FROM THE NEW CROTON.NEWS SITE: PIGEON PROPOSAL HEADS FOR MORE REVIEW AS SIMON RECUSES HIMSELF

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No adoption vote was taken after the September 2 pigeon hearing. Len Simon stepped aside from further work on the proposed animal law, while neighbors offered contrasting accounts and the board left next steps for a work session.

Croton did not adopt its proposed pigeon ban at the September 2 Village Board meeting. Mayor Brian Pugh said the animal-law proposal would return to a work session for further review, informed by comments from referral bodies, residents at the hearing and people writing to the village.

“we will not be voting on this law tonight,”12:44▶ Pugh said. The board later closed the public hearing. It did not set a date for the next work session; October was discussed as a possibility.

The evening also brought a recusal. Deputy Mayor Len Simon announced that he would withdraw from any further involvement with Local Law Introductory No. 10 of 2026, the proposal addressing domestic and farm animals.

Simon described himself as living next door to a family that lives next door to the racing-pigeon flock. He said he still felt objective, but wanted to remove potential distractions as the board went forward. He said he would leave his seat at the board table until the hearing concluded.

The testimony showed that neighbors’ experiences differ. One speaker urged an immediate ban without grandfathering the existing flock and described pigeons on roofs, gutters and outdoor spaces, along with droppings and early-morning noise. Those were the speaker’s reports to the board.

Nicole Shapiro, who said she and her husband live diagonally across from the pigeon keeper, offered a contrasting account. She said they had inspected the coop with permission and found it clean and well maintained, with quietly cooing birds and no offensive smell. MUCH MORE DETAIL AT Pigeon proposal heads for more review as Simon recuses himself — Croton-on-Hudson, NY

THAT MAMDANI INCIDENT---AN INSULT TO EVERY 9/11 VICTIM, SURVIVOR AND AMERICAN WITH THIS DESPICABLE GESTURE

This writer has been honored to write the "American Heroes of 9/11" series for Townhall. That series will continue through this week and feature a person (or persons) who showed remarkable bravery and selflessness on that dark day. Writing the series meant she spent a lot of time watching videos and reading or rereading accounts of that day, including the deaths of nearly 3,000 of her fellow Americans. That's why what Zohran Mamdani did over the weekend is an insult to not only the victims of September 11, but to the survivors, the families, and every single American who was alive on that day.
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On Friday, Mamdani signed an executive order recognizing September 11, and then he gave the pen to an aide and former lawyer who once represented an al-Qaeda terrorist.

The New York Post calls it "tone-deaf," but let's be honest. This was not a gaffe. This was not a misstep. This was not a mistake. MORE AT Zohran Mamdani Just Insulted Every 9/11 Victim, Survivor, and American With This Despicable Gesture

CROTON POINT NATURE & HISTORY HIKE, SAVE THE DATES

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton -- our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses or worship -- in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Croton Point Nature & History Hike

Village of Croton Historian Marc Cheshire and Jean Klurfeld, Assistant Curator of the Croton Point Nature Center, will lead a hike on Saturday, September 26, at 9 a.m. to explore Croton Point’s history, natural history, archaeology and geology. The hike will last roughly 1.5 to 2 hours. This event is free. Meet at the gate to the RV park, where parking is available. Ages 6 and up; wear sturdy shoes.

Additional hikes will take place at the same time on October 31 and November 21.

PEEKSKILL PROBLEMS - DESPITE ALL THAT "DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION MONEY".....WHEN PEEKSKILL'S SMALL BUSINESSES ARE LEFT BEHIND

Reporting on Birdsall House and its $52,000 back-rent judgment is newsworthy (Peekskill Herald, Aug. 25). But it also raises a larger question: why have so many established Peekskill businesses disappeared since the pandemic?

Birdsall House closed after 16 years. Gleason’s, Peekskill Brewery, Blondery, Onofrio’s, Lounge House, and Bucko also closed their Peekskill locations. MORE AT When Peekskill’s Small Businesses Are Left Behind – Peekskill Herald

VOTE FOR LOHUD VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton -- our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses or worship -- in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

ZOE SANTANA- HEN HUD - IS ON THE LIST; SEE ALL THE CANDIDATES AT Who is Volleyball Player of the Week for the season's first week?

THEY DON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING MORE THAN THE POLICE REPORT DID---THE HUDSON RIVER/HALF MOON DEATH INVESTIGATION

READ more at Death Investigation Underway Along Hudson River In Croton-On-Hudson (Developing) | Daily Voice

Here's the original police report EverythingCroton: CROTON POLICE INVESTIGATE DEATH ALONG HUDSON RIVER NEAR HALF MOON BAY-

KARMELO ANTHONY--SEPT. 2026--"HE WAS SPIRALING"

As many of you know, there has been considerable local social media chat on Anthony (his family is looking for 250K appeal money donations).

The NY Post has this updated article: 

The 75-page dossier offers insight into Anthony’s disturbing past — and was never revealed to jurors during his murder trial as part of a “gentleman’s agreement” between prosecutors and his defense team. More at Karmelo Anthony seen holding guns, spewing hateful rants in newly unearthed docs

WE'RE BACK FROM THE ANNUAL SUMMER HIATUS--"THE CROTON KNITTER & CROCHETER TOO"--EARLY FALL 2026

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton -- our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses or worship -- in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

EARLY FALL 2026 EDITION FROM EVERYTHING CROTON: "THE CROTON KNITTER & CROCHETER TOO"....AND NOW SOME FUN LINKS! Thank you readers! SEE THE LINKS BELOW.

62 CROCHET JEWELRY PATTERNS, FREE; MORE HERE 

VIDEO HOW TO MAKE A FUSION BEADED CROCHET BRACELET; SEE THE VIDEO HERE 

FASCINATING KNITTING HISTORY -- PATTERNS FROM THE 1940'S --  Hand-knitting was at a peak in Britain in the 1940s. During the Second World War, women on the home front were encouraged to contribute to the war effort by knitting for the troops, which was promoted as public duty. Advertising at the time stated: "England expects – knit your bit".  

Many knitting patterns were given away free, while wool was also sent to schools so that children could knit gloves, scarves and balaclava helmets for the forces. Wool was also supplied to organisations such as the Women's Institutes of England and Wales, who made over 22 million knitted garments for the Red Cross (an average of 67 garments per member). Parcels of their knitwear were sent to prisoners of war, as well as to troops.   READ AND SEE MORE HERE.

EASY SUNGLASSES CASES, FREE CROCHET PATTERN----SEE MORE HERE 

BABY PUMPKIN BEANIE PATTERN; CLICK HERE

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THE LATEST CYCLOSPORA YADA YADA YADA

It seems some creative but inaccurate Cyclospora memes have popped up on a local social media site. While these are probably bot-driven, a reader asks if it possible to address any fears they might cause with some hard numbers....

Google AI to rescue but you should of course do your own due diligence if you plan on posting these to the social site in question:

Westchester County: The county health department confirmed 28 cases during the peak summer wave.
Rockland County: Health officials reported 3 confirmed cases.
Putnam County: Health officials tracked 3 confirmed cases, with an additional case placed under investigation. [1]

Because the U.S. Cyclospora surveillance season officially concluded at the end of August, case numbers have been trending sharply downward over the past few weeks. However, because health departments like the New York State Department of Health continue to update their tallies weekly into September to capture delayed reporting, a few scattered legacy cases are still being processed. [1, 2]

Local health officials emphasize that because these parasites are tied to broad, commercial distribution networks of fresh produce (like bagged salad mixes, iceberg lettuce, or fresh herbs), these local cases represent individuals who bought contaminated items at standard grocery stores rather than any kind of localized outbreak originating from a Hudson Valley water source or local farm. [1, 2, 3]

JOHN McKEON ---THOUGHTS ON THE HIGH DENSITY INITIATIVE COMPOUNDING THE PROPERTY TAX DISPARITY IN CROTON-ON-HUDSON

Westchester County is known for some of the highest property tax rates in the nation. We expect to pay a premium for our well-maintained village’s excellent municipal services and high-performing school system. However, as our village embraces the addition of high-density residential housing, we will further compound a structural disparity that many of our residents are entirely unaware of. This disparity arises from a massive payment gap in property taxes between single-family homes and condominiums or apartment complexes.

While two residential units in Croton might share the exact same market value, a single-family home will carry an annual village and school tax bill two to three times higher than that of a comparable apartment or condominium unit. This disparity does not result from local tax assessor valuation decisions. Instead, it has been structurally mandated by New York State Real Property Law (RPL) Section 581. This statewide law is the product of a political dynamic that has existed for decades, born from the dominance of New York City’s housing development needs within our state's political structure. Under Section 581, condominiums and apartment houses are assessed for property tax purposes using a methodology based on the net operating income of their potential rental value, rather than their actual sales value.

Currently, the Village of Croton-on-Hudson has approximately 2,900 to 3,000 housing units. Of those, 2,350 are single-family residential structures, while over 550 are apartments or multi-family units, including condominiums. This equilibrium has been reasonably static over the years. However, our village leadership and state politicians want to significantly alter that balance in the name of affordable housing. They are planning to bring an additional 150 condominium and apartment units online, on top of the 67 units opened in our village just last year.

Two of these upcoming projects are not just 10% affordable housing, but 100% affordable housing initiatives. In the case of Maple Commons, a 100% affordable housing initiative subsidized with federal and state money, the project was further subsidized by the village through a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. This agreement created a property tax schedule even more favorable than RPL Section 581. Thanks to our Mayor, in collaboration with our State Senator for whom he works, the developer will pay just $75,000 a year in lieu of property taxes for the next 30 years, capped at a maximum 3% annual escalator provision for 33 residential units.

By comparison, the median property tax based on a median local property value of $712,900 is $14,300 annually per residential unit—the vast bulk of which funds our village operations and school district. Meanwhile, the derived annual tax for an individual unit in a small multi-family apartment or condominium is approximately $4,000 a year, and the implied annual tax per apartment in a mid-size complex sits between $2,000 and $3,000.

The core concern is that these 150 planned units, coupled with an unspoken plan for additional units at the Finkelstein property near the Senasqua Park riverfront gateway, will throw our single-family-dominated tax structure completely out of equilibrium. All residents—whether they live in a detached house, a townhouse, or an apartment—utilize the same village roads, rely on the same emergency services, and send their children to the same local schools. When a significant portion of the village's housing stock is taxed on an artificial rental baseline, the tax burden shifts heavily onto single-family homeowners.

Furthermore, real distress is being introduced into this equation by the village's failure to take the necessary steps to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place. Are we confident that our fire suppression water infrastructure, sewage disposal systems, and stormwater management systems are adequate to meet the intense, additional demands that high-density residential structures bring to our village?
It is incredible that there has been no open public discussion regarding tax reform associated with this high-density housing expansion. In fact, just last year in 2025, the Village Board of Trustees voted to relinquish their exclusive authority to assess properties in our village. They abrogated their right to control local taxation methodology simply to save the budget equivalent of one part-time employee.

While we cannot change the existing tax structure applicable to our current community of apartment and condominium residents, we must immediately explore structural tax changes associated with any future expansion of high-density housing initiatives. It is the responsibility of our local government to ensure the long-term well-being and continuity of the residents who have invested in single-family homes in neighborhoods like Harmon. A failure to acknowledge that responsibility should create a groundswell of political change in our community.

John McKeon

9/10 OLD CROTON AQUEDUCT IN ART---CORNELIA COTTON--CROTON LIBRARY

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses or worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Thanks Marc Cheshire, Village Historian---for the heads-up about this event:

Old Croton Aqueduct in Art-----When Cornelia Cotton opened an art gallery in Croton in 1979, one of the earliest gallery shows was called “Croton Water”– the first time that prints, maps, and ephemera of the Old Croton Aqueduct were shown as an art exhibit. Cornelia was active on efforts to preserve the Aqueduct early on, and after the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct (FOCA) was founded she served on its board for many years. Her presentation will feature a wide variety of images of sites along the Aqueduct, which ran from the Town of Yorktown to The Bronx, crossed the High Bridge over the East River into Manhattan and continued to Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street at the site of the New York Public Library.

Thursday, September 10, 7 p.m. at the Croton Free Library, 171 Cleveland Drive, Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

THE PERFECT HOSTESS GIFT! NEW TRIVET DESIGNS - ART BY ALYSSA - AT FEED THE BIRDS!

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses or worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Very pretty! And the perfect hostess gift!

New trivet designs at FEED THE BIRDS!

Handcrafted with care by Art by Alyssa in New Hampshire, these beautiful trivets are the perfect blend of style and function. The trivets are created using Alyssa’s original oil painted images.  Available now at feedthebirdscroton.com!

OUR INTREPID US NAVY SEALS

The US Navy secretly carried out a dangerous, four-month mission to clear the Straight of Hormuz of Iranian mines using SEAL divers, drones and sonar technology, according to a new report.

The covert demining operations were carried out mostly at night, with the divers, armed with robot boats and special underwater crafts, taking the perilous journey to rid the critical oil pathway of explosives, The Financial Times reported.

The SEALS first located the bombs and cleared the area before undertaking the hardest challenge of the fraught and time-consuming mission. MORE AT US Navy SEALS spent four months demining the Strait of Hormuz in dangerous, nighttime mission

TOWN OF CORTLANDT FALL 2026 RECREATION PLANNER IS LIVE!

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Fall 2026 Recreation Planner is now live! Go to Fall 2026 Recreation Planner is live ! - Town of Cortlandt, NY News