Ossining Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Lost State Grant
With Election Day looming, the two candidates running for mayor in the Village of Ossining sparred last week over the inability of the village to receive a $10 million state economic redevelopment grant.
On her website, Ossining Mayor Victoria Gearity maintained Trustee Omar Herrera, who is looking to unseat Gearity on November 6, jeopardized the village’s chances of being awarded a Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant from the MidHudson Region of the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) when earlier this year he proposed a building moratorium be set in place in Ossining.
“The REDC will only entrust $10M to a community with leadership that is committed to smart economic development. New Rochelle sent a clear message to the DRI decision makers that they are committed to smart economic development that reflects their community’s priorities,” Gearity stated in congratulating New Rochelle on being the first Westchester community to get the funding.
“Unfortunately, the current political climate in Ossining sent a very different message. When my opponent began publicly calling for a moratorium as a top priority in his vision for the future, the Village lost any chance of being awarded the DRI for 2018,” she stated.
Ossining has applied for the grant all three years it has been available and has been a finalist twice.
“New Rochelle didn’t beat us because our submission wasn’t good enough. They beat us because they have demonstrated a commitment and a capacity for economic development,” Gearity stated.
Herrera, who lost to Gearity in a Democratic primary and is trying to beat the two-term mayor running on the Working Families line, called Gearity’s statements “slanderous and false” and accused her of attempting to “politicize” the grant process.
“This raises many questions: the mayor’s communications with the state and how it does not reflect the majority of the board,” Herrera said. “We are going to have to monitor and be directly involved with all future conversations and debriefs with the REDC council and state executive agencies.”
Herrera explained he requested a discussion on a prospective moratorium after receiving feedback from current and former school board members, as well as many residents and property owners, who were concerned with the village’s ability to handle more development and the impact more residents would have on the school system.
“To say that the discussion of a moratorium is reason for our not getting a $10 million grant is nothing more than political grandstanding in an election year,” said Ossining Deputy Mayor John Codman III, who is supporting Herrera’s candidacy. “The mayor is taking the easy way out by blaming her opponent rather than owning the fact that she is ‘the current political climate.’”
Herrera, Codman and Trustee Quantel Bazemore are calling on the village manager to send a letter to the governor’s office and MidHudson Regional Director Meghan Taylor requesting clarification if Gearity’s statements on Ossining falling short are accurate.
Gearity stated a challenge for Ossining officials is “to consider is how do we balance our desire for high quality housing at all income levels, with a crowded school system.”
“The good news is, we are now refocusing our efforts on comprehensive planning. While the $10M DRI grant would expand our capabilities and resources for economic development planning, we have a strong foundation to build on—so long as we have leadership that is committed to smart growth driven by community priorities,” she stated.
“It is time to work with all our community partners to establish a vision for who Ossining will be in the next five, 10 and 20 years. Ossining working together is how we are all successful. In just a few weeks, we will know the outcome of the election. The voters will determine our path forward,” she concluded.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/