When I took office as Mayor in April, one of my personal priorities was to improve communication between the Village government and its residents. To that end, I have decided to initiate an email newsletter on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I expect the newsletter to focus on one or two topics of importance, without overloading your inbox with unnecessary emails. I urge you to contact me with questions, ideas or concerns. My contact information is below.
Hurricane Irene
I had planned to send my first newsletter after Labor Day, but with the events of this past week, I felt it was important to start earlier. As I look back at last weekend’s arrival of Hurricane Irene, the devastation it brought to a wide area of this country, including the Rivertowns, is truly heartbreaking. However, a positive I take away from all the mayhem is that it brought out the best in our Village: the employees, volunteers, and residents. Prior to the arrival of Irene, all Village departments, including our volunteer fire department and volunteer ambulance corps, worked tirelessly preparing for the impact. Our heavy construction equipment and trucks were relocated away from the Hudson River up to the Main Street School. Our storm drains and culverts were checked, cleaned, and re-checked methodically. Our firemen helped pump down the level of the Reservoir to lessen the flooding impact of over 8 inches of rain. Public buildings and parks were secured. Simply put, it was a tremendous and highly coordinated effort by all involved. The individuals are too numerous to name, but I am very, very proud of all the professionals that work and volunteer in this Village.
While I realize Irvington suffered significant flooding, downed trees and some power outages (some that were only resolved as recently as last night), I feel fortunate compared to the many gut-wrenching images I have seen on the evening news over the past week.
9/11 Memorial Service
I invite all residents to attend the Village’s annual 9/11 Memorial Service at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 11 at the site of the 9/11 Memorial at the south end of Scenic Hudson Park. As in past years, I expect the ceremony to last approximately 30 minutes.
Betty Iannarelli
The entire Village Board and I are distraught over the disappearance of Betty Iannarelli. Ms. Iannarelli is the 84 year old resident suffering from Alzheimer’s disease that has been missing since August 4th. I can assure you that the Irvington Police are doing everything they can to locate Ms. Iannarelli. I ask everyone to stay vigilant and re-check your property for Ms. Iannarelli as well as keep Betty and her family in your prayers. If you have any information, please contact the police at (914) 591-8080. For additional information, pictures and updates, please go to www.helpfindbetty.com.
Please be safe and have a relaxing holiday weekend.
Brian Smith, Mayor
bsmith@irvingtonny.gov
(646) 265-3950 (Cell)