Latest / MyRye.com Conversations with Doug French / Rye Brook with its Mayor Jason Klein

Transcript

Rye Brook with its Mayor Jason Klein · MyRye.com Conversations with Doug French

• MyRye.com: Welcome to the MyRai.com podcast conversations with Doug French. I'm your host, Doug French, former mayor of the city of Rye. And this podcast is all about the issues and the people that impact Rye and the surrounding area. And our focus is really to inform you, our listeners, on the issues that matter most so you can engage with the ones that are most important to you. Today in conversation is the topic of what I call the Rybrook experience. A lot of really good things are happening in Rybrook. A lot of Folks in Rye are moving Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So, MyRye.com: to Rybrook, a lot of people from Rye frequent Rybrook. And so today with us is the mayor of the village of Rybrook, Jason Klein. Mr. Mayor, welcome to myRye.com. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Thanks having me. MyRye.com: So, in this episode, I really want the listeners to walk away with a couple of things. One is an update on Rye Town Park, since that really sits in the city of Rye, and you are on the commission there. Any key accomplishments, because you've been on the on the board and mayor for some time. So any key accomplishments you want to focus on and challenges that you have in the village. also it's really important to just Discuss intermunicipal collaboration. How's the region working together when it comes to local government support? And then any any updates going forward on village development and key initiatives you have. So to open our conversation today, I'd ask you, Mr. Mayor, how do you describe Rybrook for those who do not live there? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So for those that don't know Rybrook, we're a relatively small suburban community. We have about 10,000 residents and there are actual districts that serve the community. We're close to New York City, the Hudson Valley, and we have nearby train stations and other public transportation. There is a smallish downtown area that mainly consists of two shopping centers. And the Village of Rybrooke values the services that the village can provide to its residents. MyRye.com: Excellent. So one one of the assets that is managed with Rye Brooke is the is Ryetown Park. And for those that don't know, Ryetown Park sits along the coast in in the city of Rye. Is is back when the city became Rye City of Rye became a city, the state New York State Legislature determined that Rye City could not own the entire waterfront. So that there should be access to also the folks in Rye Town, which included well not at the time but now included Of Rybrook in Porchester, as well as the Ryanick section of Mamarinick. So you serve on the commission and that oversees the whole the Rye Town Park. can you just give us an overview of the commission's role and some of the initiatives you have there? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Sure, so as ride broke I care on the right Parks Committee. so what that what the operation of Ry Town Park, that includes the staff there and everything else along with that. And so a great group of people that are put together, the mayor of Portchester, the mayor of Ry, the supervisor for the town of Ry, and then a few other members as well. And it's really a great park for for the area. It doesn't just serve those municipalities. Other people are welcome to be there, but generally at a higher fee. And it really is used by the residents of Rybrook. It is seen as a resource for our residents as well. MyRye.com: And I see that you you recently received an eight point w million dollar New York State Green Resiliency Grant. Can you tell us about that? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Sure, so it's a few aspects and really other people can probably speak better to it than I can, especially Gary Zuckerman, the town supervisor, or Debbie Reisner. But really what this is, is twofold. One is to address flooding issues in the park. There's been a history of issues with storm water runoff and it eroding parts of the beach. and running off more into certain areas than others. So some of this will be redirecting water by creating culverts and piping, and it specifically addresses those washout issues. Another aspect of the sustainability project has to do with lot itself and the lighting within the parking lot. MyRye.com: Okay. And so how does that really impact residents i in terms of the neighbors and and the lighting or just when you're in the parking lot better lighting? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: It's better lighting, but it's also using solar power. So it would be utilizing other sources, trying to make the aesthetics nicer for the park itself, and again, trying to prevent storm water from damaging infrastructure or other areas of the park. And it really makes the user experience better. MyRye.com: So residents should start to see some improvements already or when is that going take place? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I'm not exactly sure when it's slated to start. MyRye.com: Right, so that's that'd be with Debbie Reisner, the administrator and the town supervisor. what about any other capital improvements happening at the park? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: There are a number of capital improvements that have occurred and are occurring or are going to occur in the future. One of the more recent ones were the improvements to the bathroom facilities at the park, which was long overdue. Also a lot has to do with ADA compliance at the park, being able to use restrooms and being able to access the beach. so, there are other... Other aspects have been a retaining wall near the parking lot and previous work has also included the pavilions. There's also has been a project to revamp the tower in the main building, specifically the windows, the facade of that building, and a lot of that work has been funded by the Friends of Rydetown. MyRye.com: So the the main building there really is just really an empty empty shell right now. So now the the outside looks like it's getting protected or it's it's protected, but the inside, the use for the inside is still something to be determined, correct? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I believe so. Yeah, there's certain areas of the main building that are being used and there is a bathroom in there, but there are other aspects that are still to be determined, like you said. MyRye.com: So is there one hidden gem that that folks should look for this summer? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I think the park itself is really the gem. think, you know, for especially for the residents of Rybrook, it's really a unique property and facility to have because Rybrook is not located along Long Island Sound, but we're adjacent to communities that are. And so having the beach, having the waterfront that's accessible to our residents is very important for the community. MyRye.com: It is really a hidden gem and it looks spectacular. So kudos to the entire staff and the commission that have really kept those improvements going. and the water's always very clean. I guess the way it's the the proximity of of the beach, the tide really takes out a lot of the the debris and stuff, so it stays relatively clean. That's great. and if so friends want to get involved, I know we have in Rye we have the Rye Town Park Advisory Committee. But if folks want to get involved with the park or or something they should contact, is it Debbie Reisner? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: They can certainly contact the town and if they want to become involved in other great ways to join the Friends of Rye Town Park. MyRye.com: How do you how you folks stay, how does the commission stay engaged with with the friends and with Playland because you have to continue a speech there and engage other partners and engage the community? Do you have regular forums that people can attend, regular meetings? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: We do so. The commission has a monthly meeting which is open to the public. The friends of Rytown Park are often there. There are also a number of community events at the park itself which the public can participate in and which and once a year we actually hold one of the commission meetings at Rytown Park under the pavilion and certainly the public's welcome to attend that as well. All of the commission Meetings are also streamed and are available on the website. MyRye.com: And a again just to reiterate, the commission is made up of an individual from the Rhineck section of Mamarinek, Porchester, City of Rye, and Rye Brooke. And generally sometimes the meetings get rotated in those locales as well. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Typically they're at Crawford Park, which is where the town has its meeting room. MyRye.com: Yep, yep, okay. So let's move to kind of key accomplishments for the village itself. So you know, what were your key accomplishments since you've been mayor? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So there's a few. Really the first and foremost on our mind is a conservative fiscal approach to the village. We have stayed under the tax cap every year that I've been mayor while preserving the important services that our residents have come to expect. And so that's the first goal is to make sure that we're looking out for the residents and protecting the tax base. And then from a personal background, It's sustainability projects. So looking at stormwater, looking at, you know, on my time on the board, we've done things like adding food composting. We've changed all of our streetlights over to LED. We've begun to green our fleet. And during my time as mayor, we also passed a gas-powered leaf blower van. MyRye.com: Tell me more about greeting the fleet. could you just describe that a little bit more detail? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So some of it is looking for, so it could be alternatives to staff vehicles. So looking for more electric vehicles. We're in the process through grants of adding chargers at a few different parking areas, including Village Hall and Garibaldi Park. And so, and also looking at the fleet of maintenance equipment, whether it be leaf blowers, mowers, but looking to see how we can electrify that instead of using the gas power that's been done before. MyRye.com: Is there one project in particular that you're especially proud of? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Well, I would say the gas power leaf blower ban was something that occurred during my time. But that's more in relation to the sustainability projects. I'd say the project in total that I'm most proud of is a stormwater related project, which was the buyout program. So we're the first community in Westchester County to actually, applied for grants, we received a grant to buy out homes in flood prone areas. MyRye.com: So I thought that was when I did my research, I thought that was a typo. Because I I never heard that before. So which area specifically are we talking about? If I'm at I'm at the Rybrid Shopping Center, right, what are the float prone areas in proximity to that? Is it that area or is it a different area I'm thinking? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So it was three areas of the village. So houses qualified on three different streets. So two of them are very close to Ry Ridge Shopping Center. If you're starting from Rye, the closest would be Wyman Street, which is a little bit closer to Rye from the Ry Ridge Shopping Center. Then you have Brook Lane, which is located near 800 Westchester Avenue, the old General Foods building, the current Robert P. Weiss building. And then The third was Rockridge Drive, which is located up the line broke. But these three areas were where the homes were determined by the NRC asked to qualify for the buyout program. MyRye.com: And so how many homes is that and how many homes actually did the buyout? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So there were 24 homes that qualified. In total, eight ended up going through the full process. So of those that qualified, the initial step was to sign up to receive more information. And there was a lot of information provided. And then the village had to hire an assessment company to come out and appraise the houses. So once the appraisals were done, then offer sheets were given to the homeowners who had signed up to that point. And then they had to decide whether or not they were selling their home to the Village of Riper. MyRye.com: Wow, so there's a lot of mechanics behind that. So then the village becomes the owner of those properties. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Yes, the village becomes the owner and then right now where the process stands is we went out to bid for a contractor for demolition of the houses and the demolition is about to get started. So the houses are to be demolished. It has a twofold benefit. One is that it removes homeowners from flood prone houses. The second benefit is it creates a little more water storage. for the times when the brook is being overrun and there's flooding. And so right now we're just beginning the demolition process for these eight homes. And I should say also that all of this is done completely through grant funding. So this MyRye.com: Right. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: comes at zero cost to the village of Rybrook and therefore the taxpayers in the village. MyRye.com: And if you had to look back, is it because the homes were built in a flood prone area or is it because there's was just too much development over time where more water's coming down and impacting those properties, if you could guess? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I think it's both. know, just from a personal standpoint, it seems to be both that you had houses built in flood prone areas and then through development and redevelopment, there seems to be more and to be perfectly honest, the stronger storms that we've been receiving in recent years with 100 year storm seems to be every five years or so. And and so you have you have a brook that has more water coming down it. And so we've seen a lot more flooding in our area, but this is really seen throughout the Northeast as well. MyRye.com: And is the goal then to keep the the property dormant or at some point the village could develop on that higher up if it if it wished, correct? I'm not Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: No, it's un-developable. It becomes open space, so it's preserved MyRye.com: Okay. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: open space. MyRye.com: Okay. Well that's great. Wow, that that's really interesting. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So really, the only cost to the village is the removal of the properties from the tax roll. MyRye.com: Right. Okay. Yes. Okay, gotcha. any other challenges facing Rybrook? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Oh, certainly. There's, mean, aside from the storm water that we've faced in recent years, one of the bigger problems we've faced is the loss of non-homestead development, specifically in the loss of the two hotels in the village. So previously there had been the Doral property, which Doral Arrowwood had a large hotel, which closed permanently and that's been demolished. And then since 2020, the Ryde Town Hilton, well, guess it's now the Westchester Hilton has been closed since 2020. And so there's been a loss of that revenue from those hotel properties. MyRye.com: All right, so you were getting a bunch of tax revenue that would offset your property tax increases, I guess. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: We were getting, towards the operating fund, were getting the hotel occupants. MyRye.com: What about the growth in Rybruck? Are you seeing you know, growth in people moving to Rybruck or it's it's basically flat? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: We are, seeing, mean, houses in Rybrook sell very quickly. So we are seeing a lot of movement and we expect that there will be more in the future. There is a development coming very soon, which is senior housing. And so, you know, we would expect, first of all, people moving into the senior housing, but also potentially there may be some Rybrook residents moving into that, which would open up housing stock for younger families. MyRye.com: Alright, so we'll get to we'll get to other development in our in one of our next vlogs. But let's let's jump to inter municipal collaboration. So I know Chris Bradbury was used to be assistant here in City of Rye. He's he's a village manager. NAT does an excellent job, we're really well regarded. So how do you work closely with with some of the neighboring communities on on some of these issues? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So we rely very heavily on the support of our neighboring communities. We have a lot of inter-municipal agreements. So for example, primarily we have a fire services agreement with the village of Porchester, whereby our engine and our fire trucks and our fire company and our department is covering parts of Porchester that are close to us. and they're helping assist with any calls in the village of Rybrook. So that's been in place for a number of years. We also share a library with the village of Portchester. So the library is called the Portchester Rybrook Library, and we both commit funding to the library, both in the form of operating expenses and capital expenses. We also work very closely with the city of Rye and the village of Portchester in the EMS. So the Portchester-Rye-Ryebrook EMS is one of the top EMS services in the country. And that's funded partially through the operating budgets of all three municipalities. And it really has a great response time and something that we're very proud of in the municipalities. MyRye.com: You know, we we had touched on flooding earlier, but Ida was really unique because some of the other floods that we've experienced are really more Burke related. But Ida, it was like the storm just sat on top of Port Chester, Rye, and Rybrook and the water just kept coming down, wouldn't move. any anything s other than the the buyouts, anything come from those efforts? Has it been stormwater legislation or anything else that based on Ida that you've put in action? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So there have been a number of initiatives since I would say you're absolutely right. We got about eight and half inches of rain in Rybrook during Ida and tragically we lost two residents in that storm. So it was weighing on all of our minds and storm water is a passion of mine. So it's something that we would have been eyeing anyway but this really pushed it to the forefront. Aside from the buyout program, we installed a stream gauge, a stream gauge for monitoring water levels in the Blind Brook, and that's close to Westchester Avenue, near Brook Lane. And that allows residents to see where the levels of the Brook are so that they can monitor that. And we can monitor as well so we know when we may need to get emergency services involved. We've worked on a number of culvert and stormwater retention projects. We did the bio program, like we said, and we've also have been looking at a number of other projects, looking at Rich Manor Park, which is one of the parks near the headwaters of one of the branches of the Blind Brook of how we may be able to get increased water storage there. We've also been looking at a frequently flooded area in Avon Circle, and we've been trying to accrue grant funds for that. We have half the money, we're trying to get the other half. And what that would do, we would work with the Portchester School District to add water storage underneath the Portchester Middle School fields. MyRye.com: Interesting, okay. Yeah, so I mean that's great in terms of regional collaboration because you would think that the the county should get involved as well, right? When you're talking about water and the blind brook and and all the surrounding areas. Are they taking the lead or assisting in it on any fronts? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So the county has committed some funding to the Avon Circle project. Should we be able to find the other? So they've been they've been very active in that. And you know, we've also worked with the city of Rye specifically the city of Rye had commissioned a study by the Ramble Engineering Agency. So we just call it the Ramble study. And so we've tried to identify projects from that study. that could be the so-called low-hanging fruit that may be easier to accomplish that will have an effect on the blind brook in rye brook as it flows down into rye as well. MyRye.com: Yeah, 'cause you know, inches and feet definitely do matter, so let's talk about maybe some of the the the culprits of some of the flooding. When you talk about the airport, purchase college, I'm not sure it necessarily know it trains from Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: you MyRye.com: there, but whether the it's it's the runoff from there. are you speaking with those institutions and organizations as well? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: We are so Regarding work with the airport in the airport there They're the base are functioning. They should with first college we had started with them a while back do a project MyRye.com: So you are having some conversation with the airport and purchase college. There was a project but nothing's really happened since then, it sounds like. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: That's correct. MyRye.com: so before we go on, I just want to remind our audience that if you have a topic or person that you would like to hear on the MyRide.com podcast conversation with Doug French, please email me at French at MyRide.com or just let me know around town. so let's talk about other development initiatives specific to the village. So the Ryewick Shopping Center has has undertaken a total makeover and it looks great. You got the pedestrian paths, you got the new facades. Any updates as far as that's concerned, or things to look forward to or what's coming up? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I mean this is the Rybrook shopping center is our largest commercial shopping center in Rybrook It's privately owned and operated and the storefronts are in good shape I mean they've when if a storefront becomes vacant they fill it right away So it shows that there is a demand for for stores in that area that they're going to be frequently used Certainly that serves the Rybrook population, but it also serves the surrounding community and anyone who works in Rybrook or the surrounding area at the time. So, I mean, you constantly see that the parking lot is full and people are using the stores, which we're very happy to see. We want a vibrant, so-called downtown. We don't have the traditional downtown like many other communities in the area, but we're very happy to see that be a vibrant place. MyRye.com: And it has a great mix of stores, both you know, on the front side and the back side. Really good mix of of services and stores, so so congrats on that. and I have a note here about senior living at nine hundred King Street. Can you tell us about that? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So this was a project that had been previously approved by the Village Board. We had gone through the EIS process. It had been approved by the other boards within the Village as well. At this point, the developers are submitting the permits and we expect construction to start in the fall or maybe into the winter and spring. But this will be a senior living facility age 62 and over with a number of independent living as well as assisted living and memory care. And really this was important for the village because this is again non-homestead development occurring on a property that had been underutilized recently. MyRye.com: And it's also tapping into the trend is is more seniors wanna stay in their communities, right? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Yeah, actually identified comprehensive plan that had been done for the village a number of years ago that, trying to create the housing stock for seniors to age in place. MyRye.com: Okay. you also do a great job with your senior services, with the senior center you have there. Anything you want to speak to about overall quality of life and senior programs? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: So we're very lucky to have a very active seniors program led by Liz Rotfeld who is just a fantastic person MyRye.com: Yes. Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: who comes up with a tremendous amount of creative programs. There's a lot of programs offered at our Ann Arbor, Philip Ho community center. And these are attended not only by Rybrook seniors but are also open to the larger community. We get participants from Ron and Courtney friends and other places. We have programs and even field trips across the Village Homes. do some Broadway shows. But it is a well-attended program. a very well-used facility. MyRye.com: That's great. That's great. So let's move to our our final round, our lightning round, where we ask for you know, one word or short answers. and just to change the case a little bit on the podcast. So your what what is your favorite spot in Rybrook? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I don't say that probably for a lot of our community events. MyRye.com: What is it called? Crawford Park? and what's what's the biggest win for you in the last past year? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Well, it wasn't really the past year, but I'd say the biggest win recently has been the NRCS buyout program. That was really a huge win for Vybrough. MyRye.com: Is there one word to describe village government? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I might use two words if that's okay, would say transparent and servant. MyRye.com: Service. Very good, very good. What's your top priority for the next twelve months? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: non-homestead development. MyRye.com: Ryburg has a number of community events. Do you have a favorite one? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Yeah, the Rybrook Birthday Celebration, our annual event. MyRye.com: it's Ryburg's birthday? And what's the date? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: to be before Father came. MyRye.com: Gotcha, so you you've had at leadership positions throughout your career. Is there is there a book or a podcast that you listen to that inspires your leadership style? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Hmm, not not really not a book or a podcast. I'd say I take inspiration from other leaders. MyRye.com: Any advice for the next generation of local leaders? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I would say just look how you can serve your residents, how you can serve the people that trust you to be in charge of something, whether it be a nonprofit board, whether it be a municipal government, just see how you can best serve. MyRye.com: So I asked you for one word about government. What about one word that describes Rybrook? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I would say community. MyRye.com: Excellent. And just finally, do you have a a future guest or podcast, or or a topic for this podcast? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: I would say, if there was a speaker, would say Chris Bradbury is always a great resource of information for Rybrook. I think if it's things that people in Rybrook may be looking for, it may be just knowing about all the services provided in the communities around. MyRye.com: All right. Well Jason, any any parting comments or final thoughts? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Not really, I'd just say thank you for having me on. MyRye.com: Absolutely. Well Jason, I want to thank you again with great insights. It's great that the communities work well together and we've got some great leaders that are working well together and you've accomplished a great deal, so congratulations on that. Should people want to contact you, what is the best way? Mayor Jason Klein, Village of Rye Brook: Best ways via email, it's mayor at rybrookny.gov. MyRye.com: And to our listeners, you can find the full episode transcripts of this episode and other episodes, as well as local news and more at MyRide.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Send us a comment, share, like it. And thank you all for listening to the MyRide.com podcast, Conversations with Doug French. We will see you next time. Take care.