Assemblyman Burdick and Chief Vasta Speak at the Harrison Board Meeting
Harrison Mayor Richard Dionisio opened the Harrison Town Board meeting on June 20, with a moment of silence for Louis M. Klein School eighth grader Mark Anthony Giordano, 13, who passed away due to a tragic accident.
Dionisio then thanked NYS Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblyman Chris Burdick for working with Governor Kathy Hochul to pause the implementation of “congestion pricing,” which would charge a toll to drivers entering Manhattan’s local streets and avenues at or below 60th Street.
Discussing the Governor’s plan to implement significant cuts in education this past January due to rising insurance and retirement costs, Burdick stated, “My colleague Shelley Mayer, Chair, Education Committee, led the charge in the Senate; I led the charge in the Assembly, supported by the community, resulting in $7,223,171 in total education aid, an increase of $831,488.”
Then Police Chief John Vasta and Officer Ami Postiglione discussed Harrison’s accreditation from the NYS Law Enforcement Accreditation Council (NYSLEAC). The accreditation is a program administered voluntarily through the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the State Agency that oversees municipal policing, rules, and regulations to further advance professionalism and policing in New York State. It aims to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement agencies utilizing existing personnel, equipment, and facilities, to promote increased cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies and other agencies in the criminal justice system, and to ensure appropriate training of law enforcement personnel and promote public confidence in law enforcement. Postiglione, the accreditation program manager for Harrison, worked hard to get Harrison’s files in shape to meet NYSLEAC’s 105 standards for training, administration, and operation.
Czarnecki wrote an article with the same title, “Cagney in Westchester,” which appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of The Westchester Historian, the award-winning publication of WCHS. Established in 1874 and celebrating its 150th year, WCHS is the eleventh oldest county historical society in America and the only organization that collects and promotes the county-wide history of Westchester. The Society’s comprehensive and accessible collection of books, pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, maps and atlases, and images pertaining to the history and genealogy of Westchester County is housed in the state-of-the art temperature-and humidity-controlled environment of the Westchester County Records Center located at 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY, 10523. www.westchesterhistory.com.