TWIW 18: April 27, 2026

In This Episode:

• North Salem Town Supervisor Warren Lucas joined to discuss issues effecting the Town.
• Administrator of the Office of Assigned Council Stephanie Perez joined to highlight the Office of Assigned Counsel’s upcoming “Pannual” for the 200 attorneys who handle their cases. 
• Founder of Operation Prom National Network Noel D’Allacco joined to speak about this year’s Prom Wear Giveaway, taking place at the Westchester County Center May 1 through May 3. For more than two decades, Westchester County has partnered with Operation Prom to help make this rite of passage accessible to all students in Westchester. 
• Department of Environmental Facilities upcoming Household Recycling Days. 
• Jenkins announced the upcoming Haitian Heritage Month celebration. 
• Jenkins highlighted the State of the County Address on May 6.

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Transcript

Intro 0:06

Welcome to This Week in Westchester, the podcast, your weekly audio briefing from Westchester County Government. Each week, County Executive Ken Jenkins breaks down the decisions, investments, and initiatives shaping life across Westchester. Clear information, real progress. One place to stay informed. Now, here's this week in Westchester.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 0:29

Good afternoon. And this is this week the briefing. But we are going to start with a really good friend of ours, the Town of North Salem supervisor, Warren Lucas. Warren is going to discuss the issues that are impacting the town and the things that are moving forward going forward in the future. He's going to share his insight on the regional collaborations, current challenges facing all local governments, but more importantly, what's ahead in North Salem? And with that, let me turn over to my good friend, the supervisor, Warren Lucas. Warren.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Well, you know, one of the interesting things about Westchester County, and we were just talking to some folks before about it, is how diverse it is. And you can go to the river towns or you can go down to the sound. We're a little unique. We're the highest point in Westchester County up in the northeast, right on the Connecticut and Putnam border. For those that don't know, because they drive up 684, they see Purdy's and Cropin Falls, they're all part of the town of North Salem. We have a couple of train stations, we have uh two exits on 684. Um but with all of this stuff, we also have 50% of the county's agricultural land in the town. And that's not just horses, it's also CSAs, which are community gardens and things of that nature. It's it's quite nice. Um we also have a bunch of open land. There's only 5,300 people in 24 square miles. And the county has a thousand-acre um county park, Mountain Lakes Park. I'd invite you up to walk around, take a look, it's absolutely gorgeous. We also have the North Salem Open Land Foundation, which has well over a thousand acres. It's about 1,300 right now of open land with trails for people to do uh uh you know walking on at passive recreation. And there's 125 acres of Audubon property if you want to come up. So one of the things that's really unique about our town, and again, everybody's different, everybody has things that they say are lovely about their municipality, is the open land and uh also the easy access to 684 on the trains. We have apple orchards in town, and I know the name uh, you know, outhouse orchards or harvest moon are two of them. But what's interesting is they're not just open in the fall. Um the the um the Harvest Moon has uh summer cider nights, and they actually make a very nice, uh getting some nods, so they get a they make a very nice uh cider wine. And uh I was gonna bring Ken a bottle, but I know he can't accept it. Uh and that's uh Thursday and Friday evening. So come on up, drive up 684 and spend some time there. They have live music, a bunch of great bands and stuff. It's great. A couple of years ago, we purchased uh one of the oldest schools, and it was uh in private hands for a while. We purchased it right after COVID, and it was the home for the Schoolhouse Theater, which is the um oldest uh private equ uh oldest equity theater in uh in Westchester County. And we turned it a community center, it's vibrant. We have about 10,000 visitors coming in right now. Um but if you're interested in in music, loud music, it's free to anybody that shows up. We have a 91-seat theater, and uh also schoolhouse theater still uses it for their plays and things. So that's a great thing to come up and take. I uh I had to write it down because last time I left one of the restaurants out. But we have a couple of restaurants that are Michelin-rated in town. Farm and the Fish, which is right off of exit seven. We also have La Bastine and Senedau. And also, I mean, there's a wide variety of Blazer Pub, the Creek, Primavera. Um hopefully I didn't leave any out. Uh so you know, come on up, spend some time, maybe do some hiking, go out to dinner, take in some music at the uh community center. One of the things that we worked on years ago, and it was an area of town that uh I grew up around, was Peach Lake. It was really summer residences. And with the help of the county, WQIP money, the state of New York and Variety people, we put a sewer system in around 2012, and it's made a huge difference in the lake. We've also invested a lot of other money in mitigating phosphorus and stormwater into the lake. And the home prices, if I said they're going up, they're they've gone up drastically. But it's an absolutely gorgeous lake. Uh motorboats and everything else, people enjoy it during the summer. What we're also doing now is we're working on the Croton Falls sewers, and we're there. We have all the money. We have permission from the town of Somers to uh to hook actually up to their heritage system. And uh at this point, we're just going back and forth to uh uh to the community, making sure they were all on board. About 78 percent of the people are in favor so far. And hopefully we'll be pulling the trigger on that a little bit later this year. So, really what I want to leave with you is it's a very diverse county. We have a unique town that has a lot of open land, a lot of agriculture. I think I mentioned 50 percent of the county's ag uh ag land is in our is uh of our property is in their ag district. Uh so with that, Ken, I'd like to turn it back to you. And uh thank you very much for allowing me to talk a little bit about North Salem.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 5:35

Warren, thank you so much. That's our supervisor from the town of North Salem, Warren Lucas, and and Warren is doing so many tremendous things, not just talking about um the recognition of the the great open spaces and restaurants and things that are happening, but that infrastructure and the things that are necessary that happen from um from the government side, and whether that's uh dealing with wastewater recovery systems or anything like that, with which was Peach Lake, um which was our good friend Pete Harkom, when you have Warren Lucas, who's supervisor, and um and Pete Harcom when he first became a legislator. Now that's our friend Senator Pete Harkom. Um, and we're gonna be together with all of our friends in the state legislature, and certainly up in North Salem and all around with a PFAS um pilot program that is for those uh those uh homeowners in the area um to be able to deal with some PFAS removal things. So that's a pilot program with the state, and that's gonna be coming up, you know, we're gonna be announcing that later on this week, the pilot program and being able to work throughout the state. We want to thank Governor Kathy Hoko, but because of the leadership of Supervisor Warren Lucas, the town board members, and everyone working together with our state um delegation to make sure that we are able to make sure that there's clean drinking water and people um while the ag district, 78% of the ag district for Westchester County is and resides in North Salem. More importantly, our drinking water comes from that neck of the woods. So for whether whether you live in Yonkers or anything like that, um the water uh for our our New York City water supply, which we take water from, all emanates from that area, and that's why it's so important all the work that they do up there. So again, Warren, thank you for your leadership and your continued partnership and work um to make sure that we're making Westchester as a whole better. But for the town of North Salem, um they've been privileged to have your leadership, and we're looking forward to continuing to work with you as we continue to move forward. At this time, we're gonna switch gears and we're gonna talk about um then we're gonna be pleased to welcome Stephanie Perez, um, our administrator of the Office of Housing Counsel, who's gonna join us to highlight the upcoming pan annual annual gathering that brings together nearly the 200 attorneys who handle cases on behalf of Westchester County and on behalf of the state in Westchester County. And she's gonna discuss the important role these attorneys play in ensuring quality, legal representation, the value of continued education and collaboration, and how the event helps strengthen professional connections throughout the assigned counsel panel. Stephanie, come on up. It's good seeing you.

SPEAKER_04 8:07

Thank you for having me. Good afternoon. As the county executive said, my name is Stephanie Perez, and I am the administrator of the Westchester County Independent Office of Assigned Council. Westchester County created our office about three and a half years ago to administer the ATB panel of attorneys who are assigned by the court to represent clients in criminal court, family court, and the appellate courts. Our ATB panel is made up of attorneys in private practice who accept assignments from the court to represent clients. Historically, these attorneys have operated independently. But since the Office of Assigned Counsel opened its doors, we have worked to create a community of colleagues amongst this panel to equip them to provide high-quality legal representation to the clients. These are a group of hard-working and dedicated attorneys who handle demanding and complex cases, often acting as the first line of defense for the vulnerable, for families in distress, and defending the constitutional rights of individuals who cannot afford to hire their own counsel. They ensure that fairness in our court system is not just a concept, but a reality. This is an intensive full-day training, and it is specifically and exclusively designed for our assigned council panel members. And it is a strategic investment in the quality of representation in this county. Tomorrow, our panel members, more than 200 local attorneys, along with community stakeholders and our um county partners, our community partners, will gather for the second assigned council conference. And it will be focused on continuing legal education, training, and direct resource access. Our 2026 programs is focused on three threat three critical areas. One, advocacy skills. We're offering advanced trial workshops, including specialized training on cross-examination techniques, impeachment, and appellate advocacy. Two, client-centered defense. We will be focused on providing strategies for working with survivors of domestic violence and also the ethics of client-centered representation in challenging circumstances. Continuing with that, Westchester County has a significant and vibrant Latina community. We will be offering a presentation to our attorneys to best equip them to handle cases where either their clients or others involved within the case may be from the Latina community, and to ensure that our attorneys have a deeper understanding of the history of the Latina experience in our court system with the goal of providing our attorneys with culturally responsive strategies that they can use in their day-to-day cases. And three, a community-focused resource fair. In addition to the training, we are bridging the gap between advocacy and community resources. Our conference will feature an embedded resource fair connecting panel members directly with local and county partners. Because advocacy doesn't stop at the courtroom door. We are bringing in partners from multiple county departments, such as the Department of Health, the Office of Housing Counsel, the Department of Community Mental Health, and the Department of Probation, as well as local advocacy groups that provide resources in the community such as hospitals, food pantries, substance abuse providers, mental health providers, just to name a few. This allows our attorneys to not just fight a charge, but to help address the root causes such as housing instability, mental health crisis, or addiction that often bring people into the court system to begin with. A well-trained and knowledgeable defense attorney reduces wrongful convictions, ensures fair outcomes, and increases public confidence in our court system. When panel attorneys are equipped to bring the latest legal arguments and defense techniques into the courtroom, the entire system functions better, more efficiently, and more fairly. We are bringing in top experts in the legal field to provide presentations. For our panel members, this is an opportunity to hone their craft, connect with peers, and stay on the cutting edge of defense. Our commitment to indigent defense is a commitment to the rule of law. We are committed to ensuring that our assigned council panel is the most prepared, skilled, and effective defense team possible. I would like to thank County Executive Jenkins for supporting our panel and the critical work that they do on behalf of indigent clients of this county. By creating the Office of Assigned Council and supporting our work and initiatives, Westchester County is on the forefront of ensuring that indigent clients receive high-quality legal representation, fulfilling the promise of the United States Constitution and the laws of right to counsel. Thank you. Thank you.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 13:47

Well, Stephanie Perez, who is our administrator for the Office of Assigned Counsel. And all of us are familiar when we we watch any one of those legal shows, CSI, it's like if you have the right, if you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Stephanie's um and her team's role is to make sure that those assigned counsel are um having the tools in their toolbox to make sure they can provide that highest quality um counsel for those folks that are in indigent legal services. So again, we want to say thank you to Stephanie and her entire team, um, the Office of Assigned Counsel and making sure that the balance continues to be there and the right things happen because of having the right representation and being able to um have things work as pop as efficiently as possible, going through a system to make sure that there's fairness and equity in all things. So again, thank you, Stephanie, for all of your hard work and your team's work. We're going to talk about prime season. Who knew, right? So it's that time of the year. We're flipping into May. Who knew at the end of this week? It'll be May 1st on Friday. Friday is May 1st, and that means it's prime season. We we had earlier this year where we we talked about some of the things that are happening and make sure from a DWI perspective, we'll have those folks from um Office of Public Safety in a little bit later on in May. But right now, coming up this weekend, we are so pleased to welcome no Noel Abdeliko, who is the founder of the Operation Prom National Network, who's going to join us to discuss this year's prom giveaway that's gonna be taking place at the Westchester County Center this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 1st through the 3rd. And because we've been doing this for more than two decades, we are pleased to have both the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, Commissioner Leonard Towns with us, Noelle and Steph and Ashley that's gonna be here with us um as well to be able to let us know what's going on as far as Operation Prom. With that, let me turn over to Commissioner. We'll bring up Noelle and Ashley at the same time, and then we'll be able to work all this together.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

Thank you, County Executive. Good afternoon. We're here to celebrate the kickoff of prom season. This is one of my favorite events of the year because it means so much to see kids get in gear that they need to celebrate the prom and have a night to remember. Um I gotta say a lot about Noelle. She's such a very special person, um, and you you just can't imagine the heart she has for this work. Um I I think um good things come to good people, and um I can tell you something good came to her maybe a year or two ago. Uh I was uh at home watching TV and I happened to see Wheel of Fortune, and I'm watching and I hear them say Noel, and I turn around and I see her on Wheel of Fortune. And not only was she there, she actually won. And so to me, blessings come to those who bless others. And Noelle, it's been an amazing partnership with you, and I just look forward to this event every year, and I'm so grateful for your love and compassion for the youth. Ashley, who is from our career center with DSS, has joined and she's assisting you, and I just wish you the very best in keeping this work going. We are always gonna be here with you and partnering with you. And uh, at this time, I want to turn it over to Noelle to give us some more details about Operation Prom.

SPEAKER_05 16:57

So, yes, thank you to the county executive, thank you to the commissioner, and thank you to everybody here at Westchester County government who's partnered with Operation Prom for the past 22 years. I am Noel Velako, the founder of the Operation Prom National Network. I started the organization uh 22 years ago from my parents' home in Yonkers, New York. Um, I am excited to introduce you to Ashley Sansevier, who is the news director of Operation Prom Prom 914.

unknown 17:25

Ashley.

SPEAKER_06 17:26

Thank you, Noel. And thank you to Westchester County government for this ongoing partnership. I am Ashley Sansevier. I work with the Department of Social Services, and I am the director of Prom 914. Being part of Prom 914 is incredibly meaningful to me. Helping bring Operation Prom to life for these students and contributing to such a special milestone in their lives like Prom is truly rewarding. We welcome all Westchester Westchester County High School seniors to the Westchester County Center on Friday, May 1st. There are still reservations available from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. If a student or group of students would like to visit, they can register online at www.promnational network.org. Students can register to visit us on Saturday, May 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday, May 3rd, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thanks to Beeline Bus, all bus fares to the Westchester County Center are free for students with valid high school ID. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_05 18:22

Thank you, Ashley. And I'll just add that Operation Prom received thousands of dress and tuxedo donations this year, thanks to everybody for their support. So we'd like to invite the community to also come visit us at the Westchester County Center on Sunday after 12 p.m. If you're looking for a dress, maybe a bridal gown, a casual dress, maybe some formal dresses. We have all different kinds of dresses available for a$10 donation to Operation Prom, 100% of the proceeds benefit operation prom. So you can join us after 12 p.m. on Sunday. You can also follow Prom 914 on social media for live updates from the county center. Thank you. Thanks so much. Thank you.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 19:03

All right. First, we want to say again, thank you to Noelle for her continued work and doing this. Ashley, congratulations on this particular work because you have just so many hats that you're doing, but congratulations for being the leader this year for prom in 914. And certainly our Commissioner of Social Services, Leonard Towns, and all of the members that work together. But again, it is such an exciting opportunity. And again, you should make sure to sign up because on the first day, um, you have to be signed up to be able to come through. And then as Noel was pointing out, and Ashley was pointing out as well, after 12 o'clock on Saturday, on the Sunday, no, 12 o'clock on Sunday the third, um, then you'll be able to come through if you did not have a reservation already. And we want to, you know, again, shout out for our B line bus system to make sure that if you have you need to make sure to bring your high school ID to be able to get free transportation going to the county center. That's not everywhere, but to the county center, um to be um to do um participate in Operation Prom. And again, for the two decades to be able to have those kind of um opportunities when you see their faces, and I've had the opportunity to be there where people are trying things on and picking things out. It it is really, really an exciting time. So we want to continue to say thank you to Noelle. And and as the commissioner said, good things come to the people that do well, and that is you, certainly, Noel. And um, I did not know about the Wheel of Fortune thing until just now. All right, great. Congratulations for for all of those things. Uh again, operation prom uh May 1st through May 3rd at the Westchester County Center. Here in Westchester, you know we are committed to recycling, and we have one of the highest recycling rates in the state of New York. This year, household recycling days will return. The next one is going to be on Saturday, May 2nd at Spring Ridge Park in Yonkers. That's gonna go from 9 to 3. Um, the address is 149 Jackson Avenue in Yonkers. It's right on the Hastings border. So depending on the side of the park you're in, you might be in Hastings or Yonkers, but the address is actually in Yonkers. Um, and and again, the biggest challenges through that are that um so many people come, you want to make sure to have and pack your patients through that. So whether that um recycling, the household recycling materials that we um accept that that day include prescription drugs, it includes shredding, it includes paint, textiles, there's so many things, but you don't have to get out your car at all. The great team from the Department of Environmental Facilities swarms around your car at the various stations and be able to take those things out. So whether they're they're tires or whether they're um old things that are happening in the house, um, household chemicals, they'll be able to do those kind of things as well. I mean, we don't think about some of the things that are in our basement, in the closet or in the garage, et cetera. Um, this is an opportunity to do those cleanups to make sure that they Don't get into our waste system um like in our water by someone dumping, etc. etc. So on May 2nd, um Saturday, May 2nd from 9 to 3. We usually get about between 3,500 and 4,000 people, especially when it's on a really good day. So again, packing your patients as we go through that. And again, you can look online um at you know for household recycled days in the Department of Environmental Facilities on Westchester County, New York, and you certainly um.gov, um you should be able to take care and take a look at that. This Friday on May 1st, besides Operation Prom kicking off, we're inviting you on Friday to join us as we celebrate the rich culture, history, and enduring contributions of our Haitian community during the 2026 Haitian Heritage Month celebration. I'm gonna be proud to be joined by my friend, State Senator Shelley Mayer, for this special gathering as we unveil the Haitian flag at the McKellan Office Building here in White Plains. That's gonna happen Friday at 11 o'clock in the morning, so Friday, May 1st, 11 a.m. And we're gonna be gathered to recognize the tremendous impact our Haitian Americans have had around our county, in our state, and in the nation in business, education, health care, public service, the arts, and so many other fields. So please join us on Friday, and we look forward to celebrating you, celebrating with you 2026 Haitian Heritage Month. Uh again, Friday, May 1st at 11 o'clock. We then are gonna have the following week. We're gonna have the state of the county. So I'm gonna be delivering this 2026 State of the County address on May 6th. The doors are gonna open at 6 p.m. and the address begins promptly at 6 30. You certainly need to register for that online. Um communications at westchestercounty ny.gov. Um, and certainly the address is gonna start at 6 30 on the eighth floor on the county board of legislators um chambers. Again, you can tune into it right here on the county's um website, uh, right here on the county's website or on the county's Facebook page. And finally, we have everything that's happening in our county park system. I'm gonna say right off the top to make sure that if you can download the parks app because it also has discounts, but it has things in it. It'll let you know about Operation Prom, for example, let you know whatever things are happening at the county center, whether it's with the Westchester Knicks or anything going around throughout the 55 different facilities that the that we have for Westchester County, as well as anything that's going on uh as far as events that are happening like Operation Prom. So May 2nd on Saturday, May 2nd, we're gonna have um at the Lastden Public Gardens and Veterans Memorial in Katona, um, we're going to have dangerous and toxic outdoor and indoor plants. Where the tour is going to examine some of the most dangerous and toxic plants that are found in our home in the backyard and surrounding areas. Parts of these plants, including leaves, seeds, and berries, if ingested, can cause individuals to become ill. So that's free. It's also going to be on June 13th. So again, May 2nd, 10 to 11 a.m. and on June 13th as well. May 2nd, we're also going to have in the Edith G. Reed Wildlife Sanctuary, which is at Rye in Rye, um, right next to Playland. It's going to be from 1 to 2 p.m. and it's going to be all about owls, where you're going to be able to learn about owls with hands-on activities as well as dissecting owl pellets. That's free. And coming up is something that everyone is so excited on, but it is going to be the kickoff for bicycle Sundays. So May 3rd, 10 to 2 on the Bronx River Reservation on the Bronx River Parkway from Scarsdale Road in Yonkers, right up to the county center. It's going to be closed for cars, it's going to be open to bike, bicyclists, scooters, inline skaters, um, and an e-bike for class one only. If you have an e-bike, you know what that is, but an e-bike class one only, plus walkers, joggers, no motorized scooters. There's so many points of entry, many points of entry along the way. It's free, and that starts on Saturday, May 3rd. Um, we go from pretty much May 10th, 17th to 31st, and then right through June, we skip the holiday weekend. All right, and we're gonna skip the holiday weekend on in July, certainly, and then continue on right through the end of July, and then we come back, skipping August, coming back in September. So again, um, bicycle Sundays kick off at 10 a.m. on this Sunday, May 3rd. It is an exciting opportunity to do that. You'll see so many people there. We have some sponsors, but we'll talk about those on May 3rd. So we look forward to seeing you and your family out there enjoying the wonderful Bronx River Reservation on the Bronx River Parkway from Scarsdale Road in Yonkers right up to the county center. And that's this week in Westchester. We are proud to spotlight of the programs, people, and partnerships that make our county stronger every day. We started with speaking with Supervisor Warren Lucas from the town of North Salem, who let us know the priorities, the things that are happening, some of the challenges, but more importantly, some of the great food. Farm Interfish, personally, a little personal shout-out for me there, right? And then we had Stephanie Perez come and join us to talk about the panannual um event that recognizes and works with and provides programs for the 200 attorneys who help ensure access to justice for residents throughout Westchester County from her off position as the administrator of the Office of Assigned Counsel. We had Noelle, Ashley, and we had Commissioner Glender Towns come up here to talk to us about the prom wear giveaway for Operation Prom May 1st through May 3rd at the county center. Make sure you register. Um, we also reminded everyone of the super popular household recycling days that are back, the second one. This is the second event uh for this year at May 2nd at Spring Ridge Park, as we continue to lead uh the state in sustainability and environmental stewardship. And we're looking forward to having that exciting Heritage Month program for Haitian American Heritage Month as we celebrate history, culture, and the contributions of the Haitian community and getting it ready for the 2026 State of the County address. Our parks are part of packed with fun. It looks like it's gonna be a good weekend. We can keep our fingers crossed this week. Um, we had enough rain for this week, so we're gonna see a little bit more rain on Wednesday, but we're looking forward to having a nice weekend um with bicycle Sundays, um the Operation Prom and so many other things that are happening because there's truly something special for someone everywhere in Westchester. And that's this week in Westchester. I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Thank you so much for watching. We'll be back to you if there's anything comes up in between. If what if not that, we'll look forward to seeing you at any one of the many events around Westchester County. Thanks for watching.