TWIW 28: July 6, 2026

In this episode:

• Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, Westchester County Emergency Services Commissioner Susan Spear and Department of Public Works & Transportation Commissioner Hugh Greechan give update on recent storm and discuss response. 
• Mayor of Ardsley Steve Edelstein joined to discuss exciting updates from the Village. 
• Westchester County Department of Social Services Commissioner Leonard Townes provided an update on his department. 
• Westchester County Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons, Westchester County Association President and CEO Michael Romita and The STEM Alliance President Margaret Kaufer spoke on the upcoming Converge Conference on July 16. 
• Jenkins discussed the upcoming FIFA World Cup Final Watch Party at the Kensico Dam on Sunday, July 19. 
• Deputy County Executive Joan McDonald highlighted the County’s upcoming celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is taking place on Wednesday July 15, at Playland Park.
• McDonald also gave an update on upcoming events at Westchester County Parks.

---

Do you have feedback or a suggestion for a future podcast topic? Please let us know by emailing communications@westchestercountyny.gov and include Podcast in the subject line.

For the latest news & updates visit the Westchester County Newsroom or follow us on social:  Instagram  |  Facebook  |  X (Twitter)  |  LinkedIn  |  YouTube

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

Hi, I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Today is July 6th, 2026. This is this week in Westchester, the briefing. After we went through all of the weather-related issues, whether it was the extreme heat for the heat wave that we had, then followed up by some um micro bursts and storms that went on. We're going to be joined today right off the top from our Commissioner of Emergency Services, Susan Speer, and then with Commissioner for Public Works and Transportation, Commissioner Hugh Greashin. So let's start with Susan, because she had all of the fun that was going on from an emergency services perspective. There we go.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Commissioner, good afternoon. Thank you, County Executive Jenkins, Deputy County Executive McDonald, for your focus on public health and safety. Weather is once again in the news. We are certainly going through all the stages and patterns of intense summer weather. Last week it was a heat wave. This week it's severe storms with the potential for flooding. The more intense the heat, the more intense the subsequent storms. Some of these storms um interrupted July 4th celebrations and resulted in electrical outages and closed roads. Our county emergency operations center was activated so that we could have the necessary staff together and more quickly resolve any incidents as they came up. Our 60 control 911 dispatch center received three times the number of calls on Saturday night that they receive on a normal evening. We appreciate our 911 dispatchers for stepping up and managing all that extra call volume. They are our first responders, making sure that appropriate responses are sent where and when needed. Significant progress has been made in restoring electrical and internet outages, which were well over 20,000 in Westchester on Saturday night. Remaining outages and restoration times include for Con Edison 3,700 remaining outages with restoration expected by this evening. Nice egg, 1,700 remaining outages with restoration expected this evening, and some tomorrow afternoon. Verizon also had some internet uh fiber and cell outages uh with repairs in progress. And um most of the impact was south of 287, and there are 250 customers still to be restored. We expect additional heavy rains to continue this afternoon and into the evening, possibly another two to three inches. Please be prepared for uh flooding in some of the areas where traditionally floods, you know where you are. The flood watch is in effect through 6 a.m. tomorrow. Here in Westchester, we are no strangers to flooding of our roads and certain local neighborhoods. Flood waters can come up very quickly. So please have emergence an emergency flood plan in place for all family members, including kids and pets. Be familiar with alternate routes in case some roads are closed. Have an emergency go bag ready for you, your family, and your pets, including any medications that you need on a daily basis. Do not touch or go near downed electric power lines. It's hard to tell if wires are still active. So please just stay clear, especially if there's some water in the vicinity. It can be very conductive. So stay away from any downed power lines. Keep your phone charged with essential phone numbers pre-programmed into your contacts. And keep a small emergency supply kit in the trunk of your car. Westchester County has a very well-trained technical rescue team ready to assist if needed. And we also appreciate the governor and New York State, who has pre-positioned a state technical rescue team for Swiftwater Rescue in Westchester just in case they are needed. We thank them for helping us with this readiness, and we remain ready to assist if there are any emergencies. So let's end on a positive note. These storms will bring an end to the heat temporarily. Thank you.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 4:55

All right, Commissioner, thank you. That's Commissioner Susan Speer, Commissioner of Emergency Services, who was being pressed into action first on the heat, the excessive heat, you know, up to 110, 112 degrees in different places, and certainly all of the first responders, um, emergency service workers, all those folks that were out there, law enforcement, um EMS fire, et cetera, that were trying to make sure that everyone was safe and secure. Thank you so much, um, Commissioner Spear, and all of the the people that were answering from 60 control and making sure things happened. They were also in service um both on uh um going from Saturday to Sunday morning at 12 o'clock at um in the afternoon, going right through the day. And because we had this extended weekend because of the holiday being on Saturday, being served on Thursday and on Friday, um, we're all confused with the dates. But you know, quite frankly, they were all in service over all that time and making sure that everything was being taken care of as best as possible. Um, again, with over 20,000 people that had lost power, um, mostly again, ha almost half um outside of the New York State electric and gas area. Um, but in Westchester County, we have a very small portion of our our our northeast um corner that is um New York State electric and gas. That smaller area was about the other half. So again, with a lot of trees um and the significant winds, and we think there was a micro burst. We haven't heard for sure whether or not we had um a tornado touchdown or not, but I've heard that in different areas. It was definitely uh a micro burst, and we certainly making sure to take care of everything that um Commissioner Spears said. Um, you know, if you see standard water, turn around, don't drown. That's sort of the things to make sure that happened, and and thank the governor um and the team for having the swift water um rescue boats available. But um the next person up is going to be our commissioner of public works and transportation, Hugh Greashen, who makes sure that to clear up those trees and things that were happening all over the place so quickly on on Saturday evening and then going through on Sunday um with our public transportation system and making sure those things happen at airport, et cetera. With that, let me bring up the Commissioner of Public Works and Transportation, Hugh Greesson. Hugh, come on up.

SPEAKER_07 7:06

And Hugh's taller, so he can be over the water. But yes, uh good afternoon, everyone. So as as uh as uh uh County Executive uh Jenkins said, and as as Commissioner uh Spears said, you we're we're not out of this yet. We're still we expect the storm to increase as the day goes on. We're gonna have those flash thunderstorm type rainfalls. Right now, we've had a low for four or five hours, which is good. Our crews are out there, we've cleaned up branches, we have to work with Con Edison. You just can't go in and clean out a street of hanging wires. You have to you have to make sure that the power is is is is cut off. So that's sometimes why it looks like a delay. If it's not safe, we can't even go in and clean it up. We expect to continue to do that throughout the night. I just ask everybody, please, these cruises pop up, they're in the middle of streets, uh, they do their best to notify you coming around the corner. So really there should be no unnecessary travel, you know, this afternoon or this evening. If you don't have to go out, don't go out. You can't see a down wire at night. I mean, it's just it's just not worth it. Even be careful even walking around, walking the dogs, that sort of thing. Um as far as the uh beeline system, we're all on time. There's a small detour in Yonkers now on Route 5. We're on the time now. It's a good alternative, transportation. You could uh and at the county airport, there are some right now uh some minor delays for departure and arrivals. Now, the best way to check that is with your airlines, or you also can go in the beeline system. You can go on the county website, you go to departments, you go under transportation, and you click down and you can see the same screen you would see at the airport on delays or departures or whatever you need to see, the same thing, all up to date. And any detour that might happen throughout the night uh on the beeline system. So, with that, just be safe, stay careful.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 8:59

Thanks, Commissioner. That's Commissioner Hugh Greashin from Public Works and Transportation. Um, and and again, reminding people uh again when you get on the roads if you pay attention to whatever signage that's out there, um, but also be careful, especially with the down wires. A lot of times right now I know that there's people without um their phone and internet service as well in some of those communities. Um the wires are the same wires in the the that that go on the different poles, and whether they're electric wires that may be managed by New York State Electric and Gas or Con Edison, um Verizon Optimum, all those folks out there, they're also waiting, but they can't touch anything either. So they can't do anything until uh up until Con Ed comes in and does their thing. Um sometimes the trees need to be cleared by the the professionals that are doing that, and then um they can get in after Con Ed or New York State Electric and Gas says it's safe for them to do so. And again, it's a very uh very challenging time because at least Con Ed can have a map um in New York State Electric and Gas if you have the app, if your phone's working, if you have it charged up, and if you can went in the car and tried to make sure you get additional charge for some of those folks to be able to see that there is a reported outage, you can see the estimated time, and remember it's estimated things happen. And right now we're going through a little lull of a period with with uh with the rain that's happening, but we expect that the rain can be up to four inches in an hour. That is a lot of water very quickly. That's why we have flash flooding warnings that are going on all over. And again, make sure that we're paying attention to all of those things. But for the most part, we were able to deal with some of the issues, whether it was power issues that were lost in different places. Pay attention to um any Department of Health warnings that may be out there. I know the one I just saw before we came in was up in Lewisboro because the water um is they have a boil water advisory right now because their water filtration facility for their um their potable water um was down because of the power of lack of the power. Um so they're reminding people to boil water. So pay attention to all those things. Listen to your municipal leaders. Um, we try to make sure to turn around to them as quickly as possible when we see things that are going on and be able to do that. But again, um trying to be as safe as possible um to make sure that everyone gets gets around um safely. With that, we're gonna change up and and talk to one of our municipal leaders on a river town. Right? So um in the the village, we know that they have a saying in the village of Ardsley, it takes a village, and Ardsley is that village. Um, with that, we're pleased to welcome the mayor of Ardsley, Steve Allistein, who will be here to join and share with us several exciting updates from um the village of Ardsley. Um the mayor is going to discuss ongoing projects and initiatives that are enhancing the quality of life for the residents or anything else um that May Allstein wants to do. So, with that, let's turn it over to the mayor of the village of Ardsley, Steve Allstein.

Intro 11:56

Steve.

SPEAKER_06 11:59

Good afternoon, and thank you, Kit County Executive Jenkins, for inviting me here today. I'm always delighted to have the opportunity to talk about the village of Ardsley, the little village that could. For those that don't know Ardsley, we're a small village, 5,000 residents and over a mile square in the southwest corner of the county. Yet, despite our small size, we are a vibrant, close-knit community that is making great strides in improving our village for our residents now and the future. Then Ardsley was rolling hills and farms. Today, Ardsley is a modern residential suburb with easy commuter access to New York City. While we are proud of our history, over the past decade we have focused on planning for Ardsley's future. We started with our first comprehensive plan in over 50 years, and we've been working diligently on implementation implementation since. It was followed by a downtown area revitalization plan, a master plan for parks and recreation, stormwater and sewer mapping and repair, and a natural resources inventory. All this planning has led to thoughtful, tangible projects reflecting community input that have helped move our village forward. This past fall, we reopened our newly renovated Pascone Park, one of two main parks in the village. The renovation included uh plate new playground equipment, a great lawn, a new bandstand, a lighted walking pathway, and much more. We are proud to receive a planning achievement award for this effort from the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation. But the true measure of its success is to see the park filled with residents enjoying all the new amenities. We are hoping to build on this success with a phase two, which would include a new natural playground and a splash pad. In addition, we've renovated our bicentennial park and opened a new dog park at the back of our McDowell Park. The dog park was a highly prioritized amenity in a survey of our residents for the master plan. The large turnout of dogs and dog owners at our ribbon cutting ceremony last weekend demonstrated that we are have truly addressed the community need. For a village its size, Ardsley has been a leader in sustainability and environmental protection. In addition to the natural resources inventory that will help us preserve and enhance our natural resources, we were recertified for bronze through the New York State's Climate Smart Communities program for our sustainability efforts. And with the assistance of Ardsley's Green Task Force, we recently submitted our application for silver certification. If successful, Arsley would be the smallest municipality ever to achieve this designation. We have installed solar panels on our highway garage facility that opened last fall. The energy generated from the 400-kilowatt array will substantially offset energy used by village buildings. Through a collaboration with Westchester County, we have installed 28 electrical vehicle charging stations at our two parks, with more to come at Village Hall. We have embraced the shift from gas power to electric with the purchase of two electric vehicles for our Department of Public Works, and through an aggressive program for replacing landscaping equipment with electric. We boast a robust pollinator pathway initiative. Not only is it educating Ardsley residents on how we can restore pollinator habitat yard by yard, but it boasts a mailing list of over 1,200 that reaches all the way to New Hampshire. As with many municipalities in the county, Ardsley has long battled issues with flooding. Located between the Sawmill River and Bronx River watersheds, Ardsley has faced significant challenges. We have repaired and expanded many of our stormwater catch basins. We are finalizing a grant from the county to address flooding in the Powder Horn Captain Honeywell neighborhood, one of our remaining problem areas. And later this summer, we will install a new pump funded by a grant from FEMA that will work in conjunction with our Army Corps of Engineers flooding control project to better protect our downtown businesses and municipal assets from flooding. Finally, we are a community that loves to come together to celebrate our diversity. Nine years ago, we established our Multicultural Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and a decade decade later, we are still going strong. Spring is a busy time for us. In May, we observed Asian American Pacific Islander Month and Jewish Heritage Month with our mitzvah mixer, and in June we celebrated Eid and Juneteenth. Except for the county itself, few communities offer such a rich menu of cultural events. Also last month, our annual ice cream social and food truck Friday drew huge crowds to Pascone Park. And tonight we are having a World Cup watch party for the match between the U.S. and Belgium. Looking ahead, our arts commission will be selecting an artist for our first public mural. We are finalizing an overhaul of our downtown zoning code to encourage smart growth and walkability, and a renovation of our Adam and Square will anchor future redevelopment of our downtown. With a lean, hardworking staff and an engaged board, Ardsley is a village that gets things done. Thank you, County Executive Jenkins, for the chance to highlight Ardsley's progress. Our communities is strong, and our future is bright. Thank you.

unknown 17:31

Thank you, Mayor.

SPEAKER_06 17:32

Can I steal back those for a second?

SPEAKER_07 17:37

There you go.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 17:42

It's not the mayor's issue, it's mine. I just keep leaving mine up here. I'm gonna move them around. That that happened at our 250th um revolutionary service um service, and we were talking about uh uh the Holt Broadside um declaration, um, that the declaration being um distributed. So that was one of the options that always happens. But Auddley is so fantastic. Y'all we we love um going over to the village of Ardsley, not only for only when they have the great things that are happening in Pascal Park, if you have a chance, it's right off Audsley um road. It's it looks fantastic, and they've done a tremendous job of doing all the things with the new um playground area, and they have some other exciting things that the mayor um mentioned, but also um the whether it's an ice cream social or whether or not it is the paint for Diwali that you know that that happens, and you just get a chance to uh to go out there and and um and participate and celebrate with with the village folks. It is so so fantastic. Thank you so much, Mayor, for bringing all the things for the village of Arjuny, and we're looking forward to continuing that partnership um with all of you. Um we have some great exciting news to share with us today. We're gonna be pleased to announce the reappointment of Leonard Towns as our commissioner of the Department of Social Services. Um, Commissioner Towns will be joining us momentarily to provide an update on all the important work his department is doing to support some of our most vulnerable um residents. He'll discuss current initiatives that strengthen the social safety net, highlight programs that are helping families, um, children, older adults, and individuals in need, share how the department is responding to the evolving economic challenges while connecting residents to critical benefits and services. Commissioner Towns will also disappoint um discuss his recent accomplishments, um, emerging priorities, and what residents should know about assistance that's available from the Department of Social Services. Um he's also the president of the New York State Wealth of Public Welfare Agency, which are all of the social service agencies across the state of New York. Um he is just a person that has started out. Um we like to say he started from the bottom, now he's here, right? Uh thank you for all getting there. Um, you know, my rap skills are not the same as they used to be. Um but the truth is that Commissioner Towns um did start out in the Department of Social Services and he did go through the ranks um from the entry-level positions to being the head of the Department of Social Services, which happens to be Westchester County's largest department. So, with that, I am so excited to bring up to have his talk with you. Um you can say Nixon Five to him anytime, right? He is a huge Knicks fan, um, but more importantly, he is our commissioner of the Department of Social Services, Leonard Towns Commission. Thank you, Ken.

SPEAKER_04 20:35

Thank you, Ken. I want to thank the uh county for the reappointment. Um uh it's a great place to work. We often call ourselves Bestchester, and I think that's so true because we've got to be the best county in the state. Uh it's been a great privilege of mine to work for this department, spend my time and career here. Um, I'm grateful for the team of support I have. Uh Ken was amazing. I've seen this gentleman for years. Started watching him on News 12, being a political commentator, and it's inspiration. And to see him rise from there to here is amazing. Um, Joan has been such a major support when I first started out, just giving me a background on working for state agencies and knowing critical information in terms of dealing with the civil service world. So that's been immense. And of course, there's Emily Saltzman, Chief of Operations. Um, she's been a supporter of DSS beyond belief, and I'm just grateful for this team I have, and of course, my team as well. Um, they do great work. First Deputy John Beefers has been around for a while and he does amazing things for the department. He's got my back at all times. I have a deputy of child welfare from New York City, named Lizette Matos, who is amazing, such a passionate heart for children. And then my deputy Randy Scott, passion for youth. He works in my homeless housing division, he oversees multiple divisions, and of course, Deputy Alexander, who, like myself, went through DSS, uh management fellow, rose through the ranks, and now we have opportunities to lead the department. So I'm just grateful and blessed to have a chance to work for the county. Um, it's amazing in life that um you can come across a job that fits your purpose, you know. Um I'm a Of faith, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, and then no, I have a job that helps people is beyond belief. So it's like a dream job, and I'm I'm very grateful to have this job. So, um, as far as the department is concerned, we're doing great things. I have to thank my staff for the amazing work they do. Um, managing through all the different challenges with the rules coming down from the federal government. There's more auditing on our department, there's more expectations, and they're tightening the reins on everything. But my team has done an amazing job despite all the changes and challenges. Our staff has been turning over since COVID. New people coming in, but we're doing our very best to train them and prepare them for what's coming in the very future. Um, a couple of points I do want to share about things happening in the department. Um, I'll start with child care. That's a major issue. Um, it's been a big support to people in Westchester County in terms of getting jobs and staying employed. Um, so important to our customer base who are on public assistance, who are looking to move forward, who have children that need to be cared for. This program allows them to participate in work activities, move themselves forward, and move beyond public assistance. But um, in the beginning of the year, we had to um create a wait list because we weren't sure of our funding streams. But now, last month we advised of the new allocation coming in. So we will be now opening up the child care program. We're excited about it. Um, our first initiative is dealing with the backlog we have. We have over 500 cases of people who have already applied, so we have to address that need first. Following that, we'll address all incoming applications. So if you are working, you're in need of child care, now's the time. Submit your application. We'll do our very best to get to these applications as soon as possible so that you have the child care you need to support yourself and your family as you move forward. Um, and all as we all know, we have a SNAP program too, and um I would say it began uh, well, it was began before March actually, but there was a waiver for work rules for the SNAP program, and that waiver was lifted back in March. So at that time, we had to have certain members of the food stamp population participate in work activities. That was the aboard population, known as able-bodied adults without dependence. And individuals from 18 to 64 who are able-bodied and did not have a reason not to participate in work had to comply with our work rules, and it required them to miss no more than three months of compliance in a 36-month period. So our departments work diligently diligently with our office of work activities to bring them in, reach out to them, connect them to activities which could be employment activities, training, or volunteer work, and we've done a great job. Over 60% of our people are in compliance, and so if you need SNAP, we're still there to meet your need. If you're in that category, we're here to support you, find the activities you need to remain eligible. Um, those are the big things happening in the department. Um, we're on the lookout for more things down the line. We have um some Medicaid changes coming, which I'll discuss at a later date. I'm sure I'll be back for that. But um, there's employment rules coming in that way too. So we're here to do our very best to support all the constituents of Westchester County. And um, my goal is to continue to do the work I've done with my fellow commissioners. Uh, one thing I said when I first came on board was to collaborate with everyone. And I've just had some great relationships from Commissioner Greeshin, Commissioner Orth, Commissioner Spano, Commissioner Raynard, Commissioner Spears. It goes on and on. If I miss somebody, you know I love you. But we've been doing great work together and doing amazing things. I look forward to the next five years, and I'm just grateful to be here in my hometown where I grew up. Uh I grew up down the street, actually, a block away. My adolescent years were spent in 33 Fisher Avenue, and I looked at this hotel now known as the Coachman. It was called the Um Roger Smith Hotel. I used to watch the lights at night blink on top, spelling out hotel. And now I've come full circle. To be back here working again and across the street from that hotel, which is a family residence for my department, is unbelievable. So I'm grateful for this time, this opportunity. I look forward to keeping you up to date on what's going on in Westchester. Thank you very much. Have a great afternoon.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 25:36

Commissioner, that's Commissioner Lennon Towns. And um, if you did not hear it, um understanding the passion that he brings every day to the work of the Department of Social Services. And and you know, when when I said we started from the bottom, now we're here. Um you you thought about that for just a second, and he was able to share just a glimpse of that from 33 Fisher Avenue um to where he is at running the department, um, which is not just our largest department, but the one that helps the people. That's the one that we see people that's required, but with there's things that we do that aren't required. And and Commissioner Um Towns and his great team has done a tremendous job of navigating through all of those challenges and the changes, um, whether it's at the federal administration, sometimes it's from the state, but wherever those are, we just keep rolling with the punches. So again, thank you so much, Commissioner Towns, and and your entire team for doing that. And he wears bow ties all the time, it's not just today, right? But but he had but but but today is the next one. Um but but it but again, it again is from when you look at the people that have passion and make that we have that throughout all of our departments. And when you ever you hear the stories in the background behind them, you can see why it makes just as such a difference that the team that we have, and we're privileged to have that team every day that serves all the people of Westchester to do that. He's even loaning his talents to the state. Um, you know, he would bring his uh talent to South Beach if he was LeBron. Um, but but we're bringing those talents across the state to be able to share that information across the state as the president of the Public Um Welfare Association for the state of New York to be able to take those best practices, the things that we've done here, and be more creative in continuing to move people forward. So, Commissioner Towns, thank you so much for everything that you do every day. With that, let me turn over to um the Deputy County Executive, Joan McDonald. Joan. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

Thank you, County Executive. Uh I'm here to ask uh Westchester County Director of Economic Development, Bridget Gibbons, Westchester County Association President and CEO Mike Ramita, and the STEM Alliance President Med Kaufer. They're joining us today to preview the upcoming Converge Conference on July 16th, a premier event focused on innovation, technology, workforce development, and the future of West Chur Westchester's economy. They will discuss how the conference brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, innovators, and students to showcase cutting-edge ideas, foster collaboration, and strengthen the county's innovative ecosystem. They will also highlight this year's program, so I'll turn it over to Bridget, Meg, and Michael.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

A little bit. Yep, come on up. Thank you so much, Deputy County Executive and County Executive. I have to echo Commissioner Towns' sentiment. Um, I do feel also like I have a dream job, and I feel so lucky every single day to do what I'm doing. So thank you very, very much for the opportunity. Um in Westchester County, we understand that economic development is about preparing for where the economy is going, not where it's been. That's why we've made advanced technologies a central pillar of our economic development strategy. Building that future requires strong partnerships. In 2025, we launched our partnership with RPI, the renowned engineering school based in Troy, New York, to bring world-class engineering and technology education to Westchester, helping employers build the workforce they need while creating new opportunities for students and working professionals. We're also proud of the leadership of Deborah Novick, the county's director of entrepreneurship and innovation, whose work has been instrumental in positioning Westchester as a leader in quantum technologies, helping to build regional partnerships, convene industry leaders, and ensure our county is part of the national conversation about the next generation of computing. Through our partnership with the STEM Alliance and Connect Westchester, we're expanding digital skills, training, access to technology so more residents can succeed in today's economy. The Converge Conference brings all of these priorities together. It creates a forum where business leaders, educators, innovators, public sector partners can explore not only where technology is headed, but how we can prepare our region to benefit from it. Now it's my pleasure to introduce Michael Ramita, president and CEO of Westchester County Association, who will tell you more about this year's Converge Conference.

SPEAKER_09 30:15

Well, thank you, Bridget, and thank you all for hosting us here today. And happy birthday, America, happy July 4th, everybody. Um Meg is the expert in this area, so after I speak, she's going to tell you a little bit about why this is so vital. Um I'm here to plug the conference. So uh we launched this about three years ago, uh exactly three years ago, in partnership with the county government and the STEM Alliance, the organization that Meg runs. And the the point of the conference was really to celebrate um the success of the Connect Westchester initiative and also to highlight all of the digital innovation that was going on here in Westchester. And, you know, since that first conference, through the Connect Westchester program, thousands of homes have been connected to the new digital economy. The national NDIA has recognized Westchester with its National Digital Inclusion Award. The County has penned a formal relationship with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to bring programs from this world-renowned institution right to our doorstep. The county has created a regional consortium under the leadership of Dev Novick to uh front a proposal to unlock $50 million plus dollars of federal funding to build a quantum future right here in the Hudson Valley. And IBM has opened its think lab at the Watson Research Center right here in Westchester. So in three short years, quite a lot has happened under uh County Executive's leadership and of course his predecessor, uh George Latimer. But the work continues. Uh, at next week's Converge Digital Innovation Conference, we will lean in even further, exploring exactly what it will take to create a world-class quantum hub here in Westchester and what that means for businesses and the economy. The conference will be opened by Professor Juan DePablo. He is a global expert and materials chemist who now teaches and works out of NYU, but before NYU, he worked at the University of Chicago and helped build the Chicago Quantum Exchange. Then the panels that will follow will explore tech innovation in practice here in Westchester and also discuss how to build the quantum backbone. Not only the physical infrastructure, but also the talent infrastructure. The conference is next week at Sarah Lawrence College in the Barbara Walters Center. Yes, Barbara Walters went to Sarah Lawrence College here in Westchester. It starts at 8 30 a.m. on July 16th, and you can all register at www.westchester.org. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Meg Coffer, my partner who works at the STEM Alliance, to talk a little bit about why this information and why this work is so vital to the residents and businesses of Westchester. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Hi, good afternoon. So there are many great conferences to attend, and uh they come across our desks and we wonder why this one. And I'm here to tell you why the Converged Conference matters. This annual conference addresses the most immediate and urgent emerging trends in workforce, business, and technology, the kind of shifts that will define whether our region leads or whether we lag in the years ahead. This year, the conversation turns to quantum computing. We've seen what happens when a technology moves faster than our ability to prepare for it. When AI arrived, it felt like it arrived all at once. One semester students were writing their own essays, and the next year, every teacher, every employer, every parent was scrambling to catch up with this new technology that had already moved in the ground underneath them. And we're still catching up, to be honest. But quantum doesn't have to work that way. This time we can see it coming, and that is the gift that we have. It means that we need to be curious and prepared instead of caught off guard. And here's the best part you do not need a background in physics to enjoy this or to learn. What we are really building is a quantum curious community. That's what this conference is about. People willing to ask questions, poke around the edges, and see where this technology will touch their work, and it will. That kind of learning is genuinely accessible and it cannot be sidestepped. It will impact every industry and every community. Most importantly, and the center of the STEM Alliance's partnership here is that our county has always believed that digital access is what allows people to participate fully in today's economy, and quantum is no exception. This conference will also explore what quantum means for the digital divide here in Westchester County. So if you work with some of our most vulnerable residents, we want to see you at this conference. Their voices and their needs belong in this conversation from the start when decisions are being made. Whether you work in business, education, workforce development, come curious.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 35:40

But more importantly, Mick Quafer and the people at STEM aligns, Bridget Gibbons and Deb Novick, who's in the house with us here. She just didn't have a speaking role today, but what the truth is for quantum computing, um, we're still quantum curious. I like that. That's that's a new one. You know, um we're gonna be quantum curious and quantum aligned. All of our interns for the summer are here um with us. They're like, oh no, we know where quantum is. They'll explain it to us later on. Um we'll work through all of that together. But again, we really appreciate um the um converged conference happening uh again um for the third year, but it continues to build, and it is a fantastic conference. And you should take your time to get down to the Barbara Walters um center at Sarah Lawrence Um College. Um they haven't changed to university yet, I don't think so. It's a kind of a thing right now. Um, but but again, um Sarah Lawrence College is doing a fantastic job in the partnership that we have down there as well. So we want to say thank you for that. Make sure you get um sign up for that on Westchester.org. Um, is so many places that we could do that off of our website as well. And I know that that probably flashed on the screen, and I just wasn't paying attention to it when it went up on the scroll to be able to do that. But it is a fantastic conference. The people at STEM Alliance, Makewiff and her entire team do such fantastic work. One of them is making sure that people that might be just a tad a bit older in a partnership to make sure to learn how to look use those tools that they have and in front of them. Um and because I have a computer science and information systems degree, I might not need that exact help, but I know lots of people that do. All right. So again, we want to make sure to say thank you to all the it's gonna be another fantastic conference um down at the Barbara Walters Center. Um Commissioner Towns mentioned it uh a little bit earlier, and then certainly um Steve Mayor Steve Adelstein uh mentioned that from the village of August that they'll be having a watch party this evening for the FIFA World Cup match that's between the United States and Belgium. I think that game starts at eight. Um, but if you're looking for a fun way to experience the excitement of the World Cup final, that's gonna be on July 19th. At Kensico Dam Plaza, um, New York State is hosting the official FIFA World Cup Final watch party for us here in Westchester, which is gonna bring together soccer fans from across the region um to watch the world's biggest game on giant screens in on an unforgettable atmosphere. Um, this free event is being organized by New York State and promises a day filled with excitement, entertainment, and community spirit. Um certainly Governor Hokel has been making sure to mention that. Um, but Hope Knight and the people from Economic Development Um at EDC, we are the ones that have that on their website. We have a link to that. Again, it's free. You have to sign up, you just can't show up and be able to do this. It's gonna be fun. Um, and the rules are a tad bit different than what we normally have at Kensiko Dan Plaza. So we want to tell everyone ahead of time to make sure you sign up and you see um the differences. It's not just like going to um watch a film or when we had our fireworks um at Kensiko Dan Plaza. There's a lot of different things to make sure that everyone's gonna be safe as they're going through that. They're expecting almost 20,000 people to show up. Um we have that at some of our larger festivals, certainly African American Heritage, our Hispanic Heritage Festival, and certainly our friends from the Albanian community make sure to turn out the party to that particular level, 15 to 20,000 people at Kensico Dam um Plaza. So we know how to do this in general, but again, it is not the county's event. We want to make sure that we remind you to go to that website, click on that free ticket link, and be able to do that. But they are going quickly. Be sure to reserve yours today. Um, if anyone had remembered the experience as we did the Knicks watch parties, um the first one was where people were like, I don't know how this is gonna work. And so only 1,500 people showed up. 1,500 of our closest friends, Commissioner Towns was one of them, um, that we were there at the county center. And then on the game four watch party, where the Knicks came back from 29 points down, um, we had 3,500 people, and the tickets went almost as fast as a Taylor Swift concert. You know, there though that would have gone in 45 seconds. Ours took a little bit longer, it took 45 minutes to sell 2,500 tickets. So, again, make sure you sign up for the for that free watch party at um Kensco Dam Plaza. And if not, maybe we could talk to the mayor and see if we can get in in the village of Arsley down at Pascal Park. With that, let me turn back over to the Deputy County Executive, Joan McDonald. She has a few more things that she's gonna talk about.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

Thank you, County Executive. Oops, I missed that one. First up is ADA at Playland. The county executive is honored to invite everyone to join the county as we celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law that has transformed our nation and expanded opportunity for millions of Americans. On Wednesday, July 15th at 1130 a.m., under the county executive's leadership, we will gather at the Music Tower stage at Playland Park to recognize the lasting impact of the ADA and to reaffirm our commitment to building a Westchester County where every resident can live, work, learn, and thrive without barriers. This celebration is an opportunity to honor the advocates who fought for this historic legislation, recognize the progress we have made over the past 36 years, and acknowledge the work that still lies ahead to ensure accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunity for all. We hope that you'll join the County Executive, the Westchester County Board of Legislators, our community partners and advocates as we celebrate this important milestone and continue working together to make Westchester a place where everyone belongs. On some other parks notes, on Thursday, July 9th, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., there will be a Terrytown Lighthouse open house at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. Join Westchester Park staff for a look inside the lighthouse to learn about life was like for the lighthouse keepers. This is a drop-in, self-led program. Any group of eight or more must pre-register. You can park at Kingsland Point Park. The lighthouse is accessed by a 10-minute walk south along the Riverwalk Path. The five-story structure does include four narrow stairways, so you should be aware of that. And the restrooms are at Kingsland Point Park. This is a free event. Also on Thursday, July 7th, but in the evening from 7 to 9, the Robeson Summer Concert Series. The Dave Matthews Tribute Band will be at Kensigo Dam Plaza in Valhalla. The gates open at 6 p.m. and the concert begins at 7. Free admission and parking. Bring blankets and long chairs for general seating and coolers are permitted. Saturday, July 11th, from 12 noon until 4 o'clock p.m. is Family Fun Day at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers. Come for a swim and enjoy Family Fun Day. Participation is free, but admission and parking fees do apply. Westchester County residency is required for admission with a county park pass, a valid New York State driver's license, or a valid New York State ID with your Westchester County address weather permitting. If it's raining on the 11th, the rain date will be Sunday, July 12th. And next Sunday continues our bicycle Sunday on the Bronx River Parkway from the Westchester County Center South to Scarsdale Road in Yonkers. Close to cars. Come and enjoy bicycle Sundays on the Bronx River Parkway. County executive.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 43:41

Thanks, Jones. By me doing that. Again, make sure you download the Parks app, the official Parks app you can get from the iOS, the Apple Store, or Or down from Google Play, download those things. It has the official parks um logo on it, and they have so many more things. Every once in a while a discount pops in there. But most of the events, as Joan pointed out, were are free. Sometimes there's some restrictions like when you're going into the pools or the beaches, except at Playland Park, where you do not need to be a county resident. Otherwise, you may need to be Glen Island. I don't think you need to be a county resident at Glen Island as well. So every other pool on the beaches, you do have to be show county resident either ID or have a park pass. And as we know, the veterans, those park passes are free for our veterans. So thank you for our board of legislators. We heard from our emergency services commissioner Susan Speer and our Department of Public Works and Transportation and Commissioner Hugh Greenshin about the county's response to the recent storms, but more importantly, preparing yourself for what may happen today on Monday and continue to be able to watch forward. Commissioner Speer was uh alluding to those roads, you know where they are that flood. Um, Mayor Elistine was telling you things were happening in Audley. I like to say previously, any road with a body of water in its name is likely to flood. And we have all of our roadways um except for the throughway, um the 87 Major D Expressway throughway. Um, all the rest of the roads have a body of water in their name, either a brook or a river. Pay attention. All right. Uh we don't need to say more, but also make sure that you are paying attention to when those roads are closed and making sure you're paying attention to those exits. Um, again, if you see a water, do not drive into it. Make sure you turn around and you don't drown. Make sure you have all of your devices charged up before if you're leaving work today or you're leaving out because you have to be out. Um, both Commissioner Spear and Commissioner Green said, if you don't have to do it, don't do it. All right. But um we hopefully will get through that and be prepared for the watch party that Mayor Edelstein talked about in Arnsley um gave us some exciting information about upcoming projects and initiatives that are happening in the village, the little village that could. Um they had both of those taglines, the little village that could, as well as it takes a village, and Ardsley is that village. So they have lots of good swag in Ardsley. We gotta make sure to keep doing that. Um we were pleased to welcome our commissioner, um the returning commissioner of the Department of Social Services, Leonard Towns. Um, that's because he has to have a process that the state actually has to approve um his position. So it's not just us um in our administration saying he's a good dude because he is, all right, um, but the state has to validate that after the Board of Legislators' approval, which happened recently. So again, Commissioner Towns, thank you for being here. Um he highlighted the important work him and his department continue to do to support Westchester families, including our book most vulnerable residents. Um we got a chance to hear the preview of the upcoming Converge conference on July 16th and discuss how it continues to strengthen the Westchester innovation economy by bringing leaders from business, education, and technology together and sharing those kind of things. So whether it's Mike Remita from our Westchester County Association and business leadership and the continued things he does, Make Quafer and the folks at STEM Alice continue to do that, and certainly um Bridget Gibbons and Div Novik who continue to do their leadership in our economic development. So we really appreciate that. Um finally, we reminded everybody about New York State's official FIFA World Cup final watch party at the Kensiko Dan Plaza, invited residents to join as we celebrate on July 15th at Playland with the American, the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Um that's gonna be a fun time at Playland, and highlighted just a few of the many and the many great programs that we have happening in our county parks each week. Um, just as a quick reminder, that says to people that one basically have 364 free events in our county parks. So out of the 54 different facilities, 18,000 acres, we have to continue to do that almost a free event every day somewhere in a park. They're your parks, make sure you take advantage of them. Um and shameless shout out for our friends at SUNY Purchase, New Bergen Museum, the whole broadside um declaration of independence, one of five left to be able to have the opportunity to see that. That's going to be on display till December 20th, and we want to make sure to do that. And that's this week in Westchester. I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Thank you so much for watching. If we need to get back to you, we absolutely will um be safe out there, everyone. And again, happy 250 birthday to America and have a great day.