Mayor’s Message: Downtown Merchants, Hillside Woods, VFW 100th Anniversary/Veterans Day and Fun Fall Events

Dear Everyone,

 

October was filled with many, many magical events – hopefully you and your families were able to enjoy some of them. Special thanks to our amazing Recreation Department and Downtown Advocate for their role in creating the happenings … from the Oz day (with the pink toed baby elephant who now lives at Hastings Hardware) to Friday Night Dead and all the other Halloween treats (including the adorable pet parade). Given the sheer volume of events that staff and residents are creating we’ve added an extra line item to the Board of Trustees agenda on “Upcoming Events” so you can quickly see what’s being planned. It links to the Village website and our IT team has graciously offered to keep it updated there so it is current.

 

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A few months ago I shared links to articles in Westchester Magazine about businesses in our downtown. Since then there has been a bonanza of new coverage including: two pieces featuring Bread and Brine “7 Sensational Seafood Tacos to Eat Before Summer is Over” and “These Westchester Oyster Bars are So ‘Shucking’ Good”; an article on Sakura “Here's Where to Eat Japanese Food in Westchester”; a piece about brunch at Harvest on Hudson “These 6 Brunch Spots Have Epic Hudson River Views”; a rave review about the speakeasy at Divino “Hit This Local Speakeasy for a Roarin' Good Time”; a mouth-watering description of the Coconut Cloud Cake at By the Way Bakery “Unwrap the Best Birthday Cakes in Westchester!”; a feature on two of our newest local businesses Found Herbal “A Westchester Apothecary Launches Their Second Location” and Mossy Fern “A New and Unusual Plant Store Blooms in Westchester”; and finally a piece describing Sunday evening dinner options at Saint George Bistro “These Restaurants Offer Family-Style Dinners That Elevate a Night out”. Saint George Bistro is also participating in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (November 4 to 17) and was listed as one of “36 Top Restaurants in Westchester” 

 

I couldn’t believe how many mentions there were about our Village after scanning back through the last few months of articles – it really is pretty remarkable! Congratulations to all our businesses – the media attention is fantastic but your devotion to the community is what we are all grateful for (from sponsoring sports teams, to donating for raffles, and to coming up with creative, crazy fun ideas like the ones showcased at the Oz day …).  

 

The next set of events to look forward to is the Village Crawl in December, which our Downtown Advocate is busy preparing for, and she will be releasing the “Shop Local Guide” soon. Every resident who shops local is critical to our local merchants … it’s this ongoing patronage that makes our downtown vibrant. Thanks to all of you who came out for the grand openings of Wild Culture, Mossy Fern and NUR Space.

 

The newest addition to our roster of outstanding merchants is Hudson Line, the brainchild of Hastings residents William and Lorna Feeney. Hudson Line offers contemporary furniture and other home goods with many pieces handmade or designed by William as well as works by other artisans.  Follow @hudsonlineshop on Instagram for more information.  Hudson Line (located at 541 Warburton Avenue) will have its grand opening on Saturday, November 2, from 3 to 7 pm, so please come out and celebrate!

 

As always you can check destinationhastings.org for a current list of upcoming downtown events.

 

On Thursday, November 7, from 7 to 8:30 pm at the James Harmon Community Center, the Hillside Woods Steering Committee invites you to an evening of forest festivity. They will unveil the action plan for Hillside Woods. We will hear about the next phase of the project from the arborist we've engaged to work with our Parks and Recreation Superintendent Aaron Podhurst. Come with your questions, and bring your calendars to schedule your time for volunteer opportunities. Many hands will be needed to restore the woods to vitality.

 

The Vine Squad kicks off its season on Saturday, November 9th. The mission of the Vine Squad is to fight the invasive vines that threaten to strangle our trees. Typically, the Squad meets for several hours on a Saturday morning. Join them on Saturday, November 9th, from 10 am to noon. They provide loppers, gloves, safety vests and training. If you have your own equipment, feel free to bring it and use it! Be sure to wear sturdy shoes and clothes. Kids as young as 12 are welcome for this session. Click HERE for more info and to learn where the next lops will be and write to vinesquad@hastingsgov.org to RSVP so they bring enough equipment.  Lopping is therapeutic in all sorts of ways and a very satisfying form of stress management!

 

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The Hastings Historical Society has two upcoming exhibits. The first exhibit, Hastings Way Back When, Then and Now: 13 Iconic Views, runs through Fall of 2020. This exhibit features 13 familiar spots in Hastings photographed three times – circa 1930, circa 1990, and again in the present day. Each of the selected images shows either an important historic site and/or a view in our village that has changed significantly over the years. A description and history of the site accompanies each set of images. The second is a permanent exhibit which covers the Draper family and their extraordinary scientific achievements. The opening reception for both exhibits will be held on Sunday, November 10th from 2 to 4 pm, at the Observatory Cottage in Draper Park. After this the exhibits can be seen during regular Historical Society open hours, Mondays and Thursdays from 11 am to 2 pm, and the first Saturday of every month (excluding July and August) from 2 to 4 pm.

 

Today, November 1^st is the 100^th Anniversary of the chartering of the James Daley Post #200 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Post is named in honor of James Daley, a young resident of Hastings who was killed in action in France on November 5^th, 1918 six days before the armistice ending World War I was signed. James was the last resident of our Village to be killed in that war - he was only 27 years old. Before he was deployed in Europe, James lived with his parents and seven siblings at 20 Maple Avenue, he graduated from our local schools and was a congregant at St Mathews Church. His father, also called James Daley, was the Street Commissioner (now he would be called the Superintendent of Public Works). They were a fairly typical Hastings family … imagine the heartbreak of his mother Mary, his father and his siblings, when they heard the news that he had died days before the war ended …. This history is poignant because it humanizes the sacrifices that so many men and women have made for their country and for their fellow citizens as members of our armed forces. On Monday, November 11^th we will hold our annual Veterans Day ceremony at the VFW – please join us on this solemn occasion to show your respect and gratitude for the sacrifices of our veterans and their families.

 

Our Second Repair Café: November 16

Our second Repair Café will take place on Saturday, November 16^th from 11 to 3 pm at the James Harmon Community Center. As those of you who were at the first one in April will remember, a Repair Café is a pop-up repair shop where you can bring broken items and work with volunteers to fix them for free. The range of items includes: Textiles: minor garment alterations by hand or machine-like seam rips, buttons, hemming, darning, etc. plus stain removal. Mechanical things: items held together by nuts, bolts, screws like toys, chairs, small furniture, etc. Bicycles: replacing tubes, fixing tires, gear alignment, brakes adjusting. Sharp stuff: kitchen knives, gardening tools. Electrical items: lamps, wiring, testing, small appliances. Refreshments will be provided. To learn more contact: HastingsRepairCafe@gmail.com. This is the perfect opportunity to fix all those things cluttering the garage!

 

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You can learn more about HeatSmart at several upcoming events hosted by the Hastings Conservation Commission and the Dobbs Sustainability Task Force, or from fact sheets that can be found in the Community Center, Village Hall lobbies or in the shelves below the bulletin board at the library.  You will also be able to pick up HeatSmart information from Hastings Conservation Commission volunteers during the Repair Café on November 16. There will be a joint village House Tour the afternoon of November 17 to homes that are already using HeatSmart technology. You can get more information and pre-register for the House Tour here and sign up for a free assessment here.

 

Fall leaf season is now in full swing so don’t forget to “love ‘em and leave ‘em” - see here for information and resources, as well as useful advice from our very own Tim Downey who has been promoting sustainable landscaping practices in the Rivertowns for many years.

 

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*Project Share Thanksgiving Dinner (30^th Anniversary) – Tuesday, November 26^th at Hastings High School

 

*Senior Trip to Radio City Music Hall  – Thursday, December 5^th

 

*FNL Lights Up The Night  – Tree Lighting and the Village Crawl to benefit the Hastings Food Pantry - Friday, December 6^th

 

*Drop & Shop Bingo Night – Thursday, December 12^th at the JHCC

 

*Holiday Celebration  – Sunday, December 15^th at the JHCC

 

*Drop & Shop Movie Night – Thursday, December 19^th at the JHCC

 

See you at Hudson Line for wine and cheese on Saturday at 3 pm!

 

Sincerely,

 

Nicola Armacost

Mayor