Massing of buildings, sightline intrusion; architecture and landscaping; changes in traffic patterns; beautification of former industrial sites
• Transportation – Increases in motor vehicle “trips”; increased needs for a shuttle, ride sharing, zip cars, bicycles or shared e-bikes, potentially slowing traffic through the Village; transit-oriented development (TOD) for housing can reduce car trips; crowding at the train station; noise from transportation
• Carbon footprint – Use of electricity, heating fuel, gasoline and diesel fuels, production of trash, loss of green space; higher density housing can reduce energy needs per unit; potential carbon mitigation using green building principles, geothermal heat-pumps and solar generation
• Population increase – Revitalization of downtown, bringing new business into Village; increasing demands on existing roads, infrastructure, schools and institutions; Increased use of in parks and main streets, influx of visitors from outside the Village

Many of the potential negative concerns can be alleviated by careful, intelligent design, limits on density and building heights, and studying and remediating projects’ effects on traffic. Tarrytown residents deserve the very finest decision-making and expertise from our officials as the Village evolves. Your participation and informed questioning in our public meetings can help ensure we get the best results and avoid pitfalls.

Where do textile recyclables go? 

We interviewed Green Tree Textile Recycling who collects clothes and shoes (and any textiles) at the TaSH Farmers market on Saturdays during market season and also has a permanent collection bin in the lobby of at 5535 Main St. in Tarrytown. Watch the Youtube video of the shredding process.