Mayor's Message: Climate Action Month, Climate Smart Community Status, EV Charging Station Ribbon Cutting, Pollinator Gardens and more
Posted on: September 12, 2019 - 9:09pm
Dear Everyone,
Every year, sometime in September, New York is host to an annual United Nations Climate Action Summit. The goal of the Summit is to bring world leaders together to discuss specific, realistic plans to reduce carbon emissions, with an ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2050. You might be thinking, “OK, fine, but what has that got to do with our Village?” Well, actually, it has everything to do with us, as well as every other village, town and city around the world: we each need to each contribute in a concrete meaningful way if we are going to achieve that target.
In 2017, the Village Board of Trustees passed a resolution pledging our commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change—but what really counts is action, and I wanted to share some of what the staff and volunteers in our community are spearheading and what you can do to help.
Climate Smart Community Update
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Last year we were designated a Clean Energy Community by NYSERDA, and in 2010 we formally pledged to participate in the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Climate Smart Community (CSC) program. This April, we set ourselves the goal of becoming a Bronze level Climate Smart Community, meaning that we decided to consciously take further practical steps to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions here in the Village. The CSC process is rigorous and requires participating municipalities to complete and document sustainability actions using a well-thought-out point system. At our last Board of Trustees Meeting, Trustee Lemons reported that we have completed enough actions to qualify for Bronze status (the next filing period is January 2020 and we will submit our paperwork then).
Actions we’ve already completed and documented include: drafting a government and a community GHG emissions inventory; installing LED lighting; signing up for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s WasteWise program; developing a residential organic waste program; adopting a Complete Streets policy; incorporating sustainability into our Comprehensive Plan; promoting our local farmer’s market; installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations; participating in Community Choice Aggregation (CCA); developing a unified solar permitting process; and undertaking a solarize campaign. Two of the obligatory actions that were pending are designating a Climate Smart Community Coordinator and creating a Climate Smart Community Task Force. We’ve now done both of those things: we appointed Joseph Cerretani, the Village Clerk, as our Climate Smart Community Coordinator at our August 20th meeting, and we formally created a Climate Smart Community Task Force (CSCTF) at our meeting on September 1st. The members of the CSCTF will be announced at our September 17th meeting.
Special thanks to our amazing intern Levi Matza who tracked down all the supporting documentation that demonstrates we have completed these actions – Levi was patient and persistent in getting the paperwork together and we couldn’t have done it without him! Thanks also to the volunteers from our Conservation Commission and the Energy Working Group, and to all the municipal staff who provided Levi with what he needed, with special appreciation for Mike Gunther and the DPW team, Joe Cerretani and the Finance Team, and Raf Zaratzian, our Technology Manager.
When the CSCTF meets, its members will ensure we have our ducks in a row for achieving Bronze status and they will identify and prioritize the actions needed to help us get to Silver status. To reach Silver, and eventually perhaps even Gold status, we will need to take a number of practical steps to reduce GHG emissions, and because the greatest amount of emissions come from our residential sector, many actions will require active citizen participation. We are counting on all of you to help us get to the next level! Please email: climatesmart@hastingsgov.org if you’d like to get involved.
National Drive Electric Week: September 14 to 22
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At our last Board of Trustees Meeting, we joined other municipalities throughout the United State in passing a resolution proclaiming the week of September 14 to 22 National Drive Electric Week in Hastings-on-Hudson. The goal of this proclamation is to educate our citizens about the benefits of plug-in EVs and to promote their adoption. As a Board, we believe it’s important to support the move toward using clean energy technology, including EVs, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and support a healthy environment and economy. So if you haven’t test-driven an EV yet, this is the week to do it!
EV Charging Station Ribbon Cutting: September 14, 1 to 3 pm
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As part of our EV promotion efforts, on September 14 from 1 to 3 pm, we are having a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new EV charging stations in the Steinschneider parking lot, (behind the buildings on the west side of Warburton Avenue between Spring St. and West Main St.). It will be one of more than 300 National Drive Electric Week events around the US. In addition to seeing how the charging station works, you’ll be able to test-drive a BMW i3, take a ride in a Nissan Leaf, and check out the Chevy Bolt and Tesla's Roadster, Model 3 and Model S. So come out, grab some materials, talk with EV owners about their experiences and take a ride in an EV. To entice you to come, the first 40 people to show up will get an appreciation gift courtesy of Nissan (laptop bags, water bottles or pop sockets etc.). The purchase of the charging stations was subsidized through an NYSDEC grant of $16,000 which covered 80% of the installation cost, and was pioneered by our Energy Working Group with support from Trustee Lemons and Rafael Zaratzian. We are grateful for the many hours everyone spent in making this happen.
Car Free Day: September 20th
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Car Free Day is a free international event celebrated every September, in which people are encouraged to get around without driving alone in cars, and instead ride a train, bus, subway, bicycle, carpool, vanpool, or walk. In 2018, more than 1,250 Hudson Valley Commuters went car-free on Car Free Day – the goal is to have at least double that number this year. For those of you who can work from home or who drive an electric vehicle, EVs and telework counts. Help make Car Free Day 2019 a success: just fill out the pledge form which you can find HERE, then go car-free or go car-lite on Friday, September 20th. If you’re already car-free that’s great, and since you’re doing the right thing, you also get the same chance to win prizes when you fill out the free pledge form!
HeatSmart Dobbs Ferry-Hastings Campaign: September 21st, 3 to 4:30 pm
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Everyone is invited to our “HeatSmart Campaign” launch party on Saturday, September 21, from 3 to 4:30 pm at the James Harmon Community Center on Main St. The Hastings and Dobbs Ferry HeatSmart initiative seeks to save residents money while helping the environment by simplifying the purchase and installation of next-gen heating and cooling heat pump technology, providing energy efficiency audits and helping residents takes advantage of state and federal incentives. As a special bonus, the program offers a donation for each system installed. We are delighted that the Hastings-on-Hudson Fire Department was the selected donation recipient. The launch party will also have information about how to sign up for community solar–participants can go solar with savings of approximately 10% on their Con Edison bill, with no upfront costs or solar on their roof. Learn more and sign up for a free assessment HERE.
Everyone is invited to our “HeatSmart Campaign” launch party on Saturday, September 21, from 3 to 4:30 pm at the James Harmon Community Center on Main St. The Hastings and Dobbs Ferry HeatSmart initiative seeks to save residents money while helping the environment by simplifying the purchase and installation of next-gen heating and cooling heat pump technology, providing energy efficiency audits and helping residents takes advantage of state and federal incentives. As a special bonus, the program offers a donation for each system installed. We are delighted that the Hastings-on-Hudson Fire Department was the selected donation recipient. The launch party will also have information about how to sign up for community solar–participants can go solar with savings of approximately 10% on their Con Edison bill, with no upfront costs or solar on their roof. Learn more and sign up for a free assessment HERE.
Pollinator Garden Challenge
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Reports on the endangered monarch butterfly plus a worldwide insect habitat loss have galvanized people around the country and the world into protecting habitats for pollinators. The Conservation Commission is liaising with the other Rivertowns on the Pollinator Pathways project, a regional effort that seeks to create a pollinator “greenway” from the Housatonic to the Hudson, adding to efforts like the nation-wide Million Pollinator Gardens initiative. Pollinator gardens are also beautiful! Sometime this fall the Conservation Commission will host a presentation on how you can nurture a garden that promotes the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and other pollinators.
Reports on the endangered monarch butterfly plus a worldwide insect habitat loss have galvanized people around the country and the world into protecting habitats for pollinators. The Conservation Commission is liaising with the other Rivertowns on the Pollinator Pathways project, a regional effort that seeks to create a pollinator “greenway” from the Housatonic to the Hudson, adding to efforts like the nation-wide Million Pollinator Gardens initiative. Pollinator gardens are also beautiful! Sometime this fall the Conservation Commission will host a presentation on how you can nurture a garden that promotes the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and other pollinators.
Love ’Em and Leave ’Em
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Fall leaf season is nearly upon us. The best thing you can do with your leaves for the health of your yard and our environment is to mulch them right into the grass with a mulching mower, or allow them to decompose-in-place on planted areas. Leaves provide humus and nutrients that your soil will thank you for! See the Irvington-generated LELE website for resources and more info and please encourage your landscaper to “love ‘em and leave ‘em”.
Recycle Right App
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Sustainable Westchester has developed an app with hyper-local information on how, when and what to recycle. It’s free and you can download from the App Store: just search for: “westchester recycling.” You can use its search feature for many of your recycling questions. Westchester County urges you to Recycle Right! This means: clean your containers; do not include any film plastic (e.g. plastic bags) in your curbside pickup; and be sure to separate streams properly to avoid contamination (no paper in containers stream; no plastic or metal in paper; no food residues in anything – except in compost!). Questions? Email conservationcommission@hastingsgov.org.
Stay tuned for more ideas and concrete actions from our Conservation Commission, Energy Working Group, and Climate Smart Communities Task Force, if you want to do something about climate change right here in Hastings. Thanks to all of these groups and to Trustee Lemons who has moved this agenda forward for us.
Other Upcoming Events: Save the Dates
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* National POW/MIA Recognition Day – Friday September 20th, 9:30 am, Flagpole at Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1, 50 Main Street (near JHCC)
* Public Forum on Downtown Improvements – Monday September 23, 2019, 7:00 pm -presentation from Gisolfi Associates followed by Public Comment. Please come and share your ideas!
* Friday Night Live Oktoberfest and Fire Department Demonstrations – Friday October 4th (rain date October 11th)
And finally, as per my last newsletter (click here to view), see you tonight at the opening of “We're Not In Kansas Anymore: Journeys to Places Real and Imagined’ at Village Hall, or at one of the Grand Openings, or at the EV Ribbon Cutting on Saturday!
Sincerely,
Nicola Armacost
Mayor