Message from the Mayor: School starts, downtown openings, Community Build, music festival, transitions

Fellow Residents;
 
With the transition of summer holidays to the school year, there is a fair amount going on worth covering.  There’s activity downtown, a music festival, a Community Build, and some transitions to note.
 
School coming up and safe driving
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Shockingly, we are a week away from the re-start of school (!). Next week, Tuesday, September 4th, school reopens and traffic patterns change everywhere as crossing guards appear and our children begin walking to school. Crosswalks have been restriped and crossing sign stanchions posted. Please drive slowly and keep eyes out in all directions. Carelessness can have real consequences; speed can kill.
 
We intend to be upgrading some of the streets around the school as school safety zones in the next few weeks, with 15 mile-per-hour speed limits: traffic violation fines in safety areas are also stiffer. We will be requesting the Police Department to be exceptionally merciless in ticketing in these zones, but they can’t be everywhere at all times. It’s on you to keep your speed in check. No commuter train or appointment requires speeding. Just leave the house a few minutes earlier.
 
The wet summer has left us with tropical levels of growth everywhere that needs addressing. If you own property that abuts a sidewalk, please take a look this weekend and trim back hedges and grass if necessary to ensure our children have clear passage to and from to school. Same with stop signs and lines of sight.  It is your obligation and responsibility.  Over-growth shouldn’t be forcing pedestrians onto streets.
 
Downtown
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Some updates on the activity underway in a number of the storefronts downtown: 
  • First, a pop-up coffee bar and bake shop based in Hastings has entered into lease negotiations with the MTA to take over the former Station Cafe space. They hope to officially announce an opening date in the near future. 
  • We will soon have (as early as September) a new retail shop at 5 Main St: named "Observatory" and described by Hastings owners Amanda Hsiao and Jacqui Kessman as "a lifestyle shop based in fiberworks including knitting, crocheting, macrame, and looming". They will stock natural yarns and supplies from around the world along with home textiles, home decor, apparel, jewelry - all items that are made by hand. They are also very excited to offer an array of classes for adults and kids alike.
  • Up the block, slated for September as well, business partners Jeremy McLellan and Alex Sze will offer a larger Bread & Brine, with an expanded menu to go along with it (featuring the seafood favorites they serve now, plus new options for meat lovers, vegans, and more).
  • Lastly, by December we hope to see the long-awaited opening of a “Palo Vivo”, a new restaurant at 555 Warburton Avenue, (the former “Hastings House” at the key central position in the center of town). This Latin Rustic restaurant which will include a rooftop bar.
There is interest in other spaces downtown and we will announce as they become more solidified, but there are still a couple of opportunities and spaces available, so any interested parties should reach out to our erstwhile Downtown  Advocate (here: downtownadvocate@hastingsgov.org ) to discuss ideas and possibilities.
 
James Street
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The public hearing for the James Street traffic modification has been set for the Board of Trustee meeting on Tuesday, September 25 at 7:30.  The Board seeks to pass a law (and the attendant signage to warn drivers in several locations) that will prohibit during morning rush hour a left turn from High Street onto James Street (or Hudson or Warren) for anyone, and in the evening rush, no left turn onto James or Jordan from Tompkins.  We will be starting a traffic count that week at a couple of locations to set a baseline for the traffic levels before implementation of this law and then we will be following up later to see the impacts.
 
Community Build
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The Uniontown Field project is coming to its end. The field has been enlarged to regulation size, reseeded, and new fencing is up. A new parking lot has been shoehorned in with 30+ units of parking, paved and ready for use. And the new playground equipment has been spec’ed out, ordered and will be ready to be installed via a Community Build event on Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16, 9AM to 4PM.  If you are interested in participating in the community playground version of a barn raising, we will love your help (and it is fun too).  Come for an hour or the day: no experience needed. Builders must be 18 years of age or older. Reach out to our Parks and Rec Director Aaron Podhurst (apodhurst@hastingsgov.org) and he will set you up.
 
Transitions
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I want to take a moment to note some transitions, both happy and sad.
 
After 30 years of service, Valerie Harmon is retiring from her role in the Parks and Recreation department supervising the pool.  Over the decades, it is fair to say that several generations of Hastings’ children were touched by her.  Whether learning how to swim, participating in summer programs, or enjoying the pool, she taught our children safety, and ensured they enjoyed the remarkable resource that is the pool. I keep saying that Hastings is the sum of the contributions of the people who put life and soul into their job. She did. We are richer for it. We wish her the best on the next steps in her journey.
 
On a sadder note, I wanted also to acknowledge the untimely passing of Liz Sipes Liebeskind earlier this month after a brave fight against cancer. Until recently a resident of the Village, Liz was the artistic soul of Hastings. She created and fostered the annual “Take Me To The River” music festival extravaganza that was hugely popular, but there was so much more that will resonate with those who have been here for a few years: Bread and Puppet Theater, Toast, Warhol Factory, American Buffalo performance, light shows on the river and so much more. You went to any of them, and you were entranced by the raw creative energy underpinning the effort. Art exists to tell us something about ourselves: hers did, and enchanted us. Come to Maceachron Park on September 9th, 2018 at 3PM to hear music and tributes to Liz. I can see her now, in her paint-splashed Volkswagen, riding into the beyond (Liz-lovers will know what I mean).  Boy, we’re going to miss her.
 
It would seem remiss not to mention the passing of Senator John McCain. While we typically refrain from commenting on what occurs beyond the four corners of Hastings, his passing has struck so many as a real loss and reminder of what public service can be, what honor and bravery look like, that disagreeing doesn’t have to result in demonizing or degrading one’s opponent, and that decency and integrity matter. The nation desperately needs a good dose of his spirit.  He would readily admit his faults and deny that what he did was extraordinary – but he knew that public service is an honor and that integrity matters, and may we all learn from his example.
 
September 8th River Spirit Festival
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Finally, very much in keeping with Liz’s original spirit and intent, the River Spirit music festival is Saturday, September 8th (raindate the next day) in Draper Park.  It has the usual, expected cornucopia of bands on 3 stages from 1PM to 9PM: eight hours of music.  It features some cult favorites that ensure a good time (Slambovan Circus of Dreams and Oaks&Ash), as well as local favorites as well.  There’s an abundance of activities for kids, artisan vendors, and a full range of food vendors that you will be unable to exhaust in the time available.  Wine, beer is available as well.  A bargain, if you pause to think about the hourly cost, at $35 an adult for eight hours of music (kids cheaper: go here https://riverspiritfestival.com/festival/tickets  ).  This is the event you invite your out-of-town friends for the day, bring some beach chairs, and show off how good you have it here. Not to be missed, and a great way to kick off the end of the summer. I’ll be there all day.
 
Enjoy these last days of the summer holidays, and welcome back to school for the children and families.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mayor Peter Swiderski