Stewart Takes On City Manager Job In Peekskill

The Peekskill City Council has appointed Andrew Stewart as city manager to replace the retiring Richard Leins. Stewart, Orangetown's town supervisor from 2012-17 will start Jan. 14 for a transition period and officially succeeds Leins Jan. 27.

Stewart served three terms as Orangetown Town Supervisor. Peekskill officials cited Stewart's work on improving government efficiency, promoting shared services in order to reduce the tax burden on local residents and businesses, and championing economic development – including the redevelopment of the vacant Rockland Psychiatric Center property for a new JP Morgan Chase data center.

"While we will certainly miss Richard, we also look forward to building our city with Andrew Stewart and benefiting from his positive energy, great ideas and initiatives, and wealth of knowledge and experience in local government," said Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey in the announcement.

After his tenure in Orangetown, Stewart was a senior vice president for Research & Analysis at Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a not-for-profit policy, planning, advocacy and research organization. As the CEO of Keep Rockland Beautiful for 11 years, he led community cleanups, beautification and educational efforts.

"I am honored and excited to serve Peekskill, a very special place, as City Manager," Stewart said. "Residents, taxpayers and businesses deserve and expect outstanding city services addressing their critical needs in a timely and efficient manner. I look forward to joining the community and the city management team and doing my part to insure our collective success with the challenges and opportunities of 2020."

Mr. Stewart holds a Ph.D. in geography from Rutgers and B.A. from Wesleyan University.

Leins retires after five years in Peekskill City Hall.

"Working alongside Richard has been a wonderful experience," Rainey said. "A great deal of our success comes from Richard’s honesty, responsibility, and competence in understanding local government. He’s been very supportive of the vision of Peekskill and keeps the best interest of the city in mind at all times."

Appointed acting manager in 2015, he moved to the city in 2017 from Ossining, where he was the village administrator for more than a decade and had served as Ossining town attorney.

“It has been my distinct professional privilege to serve the City of Peekskill as City Manager over the last five years,” Leins said. “I am proud of the shared accomplishments over this time and am gratified to leave the City in a very positive place. I look forward to working with Andrew to ensure a seamless transition of management.”