Trustee Candidates Forum - October 9, 2025
The League of Women Voters has been a nonpartisan grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. The league does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. Membership is open to everyone 16 years of age or older. In tonight's forum, you will have the opportunity to listen to the candidate's views on significant issues in our community so that you may make informed decisions in the upcoming election on November 4. Early voting is October 25 through November 2 at 25 locations in Westchester County, including right here in the Municipal Building. And you can go to the board of elections website to see the hours in all the other locations. Before we begin, I'd like to welcome the candidates. Did I it in alphabetical order, I'll have to look around. Stacey Nachtaler, Nora Nicholson. Oh, it worked out perfectly. Karen Pecora and Nigel Ravella. I also want to thank our audience and the Croton community for their participation in our democracy. We received over 130 questions, and we're not gonna keep you here all night. So our questions committee groups them thematically and works hard to bring your concerns and your questions to the forum. Our moderator for this evening is Sheila Bernstein from Armonk, and our timekeepers are Daria Gregg and Nora Mohan. The forum is being livestreamed, hopefully, and recorded for rebroadcasting on the league's YouTube channel. So I will take a moment to review the league's video recording policy. Only the videographer authorized by the league may record this forum. Candidates and attendees may not record proceedings. Use of the recording requires advance authorization from the League of Women Voters, And only licensed media, including TV, radio, and newspapers, are entitled by FCC regulations to air portions of the recording.
Anyone else who broadcast or streams the recording must do so its entirety. I now turn the candidate forum over to our moderator, Sheila Berson Bernstein. Thank you.
Can you hear me? Am I am I on the mic? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Teri. This is the league's favorite kind of election, a contested one. Thank you to all the candidates for participating in our democratic system of elections and for stepping up to serve your local community. It's my pleasure to moderate the candidate forum. My name is Sheila Bernstein, and I'm a member I'm a I'm a member of the board of the League of Women Voters of Newcastle, and I live in Armonk. Welcome to all in our audience, whether here or participating virtually, which I'm not sure is happening at the moment, but you're all here, and we're happy to have you. There are four candidates running for two available spots with a two year term for village trustee in the village of Croton On Hudson. I'm gonna name them in the order of which they drew lots, and it's gonna be the order for answering questions and particularly for the opening and closing statements. So the number one is gonna open. Number four is gonna open last, but they're gonna be first for closing. So number one is Stacey Nachtaler. Number two, Nora M. Nicholson. Number three, Karen Pecora. Number four, Nigel Rivello.
Oh, okay. Okay. Think we got it. I didn't get it. Thank you for correcting me. The candidates have agreed to the format and ground rules as well as the league recording policy. Please note, there'll be no recording on your cell phones or otherwise during tonight's proceedings. Each candidate will have two minutes for an opening statement, and I already told you about who was gonna be opening and who was gonna be closing first. Questions were submitted by the questions committee to the questions committee, and I think Teri told you all about that. No one has seen the questions ahead of time, and there will be no questions from the audience. Each candidate has one and a half minutes to answer each question, and each candidate also has two rebuttals that he or she may use during the q and a portion. A maximum of thirty seconds is allowed for each each rebuttal response. Candidates will raise their hand to indicate they have a rebuttal question. And each candidate has one and a half minutes to answer, and then each, oh, I think I okay. Each candidate then has two minutes Mhmm. For a closing statement and will be given in the reverse order of the opening statements. I'm gonna go over very few ground rules. Comments of a personal or abusive nature will not be permitted. The moderator will rule this out of order. Civility is the order of the day. Please save your applause for the end of the forum. There will be known applause or comments from the audience during the forum. The timekeeper, Daria Greg, raise your hand, will raise well, sorry, will indicate when thirty seconds is remaining to the candidates and then will, again, will show the stop sign when the time is up. Candidates may, however, finish their sentence, but otherwise may not go beyond the stop time. Candidates may refer to notes during opening and closing statements. Now let's begin with the opening statements, and let me see if I I got this order wrong. So you're gonna have to bear with me as I read who's gonna go first.
Hold on a second. Here's my pen. So first, it's gonna go Stacey, then Nora, then Nigel, and then Karen. Okay. That's four. Got it. Stacey.
Thank you. A minute and a half. Just wanna check the mic is on. Minutes. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you to the League of Voters. Thank you to the Croton Village for hosting this debate debate. Good evening. I'm Stacey Nachtaler, a mother, wife, caretaker, your neighbor, and a long time executive at PepsiCo where I've spent years leading teams and driving results. But tonight before you, I stand before you in a different role. As someone deeply committed to respecting your voice and protecting what makes Croton such a special place we call home. Though I'm a registered democrat and have voted canvassed and registered dems, I'm running as a non partisan community first candidate with the voice of Croton. I'm not here to represent a party, I'm here to represent you. So why didn't I just ask the current board to consider me for the open trustee seat? Because I've given this administration a d for democracy. In early twenty four, I learned about plans to rezone one Half Moon Bay, the current tire warehouse into a high density six story two eighty unit development with 800 new residents, 600 more cars on a single lane road with blind curbs near our precious Senasqua Park. I didn't just agonize, I organized. I joined neighbors gathered thousands of petition signatures and voice concerns at board meetings only to be met with indifference. Trustees looking on their cell phones, they didn't engage. The board looked bored and we felt ignored. Meanwhile, survey after survey showed that Croton taxpayers want a walkable community youth space especially now as kids face rising screen time issues and isolation. A village next door with far fewer residents than us has this. It was a gift by a developer. Why not us? And when a proposal came in for village owned Lot A,
offering both affordable housing and a community youth space, the board rejected it, turned it down. And while Croton is 55% democrat, 92% of our appointed seats are democrat. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. It's wonderful to see so many friends and neighbors here tonight. Thank you to the League of Women Voters for hosting this forum and for all of the work you do to keep our community informed, engaged, and connected to the democratic process. As a Croton resident and village trustee, I'm always proud to see this room full. People taking time out of their evening to listen, learn, and take part in local government. That's what real civic engagement looks like. I also wanna thank my fellow candidates for stepping up to run for trustee. It takes courage to put yourself out there, to share your ideas, and to serve your community. I'm grateful that we have this opportunity tonight to talk about the village of Croton On Hudson, a place we all care deeply about. For those of who don't know me, I'm Nora Nicholson. I'm here I grew up here in Croton, and after many years of living in California, I've moved back in 2021 with my husband and two daughters to be closer to my mother and to return to a place that has always been home to me. I was honored to be appointed to the board by mayor Brian Pugh and even more proud to be elected to my seat in 2022. I'm running again because I believe in the work this board is doing and the progress that we've made, but I also know there's more ahead. In the next two years, I wanna continue focusing on what makes Croton so special, protecting our natural beauty, keeping our community safe, and supporting small businesses so residents can dine and shop right here in Croton. I also believe it's critical that we stay laser focused on the financial management of this village.
As we sit here tonight, we're reminded of how instability at the federal level can ripple down quickly. The current government shutdown underscores just how important strong local leadership is. Decisions made in Washington, Albany, and the county level directly affect Croton. That's why we need to remain nimble and thoughtful, continuing to invest in the village while keeping it an affordable place to live. Thank you again to the league, my fellow candidates, and to all for being part of this conversation. Your your participation in what keeps our democracy strong right here in Croton. Thank you.
Thank you everyone for joining. For too long, the current administration has moved quickly on major projects without fully considering the long term effects on our infrastructure, environment, or finances. And when residents have raised concerns, their voices have been dismissed, not valued. My commitment is to a new approach. I will champion transparency, ensuring agenda topics and proposals are shared with community well in advance so your feedback can genuinely shape policy, not just rubber stamp decisions. I will work to preserve the unique charm of Croton, ensuring that any new development is right sized and thoughtfully planned to benefit village residents, not just developers. I want to take this opportunity to recognize all of our municipal departments for their tireless dedication to serving our community. My commitment is to support them by ensuring they are provided a positive and safe work environment. This means ensuring they are not pressured into doing something that is outside of their scope of work nor into a situation that would put them in any harm's way to achieve political agendas. On the state of our housing crisis, we acknowledge the need of a sort of solution, but our village will not be forced to sacrifice our character for the sake of mandates. Instead, we will contribute through a sustainable community driven development. When we approach projects like lot a, we must demand more than just housing units. We will require developers to include meaningful community givebacks like vibrant publicly accessible gathering spaces and new revenue generating commercial spaces that supports our local economy and helps alleviate the tax burdens on our homeowners. This is about being proactive, not reactive, and ensuring that and ensuring that any growth we undertake directly benefits the people of who live here. Voice of Croton is built on the belief that there is no monopoly on good ideas. I will actively engage with our advisory boards and welcome diverse viewpoints because the climate of inclusivity opens discussions
leads open discussions leads to better outcomes for everyone. My candidacy is about restoring a locally focused, responsive, and transparent village. Together, we can ensure that Croton remains a remarkable community we all cherish. Thank you.
Thank you. Good evening. My name is Karen Pecora, and I'm running for the village board for the first time. Several years ago, I was lucky enough to find a beautiful home to rent in Croton, and I immediately fell in love with the charm and friendliness of the village, especially meeting all of my neighbors so quickly. Although this isn't my first time standing for public office, it is not my first experience with public service. I retired from Westchester County as the secretary to the director of child welfare in 2022 after thirty two years of service. Almost immediately upon my employment, I got involved with my union as a shop steward, and after ten years, was privileged to be elected as first vice president and president eight years later where I served two four year terms until I retired. Even before my Westchester County employment, I've always been an advocate, working hard to benefit those around me. It was only natural that I become an advocate for my union brothers and sisters. It's this extensive hands on experience that has taught me to listen, negotiate, and build a consensus to build a practical solution for the people I represent. I am also honored to have been appointed on the village recreation advisory committee.
It is this compassion, commitment, and experience that I will bring to the village board. Listening to the residents and working together to address their issues and find solutions.
Thank you. Thank you. I just wanna say before we continue that the candidates all agreed ahead of time that we use first names. So I don't want you to think we're being too informal. So we're gonna begin with Stacey who's gonna give the answers first to the next question. We're gonna go around in the same order, and then we're gonna start mixing it up. And you will have to stop me if I get if I get out of order. It happens sometimes. The first question, if elected, what is your number one priority for the village?
K. My number one priority is to pause what we're doing in housing and take a more strategic assessment and approach. As a PepsiCo executive, I worked on a portfolio of brands and not each brand had the same goal and when I look at what this village is doing, they accepted a maximum 11% housing growth unit goal from 2020 to 2030 which is a one size fits all goal that every municipality can do. In business, that's not practical and when I look at the implications of future tax liability which we do have and it may not be in our property taxes because property taxes are 58% of our revenue. What's the other revenue? Our fees. Do you know how we have 400 fees. You can look on the Croton website, the government website, and they've gone up by a 131 fees. So as we develop and we're developing in a much faster pace than you than you think, we are almost at that 11% goal and it's 2025. And we are facing future tax liabilities. We're facing facing strains on parking, on infrastructure. If we need another fire truck, it's gonna cost us a million 5. So my number one priority is to take a pause and assess things strategically.
Thank you. So I, you know, I think our number one priority is to remain steadfast to our goal of stability in the village government to make sure that our budget continues to be positive. We're projecting that we will have a surplus, and what we do with that money is gonna be very important. One of the things that I think is critically important and, you know, something that we need to look at is the programming that we have for teens in this village, which I think has been sorely absent for many years as long as I've been a teen in the village, as long as I was a teen in the village. And I I think that there's an opportunity. Pre COVID, we cut our recreation staff because of budgetary issues. I think there's an opportunity to go to higher levels of staffing in our recreation department to take a part time person and grow that position to a full time position. That way, we can start offering more programming to our youth in our community that I think is desperately needed.
My number one priority is transparency. Transparency that will allow us to grow as a village, that will allow us to be able to provide economic funding to programs such as Nora just mentioned for our youth. Our youth have been lacking a space for them to do things over here. I've raised a daughter for eighteen years in this village. And, yes, she had Senasqua, and she had the landing, and she had duck pond. But when it came to doing something indoors, when the weather was bad, that wasn't available. So my priority is transparency to allow the villagers to have input and knowledge of what's going on so that we can make sound decisions to be able to provide these programs. That's my priority.
Thank you. So I love telling people that I live between the blue pig and Blake by Susan. I love the, all the small businesses in the village. I think that is an, incredibly part of the charm of the village, and I want to see those businesses thrive. So, whatever we need to do to make sure that we have that we keep these businesses going. And, the the board so far, I think, has done a great job with that, and that would be my number one priority to keep always to keep the charm of the village, and part of that is keeping the businesses thriving.
Thank you. Thank you. So the next question is question number two, and we're going to begin with Nora. And this is the question. You have one and a half minutes. How will you make yourself available to community members who have concerns?
That's a great question. I I hear from community members a lot as a trustee. I am always available for email, phone call, coffee. I'm around the village. I really enjoy being out in the village. There are things that, you know, you'll always see me at Oktoberfest. You'll always see me at a Memorial Day service. I encourage everyone to approach me and talk to me. I I am very open to, you know, having people come and really give me suggestions about what's going on and how they see things. So I encourage anyone to just give me a call or send me an email or approach me in public. I'm happy to chat.
Well, my email is Nigel@VoiceofCroton. Many of you already use it. I'm sure when I'm trustee, the village will provide a new email. So I can always be reached that way. I walk up and down the Hudson River, you know, my river walk with my dog pretty much every day. I work from home, so I am around all the time. You'll see me at Coffee Matters. You'll see me at CVS. You'll see me at shop well, Food Town. I prefer it. So it's quieter. Right? So, yeah, I'm always walking around with my dog, Suki. She's a Shiba Inu, red fur. She looks like a fox. She's very friendly, and so am I. So feel free anytime that you see me, you know, to to just stop me and say, hey. How's it going? What can we do what can what can you do for me? And ask whatever questions you want. Just don't try to stop me when I'm on my road bike because I think I'll be going a little bit too fast. And that's about it. Thank you.
Thank you. So I am one of those people that does have a Facebook page. I'm on Instagram, so I am already very accessible. And people, again, as Nigel does, I walk all through all through the village. That's how I've learned where everything is when I moved here. With my headphones on, people stop me on the street on the street to talk to me, and I have no problem with giving people my emails because I always am accessible. And as I said, I am on social media. Thank you.
So I always consider myself a people person. I worked for my whole life and I lead with empathy and kindness and I really like getting to know my neighbors And this is what also motivated me to wanna join and become a trustee because I listen and I care and I've seen opportunities where people don't feel heard here and I want to be that person that people can come to and talk to and I would make it whatever it is mingle with muffins on Mondays if it's black cow or you know the Hudson Oven or Baked by Susan, You know, whatever works for people who work or whatever their schedules are. I would love to make time for people to meet with me outside of this dais, you know, it's not could be intimidating for people to have a conversation here. So, you know, I'm very open and look forward to that. Thank you.
How would you maintain an independent voice from the mayor and deputy mayor?
I guess that's the right choice. Right? The mayor and deputy mayors will have their joint and unified voice. If I am chosen by Gary to be the deputy mayor, I will, as I do right now. Gary and I, we we share many, thoughts and ideas, but we also, crash a lot. We have differences, and we have different opinions. I love to look at things from every single side, not just from what's in front of me. I love playing the devil's advocate and looking for all of the negatives in front of something that even if it looks all rosy and perfect, there's always something, an imbalance. And that's how I work. That's how I always worked in my life, and that's what help has helped me progress in pretty much any endeavor I've taken. So that would be my choice.
Thank you. So I'd like to think that I will have an independent voice on the board, and there probably will be times that, maybe the I don't agree with the mayor or the deputy mayor, but there will be a mutual respect, and they will listen to my opinions. I will listen to their opinions, and we will come to a consensus that will be what is beneficial to the residents of the village.
Absolutely. No. There you're Just listening to the answers. Don't worry. Ask anytime if I we'll repeat a question. How will you maintain an independent voice from the mayor and deputy mayor?
K. So first, I think this is really true to who I am and this even goes back to my career. I am very consumer customer centric focused. So in this case for Croton, it's I'm resident focused, I'm community focused. So, you know, if depending on who the mayor is, you know, I'm I'm nonpartisan, I'm not, I'm running, you know, as a local community group candidate. So my first and foremost priority is is what residents want and what residents need. And if I'm up you know, if I'm joined with a mayor who has other priorities or other influences that may not be, you know, what residents are really asking, then I'll challenge that. I have no problem challenging that. And I think if we stay true to what consumer what our, you know, taxpayers want, I think we you know, I'll feel good about that. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. I think I can say from the tenure that I've served on the board that I have been an independent voice at times, from the mayor and deputy mayor. There are various votes that I've taken over the course of the past few years where I have been on either the the one vote against or on the on the in the minority. I I I think it's important. I think in my relationships with the mayor and the deputy mayor, There's an open to listen. There's an open to listen to both sides to hear out each other. You know, we want to make progress in the village. So if a if a issue comes up where it doesn't look like there's going to be a majority, then, you know, that issue doesn't come forward necessarily. There you know, and I think that there's I I I maintained my positions when necessary. Necessary.
Thank you. The next question, we're gonna begin with Karen. Would you support term limits for the positions of mayor and trustee?
Yes. I would support term limits, but I think with doing that, we have to make sure that we have a pipeline of engaged, you know, civic community. We've been uncontested for how many years? Eight years here, you know? So if I were if I were to say, sure, term limits two peep you know, two years then, you know, what happens? So, you know, we we need to run an efficient village, we need to plan for our future, we need to protect when storm surges happen down the road and rising seas, you know, we need long term plans and short term efficiency and productivity and, you know, we need a pipeline of amazing talent in the community to step up. It's it's not easy to do it, you know. I'm keeping a lessons learned book because this is new to me, but but I do support term limits to get some fresh thinking, you know, because I think I think that's really vital to a healthy democracy.
And I I couldn't agree more. We do need a pipeline. We do need energy. We do need more people interested in running for office and serving on our committees. I I do know it takes a very long time in government. That has been sort of a interesting thing that I've learned that, you know, when an idea comes up, it can be years before it's actually implemented. And I think we do have a history of mayors, and I think mayor Bob Elliott is a good example. Ann Gallelli, who sat on this board for decades, is a good example of dedication to the village and progress made. Elliott Way, it took decades for that to happen. And if mayor Elliott was only allowed to be mayor for four years, it probably wouldn't have happened. So in in spirit, I think term limits are are a positive idea, but I also think that there there there is there it it is a long long road on many of these municipal manners, and we do need to have a dedicated group of people willing to step in and really roll up their sleeves and and be in office for a long time or to have good people right on their heels ready to come in and step in.
Yes. Things do take years, not only in municipal governments, but even in the federal government. We have term limits in many of our federal positions, and things still get done. Right? So what we need, and I agree with Nora and Stacey, we need a pipeline. Last year when Gary and I ran in 2024, during our events, that was one of my main messages when I spoke to people, is be engaged. You're engaged now. Stay engaged and stay informed. Participate. Volunteer. Whether it's to to run for office or for anything, even in the fire department, get engaged. You care about this village. If you're engaged and the ideas that the administration is presenting forward are true and positive for our village, guess what? That pipeline is gonna make that happen in less than ten years without conflict, and that's what we have to do. Find things that are not going to create division and conflict within our village. Thank you. So oh, wait a minute. I didn't answer the question. Yeah. I'm supporting term limits.
Thank you. So the next question, we're going to begin with Stacey. What do you think you could do to make our board of trustee meetings more open and transparent?
It's a great question. First, I know everybody is very busy these days. I I don't, you know, I don't like like me, I'm I'm a caretaker for my mom. I'm I'm always shuttling back and forth. She has dementia. I'm managing a lot and doing a lot of things and when I get a board agenda with two days notice, you know, I might glance at it, you know, the day before, I don't really have time to research things. So I think I think making more advance notice of the agenda and then having a process in place to engage residents to provide feedback and ask questions. I don't love the structure right now. I don't love that, you know, you're up there and you have five minutes to speak and nobody could speak back. It's very very awkward. So I would really like to look at other best practices for engaging, having civic engagement and input and feedback as well. Thank you. Thank you.
yes. What do you think you could do to make our board of trustee meetings more open and transparent?
So a couple things that I have done, and this was really inspired by Ann Gallelli and her service. I publish a what's on the agenda on a weekly basis. So I take the agenda and I put it into layman's terms, and I'll add a little bit of commentary and I post that on Facebook. I I I think what we need to continue to do is communicate after the fact on meetings that, you know, I do a what's on the agenda. I think what we've talked about is trying to be transparent after the meeting. What did pass? What are the impacts? There's other villages that do a summary, a Friday summary of what's happened in the in the meeting that could be communicated out to the residents. So people understand that, you know, what happened at the meeting so that they can kinda go forward. We've also talked internally. This is a tough time for people that have children, that are working, that are for whatever reason, you know. So is there an opportunity to virtually have our meetings and have a Zoom link for our meetings as a permanent option so that people can Zoom in as needed and they can do comments over Zoom? And I think that that would be a way that people could access the meetings a little bit easier than coming to this building.
What do you think you could do to make our board of trustee meetings more open and transparent?
Well, as Nora just mentioned, technology is a wonderful thing. That is one thing that we can absolutely be leveraged. But I I disagree a little bit that the transparency happens after the meeting. Yes. It's important. Give a summary and let everybody know what what went on. But prior to that meeting, we need to implement various strategies to distribute meeting agendas well in advance. Not two or three days, I think, is what's done that right now. And I know that that's difficult because the board has to come up with, well, what's gonna be in the agenda. So it might be that we have to work a little bit harder as the administrators to get that agenda done sooner, to get it out to the public. And once we get it out to you, you can make your decisions and go through your thought process and talk to your neighbors and figure out what exactly it is that you want to say, whether it's via Zoom or you're in here personally. Tentatively, when we're up here, we get, like Stacey said, five minutes to talk. Maybe add a few more minutes to that. Or maybe just make sure that our residents are feeling comfortable enough that they're going to be heard over here and they won't over spill for those five minutes that they have. Also, from making them feel comfortable, I'll make sure the AC is always working here.
So I I agree with all of the three candidates. I would think that Zoom would be an ideal way for people to log on to, you know, log on to the meetings and sit through the meetings and ask questions. Because, you know, as Stacey said, everyone is everyone has a busy life. Everyone is busy. And sometimes it is very difficult to get here to to participate in the meetings here. So I would any any any use of technology that we can use to reach out to the residents and connect better with them is is, I'm all for it.
Thank you. Next question. We're going to begin with Nora. There's a great deal of discussion about how much new housing Croton can sustain. Would you support a new survey to assess the question of new developments?
Short answer, yes. I would. I think that in thinking of kind of where we're going as a village, you know, we had a conversation, you know, we're now in 2025. We've had a conversation about saying 1% would be our target until 2030. In 2030, we would open up the process of the the the strategic plan. I think in the years prior to that strategic plan, there can be work done including a survey in understanding what's needed. We're also consulting now. We have a consultant that has come in that is a a planner that I think really we need to look at our gateway districts and really say, okay. We've changed our zoning in our gateway districts. What do we wanna see in our gateway districts? What do we wanna see now that we know lot a is being developed? What do we wanna see in in those areas and really have some thoughtful forward looking conversations about what's gonna exist in our gateways. Croton is you know, 32% of Croton is green space, which is we should be very, proud of that. There's much of the village that cannot be developed and will not be developed. Of this finite number of lots that are available for development, we need to be thoughtful about what we're gonna put there in the future.
There's a great deal of discussion about how much new housing Croton can sustain. Would you support a new survey to assess the question of new developments?
I would absolutely support a new survey. And that survey cannot just come from one entity. And it cannot just be a survey that is looked at only by us. The survey tentatively might need another body, not only a committee from our own residents, but maybe another professional body with a different outlook of what that survey provided. So cross checks, right? That allows you to look at things in different ways, kind of like I said earlier. Our village has done some developments in Harmon as an experiment. This is wrong. Before doing an experiment, we should look at things that might be positive, not decide to mix this, mix that, and see the outcome. Right now, we have what we have. And go forward, we need to analyze what we have before we do anything else. So would I support a survey? I support multiple surveys from different providers, from different vendors, different ones that we've used in the past and Tentally might not have served us very well.
Yes, I would absolutely support a survey and just again, having the residents and you know listening to them and hearing what their concerns are as it can't be a bad thing. So yes I would absolutely support the survey.
So I want to preface with what I'm going to say with letting everyone know that I'm a team player and I'm a collaborator. You could go on my LinkedIn and read what everyone says.
Depends on now we started late. We started at 08:20. So, theoretically, we go for an hour, if you like. Because what happened what happened was we had a delay because of the tech issues. I didn't see what time it was. It was I wrote it down. Okay.
We're good. So so we would have, like, twenty more minutes? We have another 13 questions altogether. Really?
We don't have to get okay. You don't if you have I think think the sound is on. Okay. The sound is on. Yeah. And we're gonna start again. We're back in business here. So just to refresh everyone's memory, we're on question six, and Stacey is gonna answer it. It has to do with there's a great deal of discussion about how much new housing Croton can sustain. Would you support a new survey to assess the question of new developments?
And so what I was saying was that you can go on my LinkedIn and read what people say about me because I've worked with hundreds, thousands of people. I'm a team player, I'm a collaborator but you know surveys cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Surveys are very expensive and what I will tell you is that I wouldn't trust this administration right now to act on a survey. I have been reading the comprehensive plan from 2001, the amended version in 2017, a survey that was done by this village in 2019, municipal gateway that talked about what do we do with the cats property, what do we do with the municipal gateway property and time and again residents here and taxpayers have said the same thing over and over again but this administration has not listened. So what I would say is, of course, I'm I'm a business person. I've I've done surveys for over twenty years and I've acted on them, But I don't wanna waste your money if we've got players and a team of folks on a board that's really not gonna act on it. I would act on it. I would act on what you say.
Thank you. The next question is question seven, and we are gonna begin with Nigel. What is your position on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives and on maintaining and funding the village's current idea advisory committee. DEI.
This looks pretty great up here. Idea, all for it. They'll get as much support as they need from me, and I'm looking forward to add some diversity up here. Okay. I'm done.
So once again, you know, walking around the village, attending the, Croton Summerfest, the Oktoberfest, just seeing the great diversity we have in this village, it's just overwhelming. I support the the committee and whatever, you know, funding is needed for that. But, again, in order to, you know, recognize, maintain, and keep the the the great diversity that we have in this community right now because it is special.
I too love the diversity of this village. You know, 13% approximately are Hispanic and Latino. We have a very high percentage of Asians, a high percentage of African Americans, and multiracial. And when I look at the advisory boards and committees, we have a 123 advisory boards and committees that are influencing policy in this village. Do you know that our village is 55% democrat, but 92% of all participants on these advisory boards and committees are are democrat? And I wonder if we're DEI, you know, and there's an idea committee, I've just asked, you know, what percentage of those participants are Hispanic? What and Latino? What percent are multiracial? Are we really representing the fabric, you know, of our community? Because, you know, that's that's really why I'm here. I'm here because I don't feel, you know, that our citizens are truly reflected and we're not truly serving the community, you know, in in the right and best way. Thank you. Thank you.
And so I completely support the idea committee. I've been the liaison to the idea committee and watched the idea committee evolve from the d e and I committee to a very active idea committee under the leadership of chair Cristina Arnold. She has done an fantastic job, and I think that it's it's not just about the events and celebrating the many beautiful cultures of our village, but it's also thinking about the accessibility part, adding that a. And that a has really led us to some interesting conversations and I think interesting actions that we've taken at the village level. So for example, we now have a Spanish speaking person in our in our clerk's office. So when our residents are coming to the municipal building, there is someone there to serve them. We've also looked at the recreation department and their materials, making sure that those materials have been translated. So we are working every day thinking about how we can make it more accessible for our residents in the village, everything to be more approachable, and, of course, to give them the budget to celebrate accordingly. So I I'm very much in support. Thank you. Thank you.
The next question I think we did everyone with this. Yeah. DEI, we did it. The next question begins with Karen, and this is the question. The adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA, definition of antisemitism has become divisive issue in the village. Would you be willing to work with the community to come up with an alternative definition, one on which both sides can agree?
Yes. I think that, we do need to have strong language. So whatever we you know, whatever the village board needs to do to listen to the residents and how their concerns, I would yes. I would be on board with that.
So the fact that this topic came up at the end of summer on Labor Day when the majority of people were away, a lot of people were taking their kids to college maybe for the first time, This important topic came on an agenda in between, do we have a scarecrow contest or do we purchase a bench for $1,400? It was buried. So that undermines the civic engagement opportunity around this really important topic but I will tell you that I went and I heard the testimony and I heard, you know, what everyone had to say and I listened. I listened to those who showed up. You know, thank you on both sides for everybody that showed up that heard about this and learned about it. And this is, you know, an emotional topic. You know, there is no place in our community for hate no matter of any kind, religious, sexual orientation, race. I will say that I support the IRA definition with an amendment and that amendment should be that criticism of Israeli government policy should be tolerated as free speech and we should also consider that advocating for Palestinian human rights is not antisemitic And I'm not I don't want a virtue signal here. I want to have meetings and a work session with both sides and faith leaders and meet whether it's weekly or monthly to really understand people's experiences here and refine this as we go. Thank you.
So, you know, this this topic so where I fell on the vote was to not be in favor of passing the IHRA definition. The reason is because as a village, we have a statement of inclusion that highlights that we do not discriminate against various groups of people, all people. And I think it was important my position was it was important that we not go down the road of having to define various groups. Where we are now, I think there is absolutely an opportunity because of the the the real the real feelings on both sides and the feelings of, you know, real division that that I I said I I I hear when I talk to neighbors that that we need to do better, and we absolutely needed to do a better job from a communication perspective. So I I do think that we I I love the idea of an amendment. I had suggested we just pull it back. I didn't get enough votes on my side for that, but I do think amending it to a definition that both sides can can embrace could could be a very, very good idea.
Hate speech, racism, disrespect to anyone, all races, all people, colors, all genders is, it's a terrible thing, and it should not be accepted. But, unfortunately, it exists, and it exists in this world. The acceptance of the definition has already been accepted for us at the international stage, at the national stage, and at the state side. There was no reason for this to be accepted, not by this village, but by any of the villages and cities and towns of this state. This was, as I said, already done for us. The clergy came to us or came to the administration and suggested that this be accepted or that something was done to provide something. And, yes, that something should be done, but we missed that opportunity. If our constituents, if our clergy come back to this village, I think we should revisit it. If they don't want it, I think we should just leave it as is. But in all, to just finalize hate, racism, disrespect should not happen across any religion, any race, any gender. And from how Nora said, we have something in place protecting everyone already. We don't need something to to create division, more than we already have. Thank you. Thank you.
Next question. We are gonna begin with Stacey. Do you feel that the code violation related to freedom of speech let me start again. Do you believe that the code violation related to freedom of speech was handled well? How might you have handled it differently?
Okay. The tension's building with the questions. They started off really fluffy and they're getting a little more intense. But in all seriousness, this section two thirty, think 44 on the sign code, I wrote about it in mid September and it's a bit convoluted for anybody to read and understand. It's more commercially driven and at that time even before this board said it, I suggested that it needs to be rewritten to drive clarity because if somebody wanted to have a black lives matter sign on their lawn, right now what people are doing is putting it up for forty five days, taking it down one day, and putting it back up forty five days. So the the spirit of sign codes in that respect, you know, does doesn't really make sense. You know? And then in the case of of mister, Amicola, I think that, he has the right. He this is a free speech matter. That's his residence. We may not all have the same feelings as mister Amicola, you know, but it's it's his right. Now with respect to the whistleblower, that is I don't, you know, I don't even know where to begin with that. I have thirty seconds, but I want to understand what this administration is doing as far as an independent investigation to make sure that our village does not face liability. No enforcement, no village public officials should ever feel coerced, and we need an an independent investigation. Thank you.
Thank you. So I'll I'll just say that the the the situation was absolutely regrettable if I had to do it all over again. It it we would've we would've looked at the code first. It is dubious at best, but I do wanna be clear that my position is not to infringe on anyone's freedom of speech. Absolutely not. That was the intention. The that was not the intention. The intention was that we'd be following the codes of the village. Now we need to go back and we need to look at this code and we need to rewrite it, and we need to get advice of counsel, the best advice of counsel that we can in order to move forward because this this this piece of code has been on the books for over twenty years. And we need to be clear and our employees need to be clear about what codes, should are enforceable by the village.
Do you feel that the code violation related to freedom of speech was handled well? How might you have handled it differently?
It was a debacle. Pure and simple. Total debacle. A 77 year old retired wounded veteran. His freedom of speech was violated. We might not agree with what that sign said, but it's his right, just like it's my right to put up a sign that says, hello, everybody. Right? Is that sign going to be criticized and asked to be taken down in the manner that Miss Ana Takola sign was asked? No. Yes, we do have codes that protect us from signs that would be disrespectful. Right? And we should enforce these codes. But with something so sensitive like this situation, a simple conversation from one of our leaders with mister Amicola could have been had before having to result to enforcing a code. We're a very, very small village. It just knock on the door and say, hey. How can we resolve this? Where can we find a middle ground? And if it escalates and we have to escalate and enforce that code, we enforce that code. And had we gone that route, we would have noticed that the current code has some loop some inappropriate things that led to where we are now at the international stage I'm sorry, national stage.
So that was just a very unfortunate incident that should never have happened. But I I don't believe that the intent of the village was to squash this gentleman's freedom of speech. The the code the code standards are on the books, and that's what was being followed. And, again, it was just an unfortunate incident. And, hopefully, again, we can move forward and reevaluate the codes and and move forward from this very unfortunate incident.
Thank you. Thank you. This is the final question, and we're going to begin with Nora. And the question is, considering the anticipated growth in Croton, what would your vision be for a community center within the village that would be accessible to serve the needs of various groups?
I am thrilled to get this question. I I I think that, you know, there are a couple of options that we have. One of which is that, you know, with Govea Park, you know, we are sitting it has been a very long time that we have had Guevea, and it is time that it is used by the residents of this village. It will take an investment, and it will take thoughtful fundraising to make it happen. But once we have the space that is envisioned for the 2nd Floor of that building, it we can do more and more programming at Quavea Park. We also will free up the 2nd Floor here where the recreation department currently resides. This building is there's very much an opportunity in this building as we've seen tonight with our technical difficulties that this is a very old building, and we really need to think about this building as our resource and opportunity to also expand programming. I do wanna say that the town of Cortlandt also has community centers. It has a wonderful community center and has a wonderful senior center there. And I think that in the meantime, we can do a better job of sharing that service and moving, especially for our kids and our teens, of giving them accessibility to the, facilities that are at in the town of Cortlandt that our taxpayers are currently paying for.
Thirty seconds. You have to ask the question, and then she has thirty seconds. Okay. Great idea. Utilizing what exists in the town of Cortlandt.
How will we get our our seniors and the teenagers that you just mentioned to that location?
So we've had some conversations with the school district. The school district is willing to provide the buses, but we need to figure out how to provide the funding for the buses. What we also need to do, and kinda going back to surveys, is we need to figure out if this is what the kids want. So we need to survey the kids and make sure that they want it before we start spending money on it.
Community center. Well, as a kid growing up in New York City, community centers were a bit scarce, but we had one in our in our neighborhood. And it was easy for me to just come out of my apartment and walk to it. Plain and simple. Didn't need my mom or my dad to drop me off. Didn't need a school bus to drop me off. I didn't have to take my skateboard and get over there. Just a simple walk, and I came back home. Govea Park, it was a good idea. I live less than a quarter of a mile away from Govea Park. I do not feel comfortable jumping on my bicycle, walking my dog to get to Cabellia Park. And I'm a grown man. I'm pretty fearless, but I would not do it. So we go back to the transportation. Now we're inside the village of Croton. How will our seniors and our young folks get there? We already have enough traffic of transporting our teenagers, our elementary school and middle schoolers to ASO, to this, to that, and whatnot, and picking them up. Carpooling is a great thing, but you know what? With the way that we're growing, there's transportation to where they need to go. We need to look at the village. We need to look at where we have a space that we can create a modern space heavy, facility to accommodate for what we're looking to do for our community.
Thank you. Yes. Absolutely. We the village should have a community center. I live next door to two, you know, a single mom with two kids, and it's very difficult for her to, you know, figure out how, you know, how what are kids gonna do after school. So, I think just creating more programs, something to keep the kids engaged, so they're not out on the streets. It's it's a wonderful thing. And we have to, again, work with the village, work with the residents. What is it the kids want, you know, and and go from there.
Sorry. I'm standing between everyone and late night supper maybe, but okay. So youth center is is a number one priority with kids, with the screen time issues, you know, with social isolation, mental health, and my understanding too is from see talking to seniors that there really is no large space available for the rotary club or lions club or seniors club folks to really gather. Right? Nobody wants to spend $300 fee on the Senesqua Park Pavilion because that's what it cost. We need a space. This administration has passed up many opportunities for those spaces because they prioritized housing to hit that 11% max goal by 2030. Govea Park is not the idea. I don't know who's been there, if you've all been there, but I don't know if you know the history of it, but the Govea's actually, they also gave a property in Ossining, beautiful property, the bank for savings and and that went dormant. So when you bequeath property, in this case, it needs a massive amount of upgrades and maintenance that will exceed the million dollar endowment. It's not accessible and it's not a good use of funding or resources of this village administration. I personally don't wanna be spending my time on Govea Park when I could be spending time figuring out a solution for youth and seniors to have something much closer into the heart of our village.
Thank you. Thank you very much. So now we've come to the closing statements, and we're gonna do them in reverse of the opening. So it's gonna be Karen, Nigel, Nora, and Stacey. Karen. Thank you. Two minutes.
Thank you. So thank you to the League of Women Voters, and thank you, Sheila. Thank you, Teri. Thank you to the village for allowing us to use the building, and thank you for letting the residents here, the candidates. As I said in my opening statement, I have, many, many years of union representation representing, over, at one time, 6,000 union members. I've learned to listen, to negotiate, and to work with them to, you know, to come up with solutions that are that is beneficial to all. I plan on I plan on bringing that compassion, that commitment to the village of of Croton. I as I said before, I love the charm and the friendliness of the village. The people here are wonderful, and I want to do what's best for them. I wanna continue as the board is doing moving Croton forward, but keeping the charm and friendliness. The the fact that we have the tax livery has not increased in, you know, in three years or very minimal, 0%, I think, is a very positive for us. We have revenue revenue coming in that we didn't have before and I'm very
impressed with how the board has moved Croton forward, and I wanted to continue to be a part of that that
Thank you all again. Throughout this debate, you've heard us discuss the future of our village. The contrast couldn't be clearer. You have one choice, and that offers more of the same, backroom decisions, rubber stamp projects, and community input treated as an inconvenience. And then you have a second choice for a new path. The voice of Croton has laid out a clear vision founded on transparency, community collaboration, and sustainable growth. We've shown that we can address the state's housing needs in a small in a smart way, not by accepting mandates that undermine our village character, but by proactively seeking resident centric solutions, by requiring developers to include community amenities and revenue generating commercial space in projects like lot a. We can turn a challenge into an opportunity that benefits every Croton resident. I also want to take the a moment to address our incredible first responders. The men and women of our police force and particularly our our volunteer fire and EMS departments are the backbone of the of this village. They answer the call at all hours, often leaving their families and jobs to protect ours. My commitment to them is unwavering. As your trustee, I will ensure they have the training equipment and resources they need to evolve with changing demands of our society. They give us their time and their courage, and they deserve our complete and full support. We've proven that we believe in honest and open dialogue, not silencing not silencing dissent. We have engaged our fellow residents, and tonight, you have heard our unified message. Our approach isn't a theory. It's a commitment to a better process that prioritizes your voice in our village. For too long, the decisions have been made for you. This election, your chance this election is your chance to make decisions for yourselves. We can protect our unique character and embrace sustainable progress at the same time. Vote for a government that truly listens, a government that represents you. A vote for voice of Croton as a voice for common sense and community driven leadership on November 4, Vote VOC.
Thank you, everyone. I really, really enjoyed this conversation, and I hope that it continues. I think that it's really important to hear, everyone's voice and to have such a full room. Thank you. I will speak up. This administration and the Democrats have succeeded in riding the wave of the last five years. COVID nineteen and the revenue that was lost when our parking lot that drives a lot of the revenue in the village was completely decimated overnight. This administration needed to be creative and find other revenue sources. Since that time, we've been able to reduce our debt and continue to invest in the village. We've had three consecutive budget surpluses since the COVID nineteen pandemic. Seven budgets below the property tax cap and two budgets with no tax rate increase in the last three years. We have also built a solar array at the train station that will give the village $470,000 in revenue over the next twenty five years and provide clean energy to the grid. This project along with many others represents the fact that we are number one clean energy community in New York State. We have increased our EV charging stations. We've added electric vehicles, and we will continue to put solar on our public buildings. We've protected our first responders by boosting the length of service program and we've created infrastructure projects. For example, the bocce courts down at Black Rock Park who we have our our wonderful John Sasso to thank for that idea. But working together and bringing ideas to make this village better, and, I hope that I can look forward to your vote in a few weeks. Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, okay. I too share the public's concern about housing affordability and the need to increase supply. But we must ask what role should our small village play in solving this statewide problem? With just 8,200 residents, our small village faces serious national natural constraints, steep slopes, wetlands, flood zones, a river gorge. Large scale development here isn't just difficult, it risks destroying the landscape we all cherish. In my sixteen years as a PepsiCo executive leading large scale innovation across a portfolio of brands, I learned that growth must be strategic not one size fits all. Expecting every community to grow housing by 10% lacks nuance. Harrison, New York for example has the land and commercial tax base to absorb that growth, we don't. The board of trustees signed up for a max 11% housing growth target but we're developing at a faster pace than that. It's only 2025, we have five years to go. And sadly, we have trust issues. In the way this board reversed itself on Maple Commons initially telling us it would be 33% affordable then flipping to a 100% affordable after the deal was approved. Now we're facing greater future tax liabilities. Our per unit average property tax over thirty years comes to $5,700 compared to $1,700 for Maple Commons and Lot A. As village costs rise, this gap will only widen. Property taxes represent 58% of our revenue. It's just one tool in the administration's toolkit. As I mentioned before, the rest comes from fees. We have 400 fees now. 131 more fees since the mayor took office. Gouging young families in new homes and seniors with high fees isn't right, like being charged $300 to picnic under Sunesqua Park. We need to pause and take a more transparent, thoughtful, strategic approach to village planning.
If we don't, it will impact your pocketbook in the place we call home. Thank you for your consideration.