The Swearing-In Ceremony for Peekskill Elected Officials will be held on
Friday, January 1, 2010 at 11:00 AM in the Common Council Chambers.
 
Oath of Office to be administered to Mayor Mary F. Foster and
Common Council members Drew A. Claxton, Marybeth McGowan and Andrew Torres
 
Reception immediately following in the
City Hall Rotunda
840 Main Street– Peekskill, NY10566
 
Thank you again for all your help and support.  Our amazing electoral victories would not have been possible without you.

Thank you Peekskill residents for your vote of confidence on November 3rd. I am pleased to continue serving alongside Drew Claxton, Deputy Mayor Bennett, Councilwoman Riley and Councilmen Schuder and Torres and I am thrilled that we are joined by newly elected Councilwoman McGowan. This was a significant mandate on the work we have been doing and the work we plan to do the next two years.
 
This election season was truly inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone who answered a door or came to a political forum to talk to us. Your dedication to seeing Peekskill become all it can be motivates me to set and achieve higher goals.
 
We have worked hard to improve the quality of life in everyone’s neighborhood and to revitalize our downtown; we are proud of what we were able to accomplish in less than 2 years. We acknowledge the significant challenges ahead of us but also see the wonderful opportunities these challenges offer us. As a team, working with all of our residents, we will build a brighter, livelier, more economically robust Peekskill. Your participation in all of our planning efforts is beginning to pay off as we begin building the Lincoln Depot Plaza, Peekskill Landing, the Riverfront trail way, Walgreens, and the Main Street Commons. We hope that you will continue to participate in the community meetings for the Central Ave./ Water Street corridor and the Central Firehouse. Your participation is vital to the City’s success.
 
In the midst of all of this revitalization and promise we remain fiscally prudent and mindful of the tax burden everyone already bears. We are a financially healthy city and the Council and I are working to preserve city resources without increasing your tax burden. We cut city taxes in 2009 and will keep them flat in 2010 and are analyzing 2011 projections. We are also working with the school district and the county to cut costs and share services.
 
I appreciate your vote of confidence in the job we have been doing and I am honored to continue serving you for the next 2 years.
 
Mary F. Foster
Mayor

http://www.westchestergov.com/boe99/link22.aspx

Please watch the Peekskill Debates at the Paramount Theater. You can watch the debate by clicking on the hyperlink below. It can also can be forwarded to anyone.

http://theblogcabin.com/homebase/mediaroom/

mms://v2.webcasting.com/archives/peekskill/10.21.2009peekskill-debate.wmv

For now, the video is playable only using Windows Media Player. By Wednesday, it will also be on the North County News website, NCN-TV page along with all the other debate videos for universal viewing without having to use Windows Media Player. Additionally, the debate is airing on Non-Governmental Public Access Cable TV.

Journal news Editorial Board

Click on the Menu Button and browse the library to locate the Peekskill Video.

-    In Bipartisan Move Early in New Administration, Foster Appointed Hanzlik to Committee to Make Recommendations to City on Council Vacancies -

-  Hanzlik, Himself Appointed to the Council Under Controversy Fails to Take Responsibility Seriously, has Not Held a Single Meeting -

Republican candidate for Mayor Chris Hanzlik, who was appointed in a bipartisan show of unity to a charter review committee on filling council vacancies, has not held a single meeting since that appointment in February 2008.  In over 19 months, Hanzlik has not held a single meeting or made a single recommendation to the Common Council.

“Mayor Foster gave Chris Hanzlik an opportunity to serve the residents of Peekskill early in her term,” said Darren Rigger, Chairman of the Peekskill Democratic City Committee. “Unlike previous administrations, she reached across the aisle and appointed a political adversary in the hopes of forging bipartisan agreement on potential changes to the City Charter with respect to filling council vacancies. Chris Hanzlik has taken absolutely no action in fulfilling his responsibility. This disregard of responsibility on the part of Mr. Hanzlik speaks volumes.”

On January 28, 2008, Chris Hanzlik spoke at the citizens desiring to be heard portion of the Common Council meeting and joined GOP operatives who questioned the filling of a vacancy on the Common Council. Mr. Hanzlik himself was appointed to the Peekskill Common Council in 2003, without screening by the Common Council members, without notification having been sent to the public, and without an item being placed on the agenda until five-minutes before his appointment. Hanzlik, publicly stated that he was willing to help come up with an official process if Mayor Mary Foster wanted his input.

Mayor Foster, in an act of bi-partisanship, took Hanzlik up on the offer and appointed him to serve the city on an advisory committee to recommend changes to the city charter.  On March 10, 2008, the Peekskill Common Council officially appointed Hanzlik (Resolution J7) to lead a commission that would “Examine Charter Section §C34 “Vacancies”. Since that time, Mr. Hanzlik has taken no action.

“Mr. Hanzlik is all talk and no action” said Rigger, “He asked for the chance to serve and the Mayor gave it to him. It’s one thing to want to serve it’s another thing to actually do it. Now Mr. Hanzlik wants to serve as Mayor. If he couldn't fulfill his responsibility to serve the City on an advisory board, what makes us think he could fulfill his responsibilities as mayor?”

 

 
A construction firm with a horrendous track record in Peekskill has thrown its full weight behind the Peekskill Republican slate for office, led by Chris Hanzlik. Fourmen Construction is moving forward with a full-court press in support of Hanzlik and his Republican running mates. The company has  posted lawn signs supporting  the Republican slate at their Main Street headquarters, at the Paramount East-property which they purchased from the City under the Testa administration, and on the Crompond Road property  that  they were  forced to purchase after they destabilized a  private citizen’s home to such an extent that it had to be condemned.  Additionally, the company’s Vice-President of Operations, James Seckler, is a major donor to the campaign committee of Chris Hanzlik.

Fourmen Construction has a notorious development record in the City of Peekskill.  It was the developer who violated zoning laws and disregarded the specifications of the approved plans when it built the Cove Condominium Project  on Simpson and Requa Street.   Out of character and scale for the neighborhood it was built in, the Cove generated widespread opposition from residents. Fourmen was also the  developer that sat on the Gateway Project for over four years and which to this day remains undeveloped.

Chris Hanzlik, the GOP candidate for mayor, serves on the Planning Board and approved both the Cove Project and the Lincoln Terrace project that destabilized a man's home on Crompond Road. Fourmen Construction is also suing the City of Peekskill for stopping work on their out-of-scale project.

“It’s a sad statement that on the very land where Fourmen Construction destroyed a man’s home, a lonely Hanzlik for Mayor lawn sign now stands there,” said Democratic Chairman Darren Rigger.

“The GOP has put up a candidate for mayor who facilitated some of the most damaging development projects in the history of this City,” said Rigger. “And now the same developer  whose projects have decimating neighborhoods is pulling out all the stops to see him defeat Mayor Foster.”

Since taking control of City Hall, Democrats on the council have put in place more stringent construction and zoning ordinances to ensure development projects are not out of character with the neighborhoods they are being proposed in.

“If Chris Hanzlik couldn’t protect the interests of the city while serving on the Planning Commission, why should residents of Peekskill trust him to do so from the mayor’s office?” questioned Rigger. “Let’s just look at the record. Mr. Hanzlik served on the planning when this developer ran unchecked over Peekskill. Now he is receiving campaign contributions and political support from the very same developer who is also suing the City.”