From Monuments, To Settlements, To Roundabouts: Supervisor's Address

TOWN OF MAMARONECK, NY — If you think you had a busy year, just wait until you hear how much local officials got accomplished in 2024.

In her annual address, Mamaroneck Town Supervisor Jaine Elkind Eney outlined the progress made and the groundwork laid for future plans that will affect the lives of all of the town's residents and workers.

Elkind Eney unpacked the the town's financial milestones and challenges. She addressed plans to keep pedestrians and drivers safer; paid tribute to the first responders who help make that happen and gave the latest news on efforts to mitigate the threat of floods.

The supervisor made clear she was proud of the progress made and hopeful for the future in the Town of Mamaroneck. She explained the town owes a huge debt of gratitude for this upbeat outlook to the workers and volunteers who strive each day to keep the community a special place to live.

The Town Supervisor's full "state of the town" address can be read below.

Welcome to Mamaroneck Town Center and thank you for joining us tonight for the Supervisor’s Annual Address, the yearly report to share the highlights of 2024 and the Town’s goals for 2025. Tonight, I am excited to share our record of the last year, a record of success in advancing important projects, securing millions of dollars in outside grants, and continuing the Town’s reputation for providing quality, professional, merit-based provision of municipal services.
2024 was a year of great accomplishment for the Town. We resolved some issues that had been left unresolved for years, finished projects, achieved some things “for the first time” and applied for and were awarded a lot of grants! Here are some of the highlights:

Grants Grants Grants!!

2024 was a great year for grants. Recognizing the financial burden incurred by our taxpayers, we aggressively seek outside funding sources such as grants. In 2024 the Town was awarded approximately $10.5 million in grant funding (we believe this is an all-time record) and we are waiting to hear about $3.8 million more. Rather than list all of the grants here, I will discuss some of them as they relate to the various topics in this report.

Comprehensive Plan

This year the Town adopted our Comprehensive Plan, Together Our Mamaroneck. I am told this is the first time a Comprehensive Plan has been adopted for the Unincorporated Area in nearly 60 years. As you may recall, a Comprehensive Plan is a framework and vision for the future of our community. It sets forth goals; it’s a road map for future actions by the Town Board.

The adoption of our Comprehensive Plan is not some routine municipal action, it is a step that helps us maintain the character and appearance of the Town we chose to live in, while planning for the changes that come to all communities. The plan is a vital tool for the future.

Now that we have adopted the Comprehensive Plan, the Board will adopt an Implementation Plan consisting of specific actions to be taken by the Board to achieve the goals set forth in the Plan. We will be exploring such topics as updating the Town’s Land Use Laws; creating more housing opportunities, affordable housing being an integral part of that; creating enhanced pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and roadway operation improvements; improving our recreational facilities and parks; and mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Flooding

Flooding is perhaps the most pressing issue in our community. This year we took great strides in addressing this issue. For the first time, the Town completed a comprehensive evaluation of our storm water sewers (paid for with grants from the County and FEMA). 17 flood-prone areas were identified. The cost of all the recommended flood remediation projects is a whopping $60 million! We have already been in contact with Senator Gillibrand’s office and the Westchester County Department of Planning for sources of funding, as the specific projects are identified and designed.

Safety and Infrastructure:

Roundabout:

This year we received $4.9 million in grants ($2million from Congress and $2.9million from the County) for a capital project that is a priority for the Town: a Roundabout at the high traffic, unsignalized intersection of Madison Avenue, New Jefferson Street, the Exit 17 access ramps to i-95, and Fifth Avenue. The intersection is heavily used by residents in the Town as well as those throughout the greater region. Engineering studies have recommended the Roundabout as the safest, most efficient solution to reduce congestion delays and minimize serious accidents.
The Roundabout will improve safety by eliminating dangerous left turns, lessening congestion (which also causes air pollution), decreasing crossing distances for pedestrians and bicyclists, and increasing driver awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists with the addition of enhanced signage and warning devices.

Another benefit of the Roundabout project is flood mitigation. The project area is experiencing significant levels of flooding with increased frequency. The Town's Comprehensive Drainage Evaluation Study includes flood mitigation recommendations for this area. Underground storm sewer improvements such as larger piping and additional catch basins, along with the reduction of paved surfaces will be included in the Roundabout design which will decrease stormwater runoff and offer additional system capacity to minimize flooding.
The Roundabout will also provide an attractive gateway to the Town and, we believe, be a catalyst for development along Fifth Avenue.

Colonial Avenue Sidewalk:

Many parents and neighbors have expressed concerns about pedestrian safety on Colonial Avenue and requested that the Town install a sidewalk along one side of Colonial Avenue from Weaver Street to Murray Avenue. We heard you!! In response to your concerns, we applied for a grant and were awarded a $1.2 million TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant from the NYS Department of Transportation in order to make changes on Colonial Avenue, including the installation of an ADA compliant sidewalk, crosswalks, curbs and drainage infrastructure improvements. This project will result in improved accessibility, walk-ability, and general safety and is consistent with both the Town’s Complete Streets Policy and our Comprehensive Plan. There is a long process between grant award and construction, but we are on our way.

Weaver Street Sidewalk:

We expect to go out to bid early this year for the construction of a new sidewalk (funded partially from a NYS TAP grant) on Weaver Street from the intersection of Weaver with Murray Avenue to Bonnie Way. This will enable pedestrian travel for students to walk to Murray Avenue School, as they will have a continuous sidewalk connection.
We have just completed a Townwide sidewalk inventory and condition assessment which will be used to inform future sidewalk improvement projects.

Enhanced Crosswalks:

We have installed enhanced crosswalks at six key locations. The Town has also started the design development for a new crosswalk on Weaver Street at the Leatherstocking Trail that will include flashing RRFB signage to increase visibility for pedestrians.

Speed Hump Policy:

For the first time we have approved a speed hump policy for the request, review and installation of speed humps as another available traffic safety measure.
As you can see the Town is committed to improving transportation safety to reduce the risk of death and serious injury.

Waverly Avenue Bridge:

The substantial completion of the Waverly Avenue Bridge built by the Town of Mamaroneck and located in the heart of the Village of Mamaroneck is exciting! Not only does the bridge provide safe vehicle and pedestrian crossing, but with a raised elevation and a wider span, it will provide improved water flow and flood mitigation for the surrounding area of the Village. In addition, WJWW has a new water main that runs along the span.

The building of this bridge is a metaphor for the best that can happen when all levels of government work together for the benefit of our residents. The project total cost was $5million: NY State contributed $1.75 million from the BridgeNY program, and the County contributed $2.08 million from their flood mitigation program.

And this bridge demonstrates that the residents of the Town of Mamaroneck and those of the Village of Mamaroneck can have confidence when issues arise affecting both municipalities that Mayor Sharon Torres and I will work together, in concert, for the benefit of all our residents.

Rockland Avenue Bridge:

This year we will continue design development for the reconstruction of the superstructure of the Rockland Avenue Bridge funded, in part, by a $769,000 NYS BridgeNY grant

Sanitation:

As many of you know, The Village of Larchmont and the Town have been in discussions for at least 5 years about how to move forward and modernize the joint sanitation commission, a shared service between the two communities. We have finally come up with a potential plan. The devil is in the details, and we are looking at them now. More to follow. This again demonstrates how important it is for us to work together, in concert, with our sister communities.

Environment:

I am proud that the Town remains an Environmental leader. In addition to our Repair Café, Coastal Cleanups, participation in Sustainable Westchester’s Community Choice Aggregation program, planting of 111 trees with funds from a grant from the Virginia A. McGuire Foundation, compost giveaway day, participation in Sustainable Westchester’s Energy Smart Homes Program, and more we:

Enacted a Gas Power Leaf Blower Ban: In the last several years, the Town has received many phone calls, letters and emails from residents in which they voiced their concerns and complaints regarding gasoline-powered leaf blowers. We heard you! Starting January 1, 2025, it is illegal to use -- or to authorize someone else to use -- a gasoline-powered leaf blower in the unincorporated area of the Town.

Received grants totaling $375,000 from the NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities Program which we will use to install a heat pump and related equipment in our soon to be built Parks Building. Not only does this funding fully cover the expected costs to purchase and install the HVAC system but going forward we will save money using this energy efficient system to heat/cool the building.
Received a $100,000 grant from the NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities program that will be used for a series of renovations to our Senior Center to improve energy efficiency which will result in cost savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will be making additional improvements to the Senior Center this year funded, in part, by a $308,000 Congressional grant.

Received a $74,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program to fund a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment that will help us determine and prioritize what actions are needed to mitigate our Town’s infrastructure vulnerabilities in light of climate change.
Offered to our residents two additional environmental programs:

• Helpsy, an independent external company with whom the Town contracts, offers residents the chance to recycle unwanted textiles at no charge – without having to leave home. HELPSY takes unwanted clothing, footwear and accessories and keeps them out of incinerators and landfills by re-selling the best quality items to thrift stores and other secondhand markets and turning the lower grades of clothing into rags for industrial use or as stuffing and insulation.
• The Larchmont-Mamaroneck Joint Sanitation Commission has contracted with a residential food scrap pickup service called Curbside Compost, an independent external company. Participating homes will receive weekly pickups of food scraps that will be turned into valuable compost. The cost of the residential service is $32/month per home. At this point, we are told only 50 households have signed up. The service can only begin once there are 125 households enrolled, so please encourage your neighbors to sign up.

In 2025 we are looking forward to adding EV chargers in the Washington Square area, to be funded 100% with grant money, to, among other things, enable apartment dwellers there to make the decision to purchase EVs.

We are also looking forward this year to being certified at the Silver level in the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program. CSC is a program that helps local governments take actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. In addition, the program offers grants.

Certified Communities have completed and documented a suite of actions that mitigate and adapt to climate change at the local level. In 2016 we were the 9th community in NYS to be certified at the Bronze level. We were recertified at the Bronze level in 2022. This year we expect to be certified at the Silver level. Only 17 of the approximately 1700 Villages, Towns, Cities and Counties in NYS have achieved this status.(142 are bronze).

WJWW Litigation:

This year we settled litigation brought by the US Department of Justice and the NY Attorney General against Westchester Joint Water Works (WJWW) and its three member municipalities, the Town and Village of Mamaroneck and the Town/Village of Harrison. This litigation threatened potentially crippling fines of up to $200 million, in addition to the $200 million estimated cost to build the required water filtration plant. Litigation brought by the State of New York had been pending with daily fines accruing since an injunction was issued in 2004 requiring filtration of our Rye Lake water source.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice provided notice to WJWW and its three member municipalities to comply with the Safe Water Drinking Act and an Administrative Order issued by the USEPA, dated November 26, 2019. Since then, there have been prolonged and extensive negotiations with the US Department of Justice and the NY Attorney General to resolve all current and pending enforcement/litigation matters.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an enforcement action against WJWW and its three member municipalities on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the NY Attorney General’s Office joined in the litigation on behalf of the NYS Department of Health in order to settle the pending 2004 matter and the accrual of associated fines. We were able to negotiate a settlement that includes a schedule of milestones for the construction of the required filtration plant, sets a total civil penalty and requires completion of defined supplemental and environmental benefit projects. The Town’s portion (16.7%) of the settlement is estimated to be $1.53 million, a far cry from the tens of millions of dollars of fines that would have been accruing. Construction of the filtration plant is to be completed by March 1, 2029.

Save the Sound Litigation:

Save the Sound initiated litigation in 2015 asserting that four communities-New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, Larchmont and the Town-had violated provisions of the Clean Water Act. We settled the litigation in 2024, paying $244,000. We completed the sewer repairs that were already in progress before the suit was filed, based on a sanitary sewer evaluation study that we had previously ordered.

Affordable Housing

As stated above, the Town Board is exploring creating more housing opportunities, affordable housing being an integral part of that. The County has committed to make a $3million grant/investment in the Town toward the acquisition of land to create affordable housing. More to follow on this front.

Town Clerk

In 2024, the Town Clerk's Office achieved numerous significant milestones, including receiving the Program Excellence in Governance Award from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. They successfully implemented the new OpenGov software for various permits and licenses and transitioned many renewals from paper to online making our permitting process more accessible to residents. Additionally, the Town Clerk’s Office secured almost $75,000 in grant funding from the New York State Archives for the second year in a row. This funding will allow the Town Clerk’s Office to continue building government transparency through the scanning and availability of both historical and current records, further improving records management and resident accessibility.

Finances

During the budget process this year, concerns were raised by taxpayers about potential tax increases. We heard you! After the public hearing on December 4 we took another deep dive into the budget and reduced spending by nearly $494,000. To limit our 2025 spending to essential projects, we have primarily focused on community and staff safety, while meeting our legal and contractual obligations. For the average home value of $1,651,000, taxes in the Unincorporated area will rise by $704 and in the Villages by $147. Our goal is always to do the best we can for the taxpayers of the Town of Mamaroneck. It is always our practice to use the budget meetings to hear from the public and make adjustments based on public comments

Going forward, the Town Board has decided to form a budget committee comprised of some of our residents. There are a lot of skilled and talented people in finance in our community. We would like to tap into this resource and the talents of our community and think creatively about how to move forward in the future. We are always open to new ideas and strategies.

First Responders:

TMPD:

The Town of Mamaroneck Police Department received accreditation from the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. This recognition highlights our department’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and service to the community. Only 30% of law enforcement agencies in New York State have received this accreditation.

This accreditation is both well-deserved and well-earned. The men and women of the TMPD demonstrate their commitment to our community every single day. On behalf of our Town, I congratulate Chief Creazzo and his entire team for receiving this prestigious recognition.

TMFD:

Our fire department is thriving. We have approximately 64 active volunteer firefighters (approximately 44 of them are interior firefighters) and 14 career firefighters. We expect to take delivery on 2 new firetrucks this spring and hope they will be in service by Memorial Day. These were ordered back in April, 2022, but delivery has been delayed due to supply chain issues.

First Responders’ Memorial

This past September 11th marked the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country. As many of you know, the Girl Scouts created the September 11th Memorial, often referred to as "Girl Scout Rock", which lists the names of those Larchmont-Mamaroneck residents who were lost on that tragic day. This year, we unveiled a second memorial which lists the names of our community's first responders who left the safety of our community that day and raced down to the City to help. Their selfless actions led to their illness and ultimate death. Three names appear on the memorial as of today: Dennis Tortorella, John Veteri and Brian Payne. We hope and pray we won't have to add any more names.

At this time I'd like to thank all our first responders -- fire, police and ambulance -- for their bravery and commitment to protecting us every day. As Town Supervisor, I am extremely proud to know that our residents receive the finest emergency service possible, and as a resident of the Town myself, they make me feel incredibly safe.

These are only some of the highlights of what is going on in the Town. I did not mention anywhere near all the achievements, accomplishments, legislation, events and meetings that took place in 2024. The list is exhaustive and exhausting!

We are proud of what is going on in the Town and we want you to know all about it; and there are some things, like emergency notifications, that you NEED to know. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to http://www.townofmamaroneckny.gov and press the gold circle “sign up for alerts” to sign up for Town news and notifications…and my monthly newsletter.

And we want to hear from you! Ours is a representative government, so we want to hear what you’re thinking. Call us, write to us, visit us! Our doors are always open.
All of this doesn’t just happen.

None of this would be possible without our dedicated, professional, caring staff. They exemplify the highest level of public service. They work tirelessly under the leadership of our Town Administrator, Meredith Robson. The staff thrives under her management. She also encourages them to take advantage of professional training opportunities so that they are exposed to current best practices.

We are also blessed with many community-minded residents who volunteer their time and energy to serve on our many boards, commissions, and our many exceptional not-for-profit organizations.

I am also looking forward to continuing to collaborate with our sister villages—the Village of Larchmont and the Village of Mamaroneck, and my sister Chief Elected Officials, Sarah Bauer, Mayor of Larchmont and Sharon Torres, Mayor of the Village of Mamaroneck on matters of mutual interest.

And we are so fortunate to have representatives on the federal, state and county level who have all been incredibly responsive when the Town seeks assistance on any number of issues. No matter what time of night or day, I feel that I can pick up the phone and call any one of them. And sometimes they even call me…just to check in to see if we need anything.

Finally, I am proud to be working with my colleagues on the Town Board —Sabrina Fiddelman, Jeffery King, Robin Nichinsky, and the newest member of the team, Anant Nambiar. They are committed to the Town and our residents, and to providing services in the best way possible. They work tirelessly and diligently, looking to the future, willing to ask the tough questions and to make the hard decisions when necessary. It is truly a labor of love.

As you can see in this report on the activities of the Town, I have listed accomplishment after accomplishment and victory after victory. I think it is safe to say that the Town Government, is hitting on all cylinders, always striving and pushing to do more to provide the best services we can for our residents. Our Town Board and Town staff are committed to running the daily operations of the Town with care and quality, and, at the same time, taking on new challenges, securing outside funds, and improving our services and facilities to meet the growing needs of municipalities today. We are committed to continuing our work with the entire community in 2025 to keep the Town of Mamaroneck moving forward, to keep our Town the treasure it is, and to serve the residents of our Town with the excellence in municipal services they deserve.