Friday April 19, 2024 
Tracey Rex Reports to the People of Schodack
I believe staying in touch with constituents is an important part of serving in elective office. This report, published every month since I took office in 2016, is an example of my commitment to keeping Schodack residents informed about town government news and community events.
During March, the Town Board approved an updated Ethics code for the Town of Schodack, which had not been updated since 1970. Another important piece of this initiative is to seat a Board of Ethics, which is in progress. I am proud of the good government initiative this board has taken to address these long overdue updates.
The Town Board approved the 2022 Music in the Park Concert Series that will be held at Schodack Town Park at 6:00 pm on Tuesdays between June 7 and July 5, and from August 2 through August 16. This year’s schedule includes an additional three concerts.
The Town of Schodack seeks qualified applicants for the following job vacancies: Assistant Comptroller, Highway Superintendent, Director of Planning & Zoning, and Sole Assessor. For more information, visit www.schodack.org/human-resources or call (518) 477-3628. Summer Camp job opportunities can be found under the “Youth and Recreation Services” tab on the homepage.
Temporary Sole Assessor Frank Curtis is currently accepting appointments to review inventory and valuation data to residents pursuant to the Real Property Tax Law. Please call (518) 477-7932 to schedule an appointment.
On Saturday, April 16, the Schodack Town Park will be hosting its first Easter Egg Hunt for children starting at 11:00 am. Please mark your calendars and bring your own baskets for collection. Participants will meet under the pavilion before the hunt to receive instructions.
Also on April 16, there will be a Food Drive from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm at The Spinney at Pond View to benefit The Anchor Food Pantry. Donations are always welcomed and appreciated to help local families in need.
Tracey Rex, Schodack Town Councilwoman
www.traceyrex.com
Schodack Supervisor’s report for March 2022
It appears the worst of winter is behind us, and warmer weather is making its (very)slow return to our little corner of the earth. Each spring offers us a chance for renewal and after the past two years of COVID and its associated restrictions and mandates, it’s refreshing to have them all be lifted as we head into this new season with fresh cause for optimism.
While we believe the darkest days of COVID are behind us, we are still mindful and vigilant to ensure the most susceptible among us is protected. With the help and assistance of New York State and Rensselaer County, Schodack procured a limited supply of home rapid COVID test kits which we are making available for distribution. Currently, distribution of tests will be limited to those Town residents 60 years of age or older. After a few weeks, if there are more available, we will open it up to a wider age group. To receive a test kit, please stop be the Town Hall and visit either the Town Clerk’s or the Supervisor’s office. If you have further questions, please contact my office or email me at Charles.Peter@nullschodack.org.
Expanding recreational opportunities for our families and increasing the events we host at our Town Park is a top priority for my first term. I’m excited to share the announcement of a brand-new event and the expansion of an already popular series. On April 16th, at 11am, the Town Park will host the Town’s first ever Easter Egg Hunt. We look forward to this event becoming a local tradition for our families and provide an opportunity to make connections across our community. Building on the success of our current series of concerts, we also expanded our “Music in the Park” an additional 3 nights which will take place in August. These events are what I hope becomes just the start of a multitude of additional offerings we provide for our community to enjoy.
And finally, I want to thank Rick Hiller for his 25+ years of service to the Highway Department and congratulate him on his retirement.
From The Desk of Janice Hannigan Kerwin, North Greenbush Town Clerk
I am pleased to announce that the Town of North Greenbush will be having our Memorial Day Parade this year.
The parade will be Monday, May 30, 2022 @ 1:30 P.M. After 2 long years of the COVID Pandemic the town is excited to invite all to participate in the parade. If you or your group are interested in participating in this year’s parade you may email the Deputy Supervisor, Kelly Hoffman or Councilwoman Merola, who are coordinating the 2022 parade participants and line up. Feel free to email them at supervisorsoffice@nullnorthgreenbush.org with any interest you may have.
Stefanik Calls on Hochul to Repeal Dangerous Bail Reform Policies
PRESS RELEASE – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik led the New York Republican delegation in sending a letter calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to completely repeal New York’s failed bail reform policies and enact a “dangerousness standard” that allows judges to thoroughly consider the danger an individual poses to the community when making bail or pretrial release decisions.
“Albany Democrats’ reckless and dangerous bail reform policies have fueled skyrocketing crime in our communities, undermined our law enforcement, and failed to keep the residents of New York safe,” Stefanik said. “Governor Hochul cannot make a half-hearted attempt to backtrack her failed bail reform policies while New York communities suffer. Anything less than completely reversing these devastating bail reform policies will fail New Yorkers.”
In the letter, the lawmakers point out that “New York City’s crime rate has increased nearly 60% over last year, including historic numbers of murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Specifically, there has been a 54% increase in robberies, a 56% increase in grand larceny incidents, a 22% increase in rapes, a 10% increase in murders, and a 1.3% increase in shooting incidents as compared to 2021.”
It has been reported that Kathy Hochul is only making updates to the current bail reform in her revised New York State budget, while keeping bail reform largely in place.
Stefanik was joined by Reps. Tom Reed (NY-23), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Chris Jacobs (NY-27), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), and John Katko (NY-24).
Town of North Greenbush News
Spring is here and with it brings plans for our annual road paving projects. Supervisor Joe Bott is working with our town highway department to assess what roads will be worked on this year and crews are already working on drainage improvements. We have many exciting events happening in the Town of North Greenbush and are happy to share those with you. April brings back our Annual Easter Egg Hunt which will be held on Saturday, April 9th at 10:00 am in the field next to town hall. We will once again hold a town Recycling Day on Saturday, April 23rd from 9am to 3pm at town hall. Preparations are underway for our Annual Memorial Day Parade which will be held on Monday, May 31st at 1:30 pm. We will soon be announcing our annual Summer Concert Series which kicks-off on Sunday, June 26th.
We congratulate the Averill Park Girl’s Basketball Team on being named the NYSPHSAA 2022 Class A Champions. We are recognizing April as Child Abuse Awareness Month in North Greenbush and working with START Children’s Center to spread the word about their “Spot the Blue Dot Contest ” throughout town. Finally, it is with sadness that we recognize the passing of retired Town Clerk, Katie Connolly. Katie dedicated her life to serving our community, especially to our veterans and the Memorial Day parade was something Katie took great pride in organizing. We offer our sympathy to Katie’s family and friends.
Poestenkill Spring Brush Clean Up
The Town of Poestenkill Highway Dept will be around the week of April 25th to April 29th for brush clean up. Please have items out by April 24th. Acceptable items include yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, etc.) placed in biodegradable paper bags; brush and branches cut to 8 ft. lengths, maximum of 3 ft. high and maximum diameter of 6 inches (if we can’t chip it, we can’t take it). For more information, see the flyer on the town website or contact the highway garage at (518)283-4144
Rensselaer County Legislature Announces Electronics Recycling Event
Chairwoman of the Legislature Kelly Hoffman is proud to announce that the Legislature will once again hold an Electronics Recycling Event for County residents.
The event will be held at the County Office Building on Saturday, April 9th from 9:30am until 1pm.The Legislature has teamed up Pro Tek to offer this wonderful opportunity for County residents to responsibly dispose of electronic items and appliances. Televisions and CRT monitors will not be accepted, along with batteries, dishwashers, fluorescent lamps or bulbs, refrigerators, and any liquids or dangerous materials and other non-electrical appliances.
“Each year our residents look forward to this opportunity to safely and responsibly dispose of these electrical items and keep them out of our landfills. It is a great way to properly get rid of items from your Spring cleaning”, said Chairwoman Kelly Hoffman.
“Over the past several years, this program has kept many tons of recyclable products out of our local landfills. We urge all County residents to take advantage of this opportunity to responsibly recycle”, said Vice Chair Bob Loveridge.
County resident with questions about what can be accepted at this event should call Pro-Tek at 518- 874-1001.
“I, along with other members of the Legislature, enjoy helping residents safely unload their vehicles at this annual event, and we look forward to seeing our County residents at this recycling event”, said Chair of Finance Rob Bayly.
The Legislature partners with its Environmental Management Council to host this event at the County Office Building at 1600 7th Avenue in Troy. Residents can enter the parking lot from Congress Street for fast and easy unloading assistance.
County residents with any questions about this event, or general county business are always welcome to call our Majority office at 518-270-2880 or visit our Facebook page; “Rensselaer County Legislators”
From The Desk of Janice Hannigan Kerwin, North Greenbush Town Clerk
The Town Clerk’s office would like to let all North Greenbush residents who are receiving or renewing a Permanent or Temporary Parking Permit of the new changes in the process of obtaining a (handicap) tag. You will now need to bring your driver’s license or non-driver’s license with you to obtain your tag.
We will now place the last 3 digits of your license’s number on all tags you receive. If you should have any questions on this process, please do not hesistate to call the office @ 518-283-4306, Monday thru Friday between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:00 pm and I will be happy to assist you in any way that I can.
From the Desk of Janice Hannigan Kerwin, North Greenbush Town Clerk
The Town of North Greenbush NOW has FREE Covid Test Kits. They are available Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm daily in the Town Clerk’s Office while supplies last.
The test kits were supplied and donated by Rensselaer County. Each kit contains 2 tests. The kits are available to those in need of testing. If you should have any question pertaining to the process of getting the kits, please call my office @ 518-283-4306.
If you need special arrangements please email me at townclerk@nullnorthgreenbush.org and let me know and we can plan accordingly.
Town Garage Sale
EAST GREENBUSH – The Town of East Greenbush will host the annual Town Wide Garage Sale on Saturday, April 23rd from 8:00AM-Dusk. Pre-Registration is ONLY required if you would like to be included on the official program for the event. If you wish to simply host a sale at your house and not have it advertised you do NOT need to signup through the RecDesk page. To sign up and be included on the official program please visit https://eastgreenbush.recdesk.com/Community/Program/Detail?programId=128
East Egg Hunt
EAST GREENBUSH – The Town of East Greenbush will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 9th from 8:00-12:00 PM at the East Greenbush Town Park! Pre-Registration is required for this event, as we have different age groups hunting for eggs at different times. All children can collect up to 10 eggs and participate in coffee and light fare inside the Red Barn once they have completed their hunt! To register, please visit https://eastgreenbush.recdesk.com/Community/Program/Detail?programId=114.