Vesce Hopeful of Extending Legacy as Rainey Eyes Second Term

Election 2019: Peekskill Mayor

The mayoral race in Peekskill features two candidates who served together for two years as councilmen under former Mayor Frank Catalina.

Andre Rainey, 35, is seeking a second two-year term leading a Common Council that has been dominated by Democrats during his first go-around.

“Peekskill has never been in better shape. We have turned the page from a time when a small group of conservative Republicans thought of Peekskill City Hall as their own personal friends and family club divorced from the reality of who the people of Peekskill are,” Rainey remarked. “Peekskill, today is a multicultural, diverse community that is welcoming to everyone: new residents and lifetime residents, the young and the old, black and white, gay and straight, native born and immigrant, and every creed and culture. I am running for reelection on a record of major accomplishment for this city and a vision of Peekskill that is forward looking.”

Vincent Vesce, 47, served four years as a councilman (2013-2017) before choosing not to seek reelection. A life-long city resident, whose family goes back four generations in Peekskill, Vesce is the owner and CEO of V Squared Strategies LLC, a national business development consulting firm specializing in the management and operation of airports and regional transportation systems. Prior to owning his own business, he spent 15 years in the Aviation Department of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, holding management positions at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as well as in the corporate headquarters in New York City.

“I’m not here to be a politician. I’m here to do the work,” said Vesce, whose father served as mayor for two terms in the early 1980s. “I think we have a real good opportunity. This will be very telling for the future of the City of Peekskill.”

Rainey, Owner and President of NOO Moves Entertainment, which he founded in 2010, said he believes his “core strengths as mayor are in keeping the city’s finances in shape, by attracting investors who respect the diversity of this community and see a forward-looking mayor who puts people before politics and who brings a level of energy to this community that is the envy of Westchester.”

 

“By any measure, Peekskill is booming and I want to continue the progress we’ve made,” he continued. “The city’s credit rating from Moody’s is the highest it’s been since 2013; the city’s total reserve funds are over $3.4 million; we continue to keep property taxes under the tax cap; we have secured more than $3.5 million in funding for infrastructure and the expanded Riverwalk; we have secured $10 million in economic development funding from Governor Cuomo, $250,000 in funding to upgrade For Hill Park; to say nothing of the major development projects underway that have brought a mixed-use of housing and retail and increased the tax base.”

 

Vesce maintained Rainey played no role in securing grants since that work is done by city staff. He also staid when he, Catalina and Councilman Joe Torres took office the city was financially hemorrhaging and despite being in the minority, they were able to turn the city’s fortunes around. In addition, he stressed a lot of the progress the city has seen over the last two years started under the previous administration.

“He’s a likeable guy. He wants to do the right thing. The problem is he has no resume to back it up,” Vesce said of Rainey. “He has no professional experience to give him the foundation to effectively govern the city. He has a lot of people fooled. He’s an entertainer. He can put on a show.”

“I like Vinnie personally, I just don’t think he would be a good mayor,” Rainey remarked. “I also think he would be a major step backward in changing the culture of politics and patronage in Peekskill. He’s the son of a long-time Republican machine politician, and former mayor. He secured the Republican nomination for council from his father who was the Republican Party Chairman. Peekskill, like the rest of the country, is tired of the same old families, with the same old connections running government.”

 

Vesce and his bi-partisan team have put together an 11-point plan that they would introduce if elected that includes increasing code enforcement to address overcrowded and unsafe living conditions and ensure zoning standards were enforced; repealing the Real Estate Transfer Tax on single-family homes; eliminating redundant garbage pick-up fees at condominium, multi-family and commercial buildings; brining back free Saturday morning trash and recycling drop-offs for residents; opening City Hall on Saturdays once a month; instituting an online Citizen Resume & Application Bank; and prioritizing maintenance and restoration of parks, monuments, public sidewalks and streets

“And most importantly I will make City Hall a place that works for the Citizens of Peekskill again by reorganizing and re-energizing a city workforce that has been plagued with political over-reach and interference,” Vesce said.

Addressing morale at City Hall, Rainey responded. “Crime is down, our parks are cleaner, long neglected infrastructure is being repaired, and City Hall and its staff are being recognized on a daily basis for the amazing work being done. With any new administration, there is turn over. You can’t do the same things over and over again and expect different results. There is a reason Peekskill has become the envy of Westchester in the last two years: it’s because we are taking a new approach to how we do business. We are bringing more people in, we are being much more innovative, we are upgrading our technology, and we are making Peekskill an all-around more-friendly, green, welcoming city.”

 

Rainey said he did not regret signing a petition that supported CCHOP’s planned move of northern Westchester’s only homeless shelter to Washington Street, despite the fact the Common Council would have had to vote on a rezoning resolution if it hadn’t been scrapped.

 

“I believe it is the fundamental obligation of a community to take care of the least amongst us and I will never apologize for seeking solutions to homelessness, which is a crisis everywhere, and for working to ensure any homeless resident of Peekskill has a safe place to sleep at night,” Rainey stated. “I regret how too many politicians and their supporters have attempted to malign, insult, and denigrate these people instead of working collaboratively with the rest of us to ensure our homeless residents and veterans have a place to sleep at night.”

 

Vesce said it was wrong for Rainey to take a public position on the issue. He acknowledged the need for a homeless shelter but questioned why it had to be located in Peekskill.

“I think it was handled very poorly. The city got way too involved in this from the beginning,” Vesce said. “The city should not be in the real estate business. He (Rainey) doesn’t understand how that could affect property values because he doesn’t own a home.”

Rainey said the city’s goal was to bring the Paramount Theatre to a new level “and not allow a small group of politically connected people run it like a private club.”

“That didn’t work in the past, it won’t work in the future,” Rainey said. “The city is investing in upgrading one of the major challenges of the theatre, it’s HV/AC system and also ensuring it’s much more energy efficient so the cost of climate control will be substantially reduced for the next operator. Now we are going out to bid to find an operator and whoever that is, needs to ensure that the programming puts people in the seats and out and about in our downtown both before and after shows.”

 

Vesce said he would like to see the Peekskill Business Improvement District (BID) get involved in helping to subsidize the Paramount.

 

“The business community that benefits from it should help sustain it to a degree,” Vesce said, noting the theater needed $300,000 to $400,000 annually from some source to keep it afloat. “I think it’s an important part of the restaurant and service sector of the city. The theater might be open right now instead of closed due to a lack of leadership on the part of our current administration.”