Mayor’s Message: Eggstravaganza and First Repair Café (today!), Congratulations and Welcome, Earth and Arbor Day, Village Wide Clean-up and Much More!
Posted on: April 13, 2019 - 10:08am
Dear Everyone,
Words-on-Hudson Friday Night Live last weekend was a smashing success! I attended the “Get Your Goddess On” readings in the gorgeous In2Green space created by Lori Slater and team. Many of the writers were local, and as each of them read their poetry or prose, it occurred to me how very lucky we are to have such a talented group of women living right here in our Village. I also caught some memorable performances at Hastings Velo, where Stan Avedon and his team somehow made it seem perfectly natural to have music and performance art in a bike shop. Thanks to everyone involved!
Today’s Events
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Eggstravaganza is on (this is not proper rain!) it will be at Zinsser Field starting at 11 am and is for children ages 2 to 8, and the first Hastings Repair Cafe is today at the James Harmon Community Center from 11 am - 3 pm. See here for more information.
Congratulations Chief Gunther: 2019 Fire Chief of the Year
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The Board of Trustees is delighted to announce that Chief Martin Gunther was selected by the Westchester County Association of Fire Chiefs as the 2019 Fire Chief of the Year. We are proud of Marty’s achievements and honored to have him as a member of our community. If you run into Marty, please thank him for his service to our Village. There will be a celebratory presentation at April 17 at 6:30 pm at the Rye Firehouse at 15 Locust Avenue and everyone is welcome to attend.
Welcome to New Businesses: Reminder to Shop Local
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As we read about retail shutdowns everywhere else our downtown is bustling with action, thanks to our Downtown Advocate, four new downtown businesses have opened up shop in the Village, all run by Hastings residents. Miguel Lacruz and Gabriela Montiel, proprietors of "Wild Culture Waffles," have signed a lease at 579 Warburton Avenue in the Movie House Mews (#5). Jessica Mullin's "Found Herbal" found a future home at 10 Main Street. William and Lorna Feeney will open "Hudson Line", a hand-crafted home furnishings shop, at 541 Warburton Avenue (the former Chelsea's Closet), and Joanna Prisco's "The Good Witch Coffee Bar" will soon occupy our Metro North train station with a family-friendly cafe featuring a coffee bar and bake shop as well as a rotating calendar of events for both children and adults. Please shop local and help all our businesses thrive!
Earth Day Call to Action Update: April 22
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Thanks to everyone who has already sent in ideas for celebrating Earth Day especially our elementary and middle school kids (and the “young at heart” crew). In a sneak preview to the Earth Day newsletter, many kids suggested that we plant trees and spend time cleaning up the Village together and the next two items are invitations to do just that …
Local Arbor Day Events: April 23 and 25
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Arbor Day is the annual observance of the importance of trees in our lives. It was first observed in Nebraska in 1872 and is a day when people around the world plant trees and celebrate environmental stewardship. Our Village was recognized as a Tree City USA Community by the National Arbor Day Foundation 34 years ago, and the Village has proclaimed April 26 as Arbor Day. Join our tireless Recreation Department team to help plant two beautiful trees near Sugar Pond at 3:15 pm on April 23rd and April 25th. Refreshments will be served. Also, if you want to be involved in preserving Hillside Woods - our very own 100 acre woods which always reminds me of Winnie the Pooh - email the Conservation Commission which is working with the Parks and Rec to enlist residents in the “Friends of Hillside Woods,” a group that will help sustain the restoration efforts.
Village Wide Clean-up Weekend: April 27 and 28
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Around this time every year members of the community select a part of the Village to clean up. They gather a group of people and spend a few hours picking up trash, clearing paths and passageways, day-lighting sidewalks, and doing other generally civic-minded things that involve tidying the outdoors. Now is the time to find a place you want to work on (or call the Rec Department for ideas), gather a group of friends and/or neighbors and get to work! Closer to the date we will flag some areas where there is need for coordinated action. Trash bags will be available at the Recreation Center and our fabulous DPW will cart all the rubbish away.
National Drug Take Back Day: April 27
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The Hastings Drug Free Coalition is hosting a National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday April 27th from 10 am to 2 pm at the VFW. In this innovative take on recycling, you can safely dispose of expired or no longer needed medication.
RiverArts Studio Tour: April 27
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Save the date for the RiverArts Studio Tour which will be the weekend of April 27th and 28th. The preview exhibition is already up at the Municipal Building in Hastings and will be available all of this month: https://riverarts.org/studio-tour-preview-shows/. You will be amazed by the sheer number of incredible artists we have here in the Village!
Planning for May
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Please save the date for our annual Spring Thing which will be Sunday May 19th from 12-4 PM. This beloved annual event will feature live music, family amusements, The Museum Of Interesting Things, street vendors, and a local Hastings-on-Hudson vintage car show set amidst our lovely shops and restaurants along Warburton Avenue which will be closed to traffic that afternoon. If your community group would like a table, or you have a special automobile that you would like to showcase on that day please reach out to Barbara Prisament at (downtownadvocate@hastingsgov.org) or Lisa O'Reilly (loreilly@hastingsgov.org). See www.destinationhastings.org for a full list of upcoming downtown events.
The Memorial Day Parade will be Sunday, May 26, 2019 starting at 2 PM – more on this later but for now please save the date.
Technology
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Several people have asked why my emails seem to be coming from Mayor Swiderski. Apparently, if you have designated hastings@hastingsgov.org or mayor@hastingsgov.org as Mayor Swiderski in your address book then it will appear as if the email has come from Mayor Swiderski. If you’d like the correct name to show up please designate mayor@hastingsgov.org as Mayor Armacost (and I promise Peter is not ghost-writing these emails!).
Reminders
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* Yard waste is now being picked up on most Wednesdays. (DPW Calendar)
* The last indoor Farmer’s Market will be on April 20th and the first outdoor one will be on May 4th.
* The Camp and pool registrations are due during April.
Sincerely,
Nicola Armacost
Mayor