The Town of Clarkstown held its annual reorganization meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 2025,
marking the beginning of our town’s 234th year since being incorporated in 1791. In keeping
with tradition, this first meeting of the year focused on the swearing in of newly elected
officials and the appointments of members to the various boards which exist within town
government. During the meeting, the Town Council welcomed two new members: Councilman
Bob Axelrod and Councilman Mark Licker. In addition, we also welcomed a new Town Justice,
Judge Keith Braunfotel.
Tuesday’s ceremony featured the swearing-in of Councilman Licker and Judge Braunfotel, who
both made poignant remarks thanking their families and supporters and pledged to serve the
best interests of our town’s residents. Councilman Axelrod had been previously sworn-in after
being appointed to fill the vacant seat of former Councilman Pat Carroll, who was elected to the
NYS Assembly in November of 2024.
The evening’s ceremony was led by Clarkstown Police Chaplain David Lothrop and kicked off
with the Clarkstown Police Honor Guard carrying in the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance. A
wonderful rendition of our national anthem was given by Clarkstown High School South
student, Amber Veloz. Moments of silence were taken to honor the lives and service of former
United States President Jimmy Carter and former Councilman Mark Woods. Public service is a
noble endeavor when the aim is to selflessly serve the people, and these men were both
exemplary in that regard. Please join me in recognizing the remarkable and selfless
contributions made by these two distinguished leaders.
My own remarks during the meeting were not an official “State of the Town” address, but
offered a glimpse of some of what we hope to accomplish together in 2025. Much of that work
will carry over from projects planned or started in 2024. In the next few weeks, work will begin
on phase two of the West Nyack revitalization plan. This long-awaited capital improvement,
made possible through several significant grants to help defray the costs, will feature major
improvements to the streetscape, sidewalks, traffic flow, and parking in the hamlet business
district. And I’m extremely proud that this project will implement the drainage and roadway
improvements that have been sought by residents for nearly twenty years.
Also in West Nyack, 2025 will see the start and completion of the Germonds Turf Field project.
This project will create a multi-sport turf field complex, increase parking, and add new lighting.
Existing baseball fields will receive new turf infields, greatly improving the availability of fields
during and after periods of wet weather and extending the seasons for many of our sports
leagues. The cost of this project to our taxpayers was greatly reduced through $1,655,000 in
grants offsetting roughly a third of the cost of this project.
Other projects are underway all across town. The former Rockland Country Day School site will
soon be home to a new, natural grass field used by Clarkstown sports leagues and will serve as
a new revenue source via permit fees. I am also excited about a new maintenance building that
will be completed here at town hall this spring. 2025 will also bring the cost savings associated
with the benefits of a new solar array recently installed on the roof at Town Hall. A new pocket
park and playground will be constructed in Central Nyack, the playground at Street School will
be updated and named in honor of Councilman Woods. We will pursue approvals for a flood
mitigation project at Jeffrey Court, West Nyack, which will receive significant funding from a
federal grant secured through Congressman Mike Lawler.
In short, we have done much, but still have much more to do. And as we plan and implement
these capital projects, we do so with the borrowing advantage that comes from the Town’s
strong bond rating that we received from S&P this past fall, which is the highest of any town in
the county.
As you can see, we have an ambitious agenda in place for the upcoming year. I am deeply
grateful for the continued support and service of Councilmen Franchino and Graziano, and I
look forward to working with Councilmen Axelrod and Licker. And, as always, I am incredibly
fortunate to have an amazing and dedicated staff to work with across all our departments.
So here’s to 2025, which should be another great year for the residents of Clarkstown!
