Local Voices
The Ossining Referendum Movement & Your Voice...
Ossining Businesses, Organizations and Residents Take a Stand to Force a Say in The Process. What it means going forward.
If you are an Ossining resident or pay attention to local government, you have probably heard about the Village of Ossining's ongoing conversation about how to update and improve its historic 5-corner intersection in the heart of downtown Ossining. The idea, presented by Trustee Manuel Quezada, was to look into the possibility of constructing a roundabout as an alternative to having a conventional intersection approach (traffic lights, crossing lights…etc).
The village board choose to invest time, resources and money into looking into the prospective option. It became clear that certain members of the village board were seriously considering the implementation of the roundabout idea after hearing from Mazer Consulting , a village engineer and state spokesman whose job it is to promote such projects.
Once the public became aware of how the village’s leadership was leaning in favor of building the roundabout, many local organizations, businesses, downtown property owners and general citizens spoke up by expressing concern and opposition to the project. Many questioned the intention of the project (i.e. what problem they were fixing or addressing) and why key groups were not involved in the initial conversation. Many questioned how this project fits into overall village priorities, the cost estimate of such an undertaking, and various safety concerns. To counter, the Village used Glens Falls as an example of a municipality who recently installed a roundabout, however failed to highlight the project was not solely funded by the municipality but through grants as well.
It is very rare to see many downtown property owners, businesses and residents mobilize themselves to declare that they are not in favor of something their leaders want. This conversation over the last few months has turned into a very contentious one (on both sides). After opponents felt that their questions were not being properly answered or addressed and their voices were not being heard, they took matters into their own hands. In Ossining, for the first time since I can remember, a campaign to force a permissive referendum was born. The petition intended to put the approved half million dollar bond up for a public vote.
The Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce, who represents over 100 local businesses and members, took the lead to coordinate and manage the referendum petition campaign. To succeed, they had to collect over two thousand signatures of solely Village of Ossining registered voters: no easy task.
The Chamber quickly gathered substantial support from all different types of local businesses, organizations, community leaders and residents. Key local reputable businesses listed their storefronts and offices as a place to collect signatures or display signs of support. Such businesses included Kaja Gam Design, Good Cents Bookeeping, Melita’s Home Furnishings, Mike Risko Music, Hot Societie Boutique, The Boat House Restaurant, Vaza Salon, Bobs Army & Navy, Squires Restaurant, and many more, not to mention the many community leaders of all levels (parents, religious groups, new residents…etc) who participated.
We have to embrace and celebrate the amount people who became part of our democratic process and exercised their right to assemble, organize and petition their government, despite being told they were obstructing process.
To be clear, it is crucial that we all understand that at any time, the board could have rescinded their vote and taken another fresh, more inclusive approach to the conflict. That, or they could have represented and acknowledged residents’ requests to have a say in the matter by placing it for a referendum vote despite the signatures needed.
When any request for a referendum happens and mobilizes over 1500 registered voters, it sends a clear message that there is much conflict, disapproval and/or distrust between the public and their government. No elected official should ever want to come close to the reality of a referendum, they should do everything possible to prevent it and compromise with the people on another method to move forward together.
Today, the Village Clerk released a statement stating that the submitted petitions submitted by the Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce were invalid due to errors and missing items as per Village Law. I call on the Village Board to not impede the people’s desire and right to vote on this bond or to rescind their vote and start the conversation over with a different approach on how to improve our downtown in a comprehensive and inclusive manner. We need to embrace this new level of civic participation and build upon it within our diverse community. Together we can move forward and lets remember is ok to disagree.