TWIW 31: July 27, 2026

In this episode:

• Dobbs Ferry Mayor Christy Knell joined to discuss exciting updates happening in the Village of Dobbs Ferry.
• Westchester County is urging residents and businesses to remain vigilant following a statewide alert from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services regarding an email scam targeting those involved in planning, zoning and land use applications.
• Deputy County Executive Joan McDonald discussed the results of the County’s 2025-2026 School Bus Safety Annual Report.
• County Executive Ken Jenkins highlighted an upcoming bill signing prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices camouflaged to look like everyday items.
• Upcoming events in Westchester County Parks.

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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 breaking 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 Monday, July 27th. This is This Week in Westchester, the briefing. We're going to kick off right away and talk to our municipal guest today. She is Dobbs Ferry Mayor Christy Nell. She is awesome. She's fantastic and from the Rivertown. She does so many other things. But tonight she's going to be here to talk to us a little bit about what's going on in Dobbs. Very exciting projects, community initiatives, economic development, infrastructure improvements, and what's ahead for visitors and residents. Let's turn over right now to the mayor of the village of Dobbs. Sorry, Christine El.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Thank you, Sue. Thanks to see. Good to see you. Thank you so much for the invitation. When your staff asked for some pictures and video about what I might be talking about, I sent some over and um they copper wrote back very kindly to let me know that it was only five minutes that I was supposed to talk. So there's just a lot happening in Dobbs Ferry, and I'm excited to just share as much as I can. So I'm Christy Nell. I'm the new mayor of Dobbs Ferry. It's a 2.4 square mile village with about 11,500 people living in the hills above the Hudson. We have views of the river and the palisades, an easy Metro North ride into the city with the prettiest commute, and commuter parking lot with our waterfront park in the county. Dobbs schools are fantastic. We have the International Baccalaureate Program, a Growing Arts program, about 95% of our seniors go to college, and we were this close to winning the softball championship this year. And this year, Anthony Ficorata beat the 1983 record as Section 1's all-time scoring leader in boys basketball. I got into public service as a graphic designer wanting to help our downtown businesses. So I will always have a special place in my heart for the county of West for Westchester County for choosing Dobbs Ferry as a recipient of the Yard Downtown Improvement Grant. It truly kicked off a wave of investment that's still building, and working with you has been a dream. Our downtown has always been worth investing in. We have a restaurant scene that punches way above its weight with Sam's Italian restaurants, about 75 years old, Chef Dave DeBari's cookery in the parlor, sushi mic's Double Days, Piccolo. We've got a growing number of specialty shops, wine, cheese, chocolate, Italian imports, even the first non-alcoholic bottle shop in Westchester. There's a wellness economy that's taken off throughout the whole village, actually, from the Hudson River Landing to Rivertown Square. Fitness, beauty, massage, self-care, and many artists work here in Dobbs. Dozens at Hudson River Landing, plus Stolen Moments Entertainment, More Dance, Dance Company. So your dig initiative, it funded a storefront improvement grant program. It's managed by the village, plus new downtown Dobbs Ferry branding and a comprehensive signage and wayfinding system. Phase one's in fabrication now and it's installing this fall. As part of that system, our new public art committee ran a call for artists to design a mural for our downtown gateway at Broadway and Cedar on the side of Rochambeau Wine and Liquors. It's funded start to finish from your grant, also finishing this fall. Another $4.5 million for downtown revitalization. Through that program, we have six approved by the state projects, the renovation of the historic Pickwick Theater, a redesigned Lower Memorial Park that better connects our train station to the downtown. More dances black box performing arts center, streetscape and sidewalk upgrades that the county's also helping us to fund through the Complete Streets program. And the second phase of the signage system, the rehab of a historic mixed-use building. Altogether, there's millions and millions of dollars of investment happening just along Cedar and Main Street and topps. But there's a lot happening outside the downtown. We just brought on a new village administrator, Mike Neppel. He was the former deputy city manager in Newburgh, and we sent our former administrator, Robbie Mooder, who's a friend to many in the county, off into a well-earned retirement. I serve with a genuinely excellent board. And now that we've built this momentum downtown, we're building new momentum in other areas. We're fixing the aging sewer system, we're expanding our stormwater system, we're working on a new fire station for our volunteer firefighters that they need and deserve. And we're working on an indoor recreation facility at Gold Park. All of this around great sustainability efforts from the most dedicated volunteers around. We have the highest ridership in the Project Mover program. We have a new solar array that went up on our DPW building, a grant-funded food scraps shed, and many zero waste practices at village events like our waterfront jazz series. So come see all of this yourself. October 3rd, we have Ferry Festa. It's our huge street fair, like 15,000 people, now in its 24th year. With any luck, the mural will be up, the new signage will be up, it'll be a zero waste event, and you'll get to walk past storefronts this county helped us bring back to life. Thank you. Do it in Dobbs.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 5:56

Thank you so much, Chris. That's a village of Dobbsbury Mayor Christine L. Um, and you if you did not hear the enthusiasm, um, she said new mayor, it it's July now. You're not new anymore, right? You know, but and and been doing a tremendous job. Um, certainly we always want to make sure to give a shout out to a former trustee, but she is our economic development and leader as far as um chambers of commerce and all the business. And that is our good friend, Sherry Rosen Asher. So again, you know, so so if we didn't if we don't do that, we don't get a chance to zoom by going through Main Street, um, and they'll stop me before I get over the bridge to get down to Half Moon on the waterfront, um, which is another one of the great restaurants punching above its weight. No, it's it's hitting the right spots. Probably way too many for me, whether it's at Sam's or anything like that. But also the uh the economic development, the projects that are going on, the dealing with um the issues as far as um floodwaters and stormwaters, and trying to work through those things, working with the other villages in the community, dealing with some of the issues with uh volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. We're trying to work through all of that and partner together. So it is a fantastic opportunity. Thank you, Mayor Nell, for being with us. And and again, all the great work that continues to happen in the village of Dobbs Ferry. Let's flip over because we want to let you know about something that's happening here in Westchester County. Um, we're urging residents and businesses to remain vigilant regarding a statewide alert from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services regarding an email nationwide email scam targeting individuals and businesses involved in planning, zoning, and land use applications. According to those state and federal officials, scammers are impersonating local zoning or planning departments by sending fraudulent emails requesting payment for land use application renewals or related fees. These emails oftentimes include invoices that appear illegitimate and may contain publicly available information to make the request seem authentic. Residents and businesses should be aware that legitimate correspondence will only come from official government email addresses. That means it has a.gov, and never rely on payment requests received through unfamiliar email domains. Um, I usually just delete those and then you know wait till somebody tries to track me down and call me. All right. Protecting our residents and businesses mean keeping them informed about emerging threats. We encourage anyone who receives an unexpected payment request to do their due diligence before clicking on a button and taking action. Anyone who believes that they've been targeted or victimized should call that incident in to their local law enforcement and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, and that website is ic3.gov. Residents with questions about planning on zoning matters should contact the Westchester County Department of Planning at WCDP, Westchester County Department of Planning, at WestchesterCountyny.gov, or you can call 914-995-4400. And while people think that it's not something that's an issue, it has been a tremendous issue throughout many municipalities where people go for it and they think it looks legitimate, may have the right logo on it that somebody could just cut and paste from someplace else. Always look at that email address um where it comes from, and it you'll look and you'll see it's not from a.gov address. And you can always call your local folks, the planning, zoning, and only municipalities. And if you don't really think it's a concern, make sure you take that extra step. Call a local police department, they'll find out for sure. With that, let me turn over to um our Deputy County Executive, Jill McDonald, to talk about our next topic. Jill.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Thank you, County Executive. The results of Westchester County's 2025-2026 School Bus Safety Program annual report are in. They show a 23.8 percent reduction in illegal school bus passing violations during the program's first full year. Since launching in partnership with Bus Patrol during National School Bus Safety Week in October of 2024, this initiative has improved driver compliance, strengthened enforcement, and helped make trips to and from school safer for thousands of students across Westchester County. The report found that citations requiring enforcement declined from 17,687 during the 2024-2025 school year to 13,621 through June of the 2025-26 school year. Average monthly violations dropped from 1,786 to 1,513. These findings suggest that motorists are changing their behavior around stopped school buses, reducing dangerous passing incidents that put children at risk. Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. This report shows that our school bus safety program is changing driver behavior and making our roads safer. While we are encouraged by the progress, every illegal passing violation is one too many. We will continue working with our school districts and our local law enforcement partners to protect our children. The school bus safety program currently serves students in 22 participating school districts, and we thank them for their partnership. County Executive, back to you.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 11:40

All right, thanks, Jim. And that is really important. And one of the statistics that um that came through was that only 5% of the people are repeat offenders. So it's people that may not have been paying attention, but they're trying doing a bit of job, and the numbers show that people are changing their behavior. You don't have to just try to zoom past the bus when it gets on that stop sign, wait, relax, it can save a student's life, and that is the most important issue of all. It's not about trying to generate revenue from uh the the tickets, that's not the thing. It's really to change that behavior to make sure that on so many places where you don't think about it, especially when we get to some of those communities that have uh the Jersey barrier, the concrete barrier between them, um, you're supposed to stop even if you're on the other side of that. Um, and you're like, there's no one that's gonna go across. That's not the issue. Follow the law. We're gonna remind people when we get back to school, back to school back in September, and we'll make sure to remind people, but it is definitely good news to continue moving that forward. The 22 municipalities with us, as well as some local cities that have that um that jurisdiction to do that in their school bus arms in their local communities in the cities as well. Tomorrow, we're going to be having a very, very important um discussion and signing of a piece of legislation which was unanimously adopted by the County Board of Legislators, um, in an effort to promote and protect the health and safety of our Westchester County young people. Tomorrow we're going to be signing out legislation prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping desired devices camouflaged to look as everyday items. We think that it should be called the deceptive vape bill, but I think we we changed it to be camouflaged vapes. This new law reflects growing concern over marketing material targeted specifically at our young folks. And we got a bunch of our young folks here with us on our intern program, and it aligns with the county's ongoing efforts to reduce nicotine use among minors. The press uh press conference will be streamed live, of course, um on Facebook and right here on the Westchester County um homepage. You can click right on Westchester County NY.gov and go right from there and see it. And we really want to be clear. Westchester County is taking a stand against these deceptive products and the manufacturers specifically who are targeting our kids. These devices may look completely innocent, but they are ultimately luring young people into an addicting nicotine habit. Our goal is to raise a generation that is healthy, resilient, and free of harmful products, and this legislation will help ensure that we can deliver on that promise for Westchester County's youth and families. With that, I'm going to turn back to Joe McDonald.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Thank you, CE, and what's up with parks? Beginning on Thursday, July 30th, from 5 to 7 p.m., we're having an event, Pints and Pups, at Kensigo Dam Plaza in Valhalla. Enjoy happy hour with a pint, a pup, and live music. The $25 per person admission price will benefit the SBCA. It includes a free ticket for a wine or spirit. You must be 21 years of age and older. Then stay for a free concert from Ladies of the 80s night out. This concert is part of the Robeson Summer Concert Series. It's free and goes until 9 o'clock P.M. Barrilly come out and support our SBCA and your $25 contribution. That would be terrific. On Friday, July 31st, from 7 to 9 p.m., 7 Summers, a Morgan Wallen tribute band, also at Kensica Dam Plaza. For the best of Morgan Wallen's music, paying homage to the undeniable charisma and raw emotion that makes his strong his songs resonate with so many fans. Come and listen. The concert begins at 7 o'clock. Bring blankets and lawn chairs for general seating. Coolers are allowed. It's free admission and parking. On Saturday, August 1st, from 10 a.m. to 11.30, tea with the animals at Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center in Yorktown. Adults and kids, six and older, can join us for a mid-morning event to meet and learn about the farm animals. We will harvest and make some treats for the humans and animals to enjoy. It is $15 a person to attend. Finally, on Sunday, August 2nd, from 12 until 6 p.m., the Heritage of India Festival will be held at Kensigo Dam Plaza. People from all backgrounds are invited to take part in this vibrant celebration of India's rich and diverse culture. It will be an afternoon packed with entertainment with more than 40 dynamic performances. Festivalgoers can browse vendors offering Indian cuisine, colorful clothing, dazzling jewelry, and handcrafted arts and craft. It's rain or shine, bring blankets or folding chairs, and admission and parking are free. That's it for parks for this week. I turn it back to the county executive.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 16:56

All right, Joan, and you always download the parks, the official parks app, um to the iOS App Store, the Apple App Store, or the Google Play. Um that's the one with the leaf. Looks like Westchester County Parks, it says that. So make sure that you have this opportunity um to take a look and see um the everything that's happening in our parks. That was only a smattering of it. We just remind everyone there's almost a free event every day of the year. There's 364 events that are free in our county park system. That's almost one a day. Um we're just missing one day, that's because we have to take a day off for the new year. And you heard August 1st, things are just moving so quickly, the summer's going by so quickly, and we really think um that things are happening. And that's this week in Westchester. We were thrilled for, of course, to welcome the village of Dobbs Ferry's mayor, Christy Nell, to the briefing. Mayor Nell shared some of the exciting things that are happening in the village of Dobbs Ferry, and it's always inspiring to hear how our municipalities are finding ways to make Westchester an even better place to live, work, and visit. And there is no exception with that from the village of Dobbs Ferry. So we're looking forward to continuing to see that in part of our river towns. We shared an important warning about the new nationwide email scam targeting businesses and people, and uh that involves our zoning and planning departments and land use applications just trying to take money from you, don't let it happen to you. Finally, we celebrated some encouraging news about our school bus safety program. Um it's making real making a real difference during its first full year. Illegal school bus passing violations drop by nearly 24%, a sign that drivers are changing their behavior and paying more attention when children are getting on and off buses. We're gonna continue to do that. And that's great news for students, families, and and schools, communities across Westchester County. That's this week in Westchester. I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Thank you so much for watching. Make sure you visit the village of Dodge Free and take advantage of some of those great opportunities. And of course, check out the nationally accredited and award winning park system. Thanks for watching.