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County Executive Rob Astorino announced Monday, June 16, that the Westchester 2025: Plan Together program, which offers online planning tools, reports and other resources to municipalities, had been completed. The Sleepy Hollow study is available on the county's website.
By taking advantage of the program, Sleepy Hollow was provided a planning report and saved about $30,000 – the amount it would have cost the village to do the report on its own.
“We are thankful to County Executive Astorino and the county’s team of planners for providing us with these valuable tools,” said Sleepy Hollow Mayor Ken Wray. “Acquiring this kind of data on our own would have been time-consuming and expensive. The county worked quickly, allowing us to move faster than anticipated, and the data is of excellent quality."
Sleepy Hollow will use the report as a starting point for its efforts to revitalize its downtown. The study contains detailed maps, census data, zoning code summaries and storefront inventories.
“This partnership between Westchester County’s Planning Department and the village of Sleepy Hollow is yet another shared-service success story,” Astorino said in a statement. “Government can do more with less when it optimizes its resources. In this case, the beneficiary is one of Westchester’s treasured Main Streets.”
Sleepy Hollow officials have issued a request for proposals for a consultant who will use the study to determine the best strategies to employ to attract potential developers, investors and entrepreneurs to the area.
In March, Wray discussed the acquisition of a section of the General Motors property near downtown and the formation of a local development corporation in a Daily Voice post.
"As we look forward to acquiring the east parcel (GM property), it makes sense to keep the village out of the chain of title while still being able to use and benefit from the land," Wray said. "We are considering the creation of a local development corporation to do just that. An LDC would accomplish that first goal, but there are other significant benefits to an LDC."
For villagers, downtown development means easier access, more business and a welcoming environment.
"I like the village, and I come to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow for restaurants and farmers markets," said Rita Crosby of nearby Greenburgh. "Sleepy Hollow could use good waterfront development and other attractive business."
Terry Walker Flynn would like to have easier access to the village's business section and made her point known via the Tarrytown Daily Voice Facebook page.
"Parking!" Walker Flynn posted.
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