Two significant village initiatives — a draft law that would give emergency responders, medical workers and veterans a preference in Croton-on-Hudson's affordable-housing program, and the state-planned overhaul of the Half Moon Bay bridge — cleared a required waterfront review on Feb. 24, when the Waterfront Advisory Committee found that neither conflicts with the village's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. Acting Chairman Leo Wiegman led the session in the Small Conference Room at the municipal building, with Deputy Mayor Len Simon, the committee's chairperson, and member Stuart Greenbaum absent. Wiegman was joined by Trustee Stacey Nachtaler and Planning Board member Steve Krisky, with Village Engineer Vincent Salanitro and Village Manager Bryan Healy also present. Every vote was 3-0.

Housing preference law draws a consistency sign-off

The committee's first referral from the Village Board was Local Law Introductory 5 of 2026, which would amend the village's affordable-housing provisions to allow certain occupational preferences. Healy told the committee that adding occupational preferences for new housing units "has been a priority of the Village Board for a while," according to the minutes, and that the village has been working with the Pace Land Use Law Center and the Housing Action Council on the measure. Village Board members had aired the idea at a Dec. 4 work session, and the same draft law went before the Planning Board on the night of the waterfront committee's review. According to the minutes, Healy said data from the American Community Survey has been analyzed showing that the occupations under consideration — emergency service workers, medical service workers, and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces — are majority-minority. In its review of the draft, the committee caught a typographical error on page 2: under Section D, "Waivers," the law is supposed to say that a site plan or subdivision applicant may voluntarily provide more affordable units "than are required by Subsection C above," but the draft currently cites Subsection B. The committee accepted the Coastal Assessment Form with no changes on Nachtaler's motion, seconded by Krisky, and accepted the Short Environmental Assessment Form — also unchanged — on Krisky's motion, seconded by Nachtaler. After reviewing the waterfront program's 44 policies and finding none applicable to the law, the committee recommended a finding of consistency on Nachtaler's motion, seconded by Krisky.

Bridge rehabilitation also found consistent

The second referral, from the Village Board, concerned the state Department of Transportation's rehabilitation of the vehicular bridge that carries Half Moon Bay Drive over the MTA Metro-North Hudson Line. Because the project is a SEQRA Type II action, no environmental review was required, according to the minutes. The federally funded project will rehabilitate the existing bridge without changing its footprint. The bridge last underwent a major rebuilding in 1987, and the road it carries is the route to Elliot Way, Senasqua Park, Croton Landing Park and the Half Moon Bay neighborhood — a point village officials and their consultants walked through at a Jan. 5 public webinar on the project. Here the committee did identify applicable waterfront policies, among them policies calling for restoration of deteriorating structures, effective management of runoff so oil, grease and other contaminants do not pollute surface and ground water, timing of construction in Croton and Hudson River spawning areas so fish and shellfish are not harmed, and protection of the scenic views of Croton Point and the river corridors noted in the LWRP. Finding nothing inconsistent, the committee recommended consistency on Krisky's motion, seconded by Nachtaler. Both recommendations went to Mayor Brian Pugh and the Village Board of Trustees in memoranda dated Feb. 25, one for each referral. The consistency findings now sit with the board as it finalizes the affordable-housing law, and as the bridge project moves toward construction.