Editorial Policy

Updated September 29, 2026

AI assistance and accountability

croton.news uses AI to assist with transcription, document processing, drafting and review. Matthew Broudy is the publisher and responsible editor. AI-assisted work is identified as such; automated review is not described as a line-by-line human review.

Our current process combines source review and automated publication checks. Those checks help identify unsupported quotes, names, amounts and attributions, but they do not establish that a source is complete or correct. Older articles may not have received the current checks. How we work explains the different source types and limitations.

Sources and evidence

Reporting draws on official recordings, minutes, agendas, filed documents, historical records and public datasets. We also cite other publications when their reporting is used. Confidential tips can lead to reporting, but a tip alone does not establish a publishable fact.

An agenda establishes what was proposed, not what was decided. Draft minutes are not described as adopted without evidence. A document must belong to the meeting or matter being reported. Data comparisons must identify their periods, units and limitations. Opinion, analysis and satire are labeled so readers can distinguish them from straight reporting.

Quotations and attribution

Spoken quotations should link to the transcript and recording where available. Quotations from written records should link to the document and be identified as written statements. We do not present a paraphrase of minutes as a verbatim spoken quote. Automated speaker labels alone are not proof of identity.

Transcription errors can affect wording and names. When a quotation or attribution is uncertain, the recording or original document needs review; otherwise we use a supported paraphrase, retain the uncertainty or withhold the claim. A match against transcript text is not an independent check of the audio.

Corrections and clarifications

We investigate reported errors and correct factual mistakes when established. Substantive corrections to older articles and data pages are described on the affected page and added to the public log below. Minor spelling, punctuation and formatting edits may be made without a separate notice. Work corrected on its publication day may be revised directly; substantive corrections to earlier reporting retain a visible note.

A clarification supplies missing context without suggesting the original statement was necessarily false. We preserve records of substantive changes internally. Correction safeguards help prevent repeated errors, but do not make recurrence impossible.

To raise a concern, email editor@croton.news with the page link and the statement or issue involved. A source or suggested correction is helpful, but you do not need to supply a complete investigation to report a concern.

Independence

croton.news is independently operated and is not an official Village publication. We do not accept payment for coverage or favorable treatment. Editorial responsibility rests with the publisher. Any relevant personal or financial interest should be disclosed with the affected coverage.

Responses, comments and privacy

People and organizations we cover may submit a response or additional context through the contact page. We consider relevant responses and may edit them for clarity, length, privacy and accuracy. Submission does not guarantee publication.

Comments may appear before editorial review. We remove abusive, defamatory or off-topic contributions when identified. We avoid unnecessary identification of private individuals in sensitive matters, including students. Privacy and data use explains how reader information is handled.

Corrections Log

This log records substantive corrections to reporting and data pages. It is not a record of every copy edit or a certification that articles without an entry are error-free. Older coverage and unresolved source gaps require continued review.

Date	Page	Correction
September 30, 2026	Article 3	This article previously described the meeting chair as an acting chairman. The official minutes identify Chairman Rob Luntz. The Insite Engineering representative is a landscape architect, rather than an engineer. The permit-expiration description has also been clarified to distinguish the site-plan, special-permit and wetland-permit deadlines. Quote links now open at the beginning of each quoted passage.
September 29, 2026	Article 252	The earlier account described Anderson's New York City comparison as 20 students “per grade”; she referred to a class-size goal for children of that age. This account now includes quotations linked to the recording and clarifies that the AI-generated school-board summaries discussed were external to the board, distinct from its official minutes.
September 29, 2026	Article 186	The earlier capital-project list counted the $138,375 traffic-safety authorization twice. There were 20 bond authorizations. This report also clarifies the housing preference, including veterans, and distinguishes financing authorization from money already borrowed or spent.
September 29, 2026	Article 102	Quotations have been corrected and linked to their recorded wording. The May 12 League of Women Voters forum was still forthcoming at the time of this April 23 discussion. This account more precisely distinguishes candidates' claims about phone-policy implementation from verified district-wide findings.
September 29, 2026	Article 97	The six scholarship donations totaled $7,275, not $6,275. PVC’s reported math-proficiency figure was 75 percent, not 87 percent. The national comparison concerned emotional safety, not the separate belonging measure. This article also overstated the status of the proposed Northwell partnership and world-language changes, misstated the timing of the second-grade mentorship expansion, and incorrectly attributed comments during the mentorship discussion. Tammiann Trudel’s name has been corrected. The AP recognition is now identified specifically as the 2024 Platinum distinction, and Omar Mayyasi’s policy comments are correctly associated with the educational-philosophy discussion.
September 29, 2026	Article 95	This article incorrectly stated that all three administrative appointments began July 1; John Bohuniek’s appointment began July 15. The audit discussion has been corrected to distinguish the revenue and cash-management report from the separate risk-assessment update and its outstanding planning recommendations. Leslie Pollak’s surname has also been corrected.
September 29, 2026	Article 82	The earlier headline incorrectly said the board passed the housing-preference law on April 8. It held a hearing and conducted reviews that evening; the law adopted at this meeting was a separate zoning cleanup measure. This account also clarifies the ticket program's initial discount phase and collection fee.
September 29, 2026	Article 120	Corrected the applicants' search for the wastewater operator to the day of the meeting, not the previous day, and corrected the property address in a photo caption.
September 29, 2026	Article 100	Corrected the adopted general-fund appropriations and tax levy, distinguished the larger tax warrant, and corrected names, address, committee names, artwork installation cost and source quotations. Clarified qualified statements on police staffing, corporate status and the pending rebate bill.
September 29, 2026	Article 117	Removed a comment falsely attributed to an absent board member, distinguished permitted portico dimensions from the proposed depth, restored framing and siding to the setback explanation, and corrected photo captions.
September 29, 2026	Article 118	Corrected Tammiann Trudel's name against the district staff record and replaced inaccurate quotation wording with source-exact passages linked to the recording.
September 29, 2026	Article 132	Corrected two quotations that combined or misattributed statements, identified the HEART committee accurately, and corrected photo captions against the meeting recording.
September 29, 2026	Article 370	Corrected a duplicate Fire Council listing dated April 13. The original amended draft minutes identify April 28; the duplicate now redirects to the April 28 article. The original records and archived duplicate are retained.
September 29, 2026	Article 369	Corrected a duplicate Fire Council listing dated April 1. The original amended draft minutes identify March 31; the duplicate now redirects to the March 31 article. The original records and archived duplicate are retained.
September 29, 2026	Article 13	Corrected source attachments: adopted resolutions dated April 22 and May 6 had been associated with February 11 as minutes. They are retained as explicitly dated later context, and the February meeting is no longer labeled as having those minutes. Its own transcript remains available.
September 29, 2026	Article 704	Corrected the cannabis-siting explanation: the ordinary dispensary separation in municipalities below 20,000 residents is 2,000 feet; a conditional state exception cannot go below 1,000 feet. Clarified the same-street condition for school and house-of-worship distances. The summary now distinguishes the proposed local minimum from the ordinary state rule.
September 29, 2026	Council meeting report	A duplicate report of the Conservation Advisory Council’s June 16, 2026 meeting was incorrectly listed under Planning Board. The official minutes identify the council; the Planning Board member attended as a liaison. The duplicate now redirects to the existing council report, which links to the original minutes. The archived duplicate and its source records are retained.
September 29, 2026	Parcel data	The school-tax illustration incorrectly applied a full-value tax rate directly to assessed value. It now converts school-taxable assessment using the matching roll year's equalization rate before applying the rate, and suppresses incompatible calculations. The 102 Grand Street illustration changed from $164 to $13,453. These are historical illustrations from the 2023 roll and fiscal year ending 2025, not current bills. The parcel page links the original state sources and explains the limits.
September 8, 2026	Article 352	A duplicate Waterfront Advisory Committee article was listed under February 26, 2026. The meeting took place on February 24, as shown by the official minutes and event record. The duplicate now redirects to the February 24 coverage; its original copy and source records have been retained in the archive.
September 8, 2026	Article 62	The fiscal comparison has been corrected to use the village’s FY2026 property-tax levy of $13,332,122 and to compare the hypothetical $60,000 with that levy, rather than total village revenues. The summary has also been corrected to place the daycare across the street, consistent with the earlier correction and the article body.
September 8, 2026	Article 93	The headline and opening paragraph misstated how far the proposed levy was below the tax cap. The correct difference is $82,543, not $82,005 or $82,005.43. Comments about park-camera funding and radio coverage are now attributed collectively because their individual speaker attribution was not established by the source review.
September 8, 2026	Article 91	The prior contingency appropriation was $163,000, not $160,000. The village’s FY2026 financial report lists the original appropriation as $163,000. The senior-parking waiver discussion is now attributed to trustees collectively because the article’s attribution to Len Simon was not established by the source review.
September 8, 2026	Article 125	Correction, September 8, 2026: Several recording links pointed too early in the source. They have been corrected, and Jake Day’s comments on technology spending and AI policy are now paraphrased. The reported 45% increase is his statement at the forum. Laird’s comment has also been clarified: she said she had not found an adopted DEI policy. The co-president’s name has been corrected to Teri Lukin.
September 8, 2026	Article 63	Correction, September 8, 2026: The summary misspelled Ezra Katz’s surname and incorrectly described the athletics budget presentation as occurring in executive session. It took place during the public meeting. The removed agenda item was numbered 3.4; its policy number was 0000. The summary has been revised to correct those points and clarify the UPK contingency. Quotations drawn from minutes have been rendered as paraphrases checked against the recording transcript. The parent representative’s role is on the Committee on Special Education, and the technology and reserve-fund discussion has been clarified.
September 8, 2026	Article 5	Correction, September 8, 2026: An earlier version incorrectly implied that neither application reached a decision. Sunset Drive received approval on April 21; the later withdrawal concerned Mount Airy. This revised report also removes an unsupported claim that this was the year’s most contested application and replaces quotations whose individual speaker attribution was uncertain with supported paraphrases. Duplicate copies had incorrectly labeled this March 17 meeting with April dates.
September 8, 2026	Article 116	Correction, September 8, 2026: The proposed library levy was $1,526,158; an earlier version overstated it. The $18,000 cost increase included insurance, utilities and Westchester Library System fees. The next meeting listed on the May 7 agenda was May 19. Several quotations have been rendered as paraphrases, including the proposed committee’s broader stakeholder membership, and their source links corrected.
September 8, 2026	Article 152	Correction, September 8, 2026: The NYSSBA nominee is Sheryl Brady. The scholarship donors are Debi and Ed Braddick, and the awards bear the Braddick name. Earlier spellings were incorrect. The board recognized one outgoing student trustee; an earlier version incorrectly described two. An unnecessary student appeal identifier has also been removed.
September 8, 2026	Article 126	Correction, September 8, 2026: This article previously misidentified the commission’s chair as Mayor Brian Pugh and attributed the chair’s comments to him. The chair and speaker was Stuart Greenbaum. Incorrect image captions have been removed, and the description of the exchange about the architect has been corrected.
September 8, 2026	Article 21	Correction, September 8, 2026: The department received 400 gun locks but had already distributed 25; the earlier article incorrectly said all 400 were still available. The key-actions summary also described a unanimous budget vote that the minutes do not record and mislabeled the manager’s denial of an art-contest request as a failed committee resolution. The article repeated incorrect National Police Week dates from the minutes; the official 2026 observance was May 10–16. See the U.S. Department of Justice announcement.
September 8, 2026	Article 223	The committee member’s name is Dan Colombini, as shown in the village’s official roster. The article also incorrectly treated references to Village Manager Bryan Healy as establishing his attendance; that unsupported statement has been removed.
September 8, 2026	Article 207	The article incorrectly listed several absent members as attending after the two columns of the minutes were read together. The attendance paragraph has been corrected. The member’s name is Dan Colombini, as shown in the village’s official roster.
September 8, 2026	Article 151	The article summary incorrectly gave the county sidewalk grant as 53,744. The correct amount is $353,744, as stated in the village manager’s recorded report and the article body.
September 8, 2026	Article 45	Correction, September 8, 2026: The meeting record did not describe Congressman Hall as deceased; that unsupported description has been removed. It also misstated former Village Manager King’s role, which was helping reappropriate the funds. A paraphrase of the minutes was incorrectly presented as a direct quotation with the wrong recording link; it is now an attributed paraphrase. The two consultant amounts are spending limits, and the funding timeline was approximate. The key-actions summary incorrectly combined executive-session summaries with the public meeting; it now lists the public meeting’s principal actions.
September 8, 2026	Article 46	The October28,2025 ZBA report incorrectly said the board rejected the alternate-member proposal. It took no formal position and requested clarification. The rewrite also corrects a scheduling agreement described as a vote, removes an unreliable November date and unsupported public-attendance claim, and replaces inaccurate or mixed-speaker quotations.
September 8, 2026	Article 553	Correction, September 8, 2026: This agenda preview incorrectly treated placement on the consent agenda as guaranteeing approval without discussion. Trustees can remove an item for separate consideration. The article also overstated the effect of the agreement’s records-request clause and the completeness of the newsroom’s document search. Those statements and an incorrect related-meeting link have been revised.
September 8, 2026	Article 66	The January 8 school-board report has been rewritten from the recording and official materials. The earlier version incorrectly alleged threats of legal action, misidentified speakers, reported a math-materials approval that did not occur, and included unrelated links. Provider proposals and preliminary budget discussion are distinguished from adopted policies; two scholarship gifts were tabled after an initial vote was rescinded.
September 8, 2026	Article 552	Correction and update, September 8, 2026: The earlier headline did not make clear that the pigeon ban was proposed. Scheduling a public hearing did not set an adoption vote or guarantee adoption. No adoption vote was taken on September 2; see the separate update for the subsequent hearing and next steps.
September 8, 2026	Article 383	Correction, September 8, 2026: The earlier article said that no one could sue without prior written notice and implied that every electronic report in Croton previously satisfied that requirement. New York recognizes exceptions to prior-notice rules, and the Albany court decision depended on that city’s statute and reporting system. The article has been revised to explain those limits.
September 8, 2026	Aqueduct trail history	Corrected the northern trailhead, separate 1842 water-arrival dates and gradual withdrawal from water-supply service. Removed unsupported construction-death, epidemic and comparative-engineering claims; linked current State Parks and original historical records.
September 8, 2026	Article 54	An earlier summary incorrectly described the EV charging project as a solar project, and the article incorrectly attached a 25-year term to the possible Croton battery lease. The minutes discuss 25-year contracts at other properties and establish no term for a Croton lease. The charging contract and construction schedule were still in progress or proposed, rather than final.
September 8, 2026	Article 40	Earlier coverage attributed Lindsay Audin’s assessment of heat-pump water-heater promotion to the committee as a whole. It was his assessment. It also presented a later clarification about state electricity-aggregation rules as part of the meeting discussion. The minutes mark that passage as a subsequent addition; they also note that the replacement food-scrap shed arrived after the meeting.
September 8, 2026	Article 85	The earlier headline overstated the construction period as more than two years. This report now distinguishes the January estimate from the later schedule. It also corrects the description of excavator movements: loads cannot swing over the railroad. Unsupported claims of no local taxpayer cost, a settled traffic-signal decision and a fencing rejection have been removed. The earlier article also misidentified speakers, including naming the project manager “Sid”; the engineering firm’s signed proposal gives his surname as Sit.
September 8, 2026	Article 27	An earlier version described $26,000 as the annual added cost of renewable diesel. That figure was the approximate annual solar-canopy lease revenue available to help cover the added cost. The meeting was Wednesday, January 7, not Tuesday.
September 8, 2026	Article 606	An earlier version omitted the approved-project exception to the K–2 iPad limits and presented continuing middle-school device-storage practices as new. It also incorrectly separated the first phone offense into two steps; the first offense includes both a verbal warning and parent contact. This report has been rewritten from the original documents and recording, and unverified speaker names have been removed.
September 8, 2026	Article 646	Correction, September 8, 2026: An earlier version incorrectly said the board adopted five district goals. Six goals were presented and discussed, without a recorded adoption vote. It also described classrooms as tech-free, although the district permits specified uses, and treated an October 10 appointment target in the committee resolution as an application deadline. This report has been rewritten from the original documents and recording, with unverified speaker attributions removed.
August 6, 2026	Article 151	Headline dropped the leading digit of the sidewalk grant figure; article body and meeting record say $353,744. Caught during video production cross-check 2026-08-06.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	An external verification sweep — cross-checking every recurring name against the Croton Chronicle, official village and school district pages, and professional listings — found and corrected: Village Manager Bryan Healy misspelled “Brian” in two articles; Fire Chief Phil Dinkler misnamed “Paul”; village auditor Alan Kassay of PKF O’Connor Davies misspelled “Kasay” / “PFK”; and one remaining “Ed Riley” in a meeting summary. All corrections were also applied to the underlying transcripts and added to the enforcement registry.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	A review found that automated rewrites had reintroduced seven previously corrected errors (including a fabricated name and two misspellings) because the rewriting system had no knowledge of this corrections log. All seven were re-corrected the same day, and the publishing system now checks every article against a registry of past corrections — these checks help prevent a corrected error from returning, but do not guarantee it.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	The July 14 correction to the rental registry article changed resident Ed Riely’s name in the wrong direction (to “Riley,” the automated-transcription spelling). Official Board of Trustees minutes consistently spell his name Ed Riely, and that spelling is now applied across all seven affected articles, transcript speaker labels, and our people index. A street-name typo (“Trousdale” for Truesdale Drive) was also corrected in two articles.
July 14, 2026	Croton Board Advances Animal Law Overhaul, Approves Student Committee Members Amid Con Edison Backlash	An earlier version misidentified the Village Attorney as Joshua Subin. The Village Attorney at the July 1 meeting was Lori Lee Dickson, who assumed the role June 24, 2026 (Mr. Subin held it through June 23). The article was rewritten and re-verified; the transcript speaker labels were corrected at the source.
July 14, 2026	Croton adopts rental registry law, approves $429K in vouchers	Removed a house number that did not appear in any source record. This entry also changed the spelling of resident Ed Riely’s name to “Riley” — that change was itself incorrect and was reversed on July 15 (see above).
April 29, 2026	Five Candidates Debate EdTech, Phones, and AI at Packed Board of Education Forum	Corrected attendance from “over 300” to approximately 100 (venue capacity). Changed headline from “Candidates Clash” to “Five Candidates Debate” to reflect the cordial tone. Corrected moderator name from “Dani Zelliger” to Dan Zeliger (amended July 15, 2026: official minutes spell it Dan, not Danny as this note previously read). Revised language that overstated conflict between candidates. Replaced fabricated superintendent name “Dr. Bauer O’Shaughnessy” with Superintendent Stephen Walker. Corrected “CET (Croton Elementary School)” to Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School (CET). Fixed Bhatnagar bio from “nearly 30 years” to twenty years per official CHUFSD bio; clarified her role as Dav Pilkey’s editor rather than “developer” of Captain Underpants.
April 29, 2026	Zoning Board Approves Two Home Addition Variances	Corrected headline from “Three Home Additions” to “Two” — 59 Sunset Drive was deferred, not approved. Replaced unresolved speaker tag with ZBA Chair James Tuman.
April 22, 2026	Cannabis Dispensary Plan for South Riverside Sparks Debate	Incorrectly stated the Planning Board did not vote on the application. The Board voted unanimously to approve the change of use with conditions.
April 22, 2026	Croton Adopts Budget, Hears Pushback on Backyard Chicken Rules	Omitted three substantive votes: water tank assessment authorization, 2026 legislative priorities resolution, and Van Cortlandt Manor entrance change orders. All passed.
April 22, 2026	Croton DPW Boss Urges Board to Let Bigger Cities Test New Tech First	Executive brief incorrectly stated "No formal votes taken." The Board voted to approve committee appointments to the Conservation Advisory Council, Police Advisory Committee, and Advisory Board on the Visual Environment.
April 22, 2026	Croton Trustees Waive Snow Tickets, Renew Optimum Franchise	Fabricated name: "Village Manager Janine King" corrected to Bryan Healy. Also corrected "Ed Riley" to Ed Riely per official minutes.
April 22, 2026	Student-Led "Leaders of Tomorrow" Mentorship Program	Corrected "Sophia Massiti" to Sophia Misiti. Several student names could not be verified against official minutes and may contain errors.
April 22, 2026	Multiple articles (#6, #8, #27)	Name misspellings corrected per official minutes: Casey Rascob→Raskob (#6), John Giegen→Ghegan (#8), Ed Riley→Riely (#27).
April 8, 2026	The Developer Who Keeps Coming Back: Andrew Cortese's Latest Fight	Misspelled Reuben Daly's name as "Ruben Dahlia." Incorrectly attributed the organization of the 45-signature petition to Deborah Schupack; it was organized by Claire Hilbert.
April 8, 2026	'What Is the Hardship Other Than Profit?': Mount Airy Neighbors Draw a Line	Same name and attribution errors as article 56 (both articles covered the same hearing).