Board Highlights November 24, 2025

Westchester County Officials Present Flood Update

Joan McDonald, Director of Operations for Westchester County presented a summary of the various County flood mitigation projects in the Village. 

·      The County partially funded two completed projects: the Waverly Avenue Bridge and the Hillside Avenue Bridge for a total County contribution of $4.48 million.

·      The County has committed to contributing either $17 or $18 million to the required non-federal local match to the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) project.

·      The County has offered, and all parties agree, that the County’s funding match can and will be used to “jumpstart” the ACE project by starting with the Ward Avenue Bridge.  ACE is currently designing the demolition of the bridge, and the County will manage that demolition and the reconstruction.  Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) are required to spell out the arrangements between all parties involved.  All parties have agreed that the Ward Avenue Bridge will begin first as it will be most impactful to mitigate flooding due to its downstream location.

·      The demolition and reconstruction is estimated to cost $25 million.  It is not clear at this time if the County will fund the entire amount.  The design phase is expected to begin in early 2026 and take 12 – 18 months to complete.

·      The County owns two bridges in the Village:  Anita Lane and Halstead Avenue and has committed to replacing them and widening the channels to improve water flow.  The County has the funding for preliminary design.  Total project estimates are not available at this time.  These bridges are not within the scope of the ACE project.

McDonald described the close working relationship between the County, NYS, DEC, ACE and the Village as evidenced by their bimonthly phone calls.  The legal agreements between all the parties are being worked out.  In fact, later in the meeting the Board of Trustees (BOT) authorized the Village Manager to sign an Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) with Westchester County as soon as it was finalized in order to expedite the work on the Ward Avenue Bridge.

We had hoped to report a fuller picture of the County’s financial commitment to fund flood projects in the Village.  However, some of the information needs clarification and because of the holiday, we were unable to reach anyone who could answer our questions.  We will continue to follow this story.

Other Flood Mitigation News

Assistant Village Manager Dennis Delborgo supplemented the presentation by Westchester County to include other Village flood mitigation projects.  See HERE for his full report that includes potential removal of the Center Avenue pedestrian bridge, coordination with upstream communities with the recently revived Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council (LISWIC), expediting efforts for property owners to mitigate flooding on their own properties and the overall flood mitigation strategy.

Library Budget and Trustee Vote on December 10^th

Treasure Ellen Hauptman presented the financials for the Mamaroneck Library and described the progress made to restore its financial health.  See HERE for more information.  Residents vote on the trustees and budget on December 10^th between 7 am and 9 pm at the Library.

Street Banners to Honor Village Veterans

Resident Amy Siskind teamed up with former mayor Norman Rosenblum to make a presentation to the Board of Trustees (BOT) outlining steps to install banners along major routes in the Village.  See Here.  The BOT agreed and Village Manager Kathleen Gill will coordinate with the volunteers to identify locations to initially install the banners by next Memorial Day and be removed by Veterans’ Day.  Siskind and Rosenblum showed a sample banner that would include a veteran’s name and branch served along with a photo from their time of service.  The cohort of veterans will be defined as 1) Village residents who have passed away and 2) family members of current Village residents who served regardless of the veteran’s residence. 

BOT Rolls Back Affordable Housing Bonuses Crafted for Single Developer

A zoning change enacted by a prior BOT in 2019 was restored to its original parameters after a public hearing.  See HERE. Neil Alexander, attorney for Search for Change, Inc., appeared on behalf of his client and refuted the statement by Village Attorney Steven Pambianchi who referred to an inadequate review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) when it was adopted as the reason for the new amendment. 

Alexander complained that their project on Mt. Pleasant Ave. (see prior article HERE) was currently moving through the land use review process and would be adversely impacted.  Mayor Sharon Torres repeated that the BOT does not interfere with land use boards and applications before them.  Trustee Lucas explained later in response to a resident stating their support of the existing law that the amendment that was previously adopted was not the same law as what was reviewed under SEQRA.  Lucas also stated the prior zoning change was tailored to a particular developer’s project and closely coordinated with Village officials.  See prior article HERE.