Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick Delivers $385,000 in state grants to Ossining and Briarcliff Manor

OSSINING, NY - Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D-Rockland/Westchester) announced that the Town of Ossining, Village of Ossining and Village of Briarcliff Manor have received four state grants, totaling $385,000 that will go to improve local parks and streamline local government functions. 

“These grants are a way for state government to have a direct impact on the well-being of a community,” remarked Senator Reichlin-Melnick. “I was a local elected official so I’m very aware of how helpful it is to have state dollars support important capital projects like these in Ossining and Briarcliff.”

Parks in both the Town and Village of Ossining will see a big investment this year with $300,000 from the State and Municipal Facilities Capital Program, commonly referred to as SAM grants. The Town of Ossining was awarded $150,000 to pay for two projects in their parks: $100,000 will pay for an upgrade to the playground at Ryder Park, and $50,000 will go toward rehabilitation of the Icehouse at Cedar Lane Park. The Village of Ossining was awarded $150,000 to build an accessible playground in Veterans Park.

Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg expressed appreciation for the funding, "We are so grateful for the support from Senator Reichlin-Melnick as we seek to improve our parks, open spaces, and historic buildings. With this funding, we look forward to creating recreation space at Ryder Park for parkgoers of all ages and abilities to enjoy, as well as preserving the Ice House, a historic structure at Cedar Lane Park, so it can be utilized for generations to come. Thank you to the Senator and his team for helping us secure these much needed grant dollars!"

“This funding from Senator Reichlin-Melnick will allow us to build an inclusive play area, where children of all abilities and developmental stages can play, learn and have fun together,” said Ossining Mayor Rika Levin. “By incorporating equipment for children with mobility constraints and sensory issues, we can better serve families in our diverse community and ensure that all children know that their uniqueness is valued.”

Briarcliff Manor is receiving an $85,000 SAM grant to improve IT connectivity and security for their municipal facility and library/community center. Briarcliff Manor Mayor Steve Vescio said, “I’d like to thank the Senator for his continued steadfast support of the Village. This project will save taxpayer dollars by consolidating our IT infrastructure, allowing us to move additional services online, making it easier than ever for residents to access Recreation and Library programs.”