By Holly Crocco A local law to limit and restrain the ability of local government to increase salaries for county legislators and the county executive has been proposed by Legislator Dan Birmingham, R-Southeast. Currently, each of the nine legislators make about $48,000 a year for what is considered a part-time position. “We have almost 50 employees who, whether they pave our streets or answer the phones or deal with public on a full-time basis, we have almost 50 of them maki

Putnam Valley was hit hard by the July 28 and 29 storm. Provided photo. By Holly Crocco Cleanup from not only one, but several summer storms that brought torrential rain to the area – hitting Putnam Valley especially hard – is continuing, with debris removal from blocked drains, and other efforts, proving to be a challenge. The Putnam Valley Town Board passed a resolution Aug. 12 approving the highway department to remove storm debris from various drains, waterways, and other

By Holly Crocco With a town moratorium on battery storage systems and large-scale wind energy conversion systems having expired in October, the Putnam Valley Town Board is looking to act quickly to pass another moratorium that will protect the town from not only these types of developments, but also data centers. The state recently passed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers using 50 megawatts or more of power to assess environmental, energy, and community imp

Tatiana Brahimi By Holly Crocco The race for county executive just got a little more heated, with the Putnam County Conservative Party Executive Committee announcing Friday afternoon that it has changed its endorsement and is now unanimously backing Tatiana Brahimi for the county’s top seat. “This decision was neither hurried nor made lightly,” wrote Secretary Theresa Votano in a statement on behalf of the committee. “After careful deliberation, the committee concluded that T

A record crowd of Lake Carmel residents and guests turned out for the 34th annual Lake Carmel Summer Festival on Aug. 2. The event was organized and managed by the Lake Carmel Park District Advisory Board, in coordination with the park district crew and lifeguards, and Town of Kent Highway Department, police department, and town board. It was sponsored by local merchants. There were many winners of the swimming races, with Alex Berardi willing the annual lifeguard race – the

National Night Out was celebrated across the country Aug. 4, with police departments and law enforcement agencies engaging with the public to promote better community relations. The Carmel Police Department and Town of Carmel Recreation Department hosted a family-friendly event full of food, music, bubbles, games, and more at Airport Park in Mahopac (pictured). The Brewster Police Department hosted their event at Wells Park, and the Kent P.D. invited the community to its head

By Holly Crocco Money is on the way to local nonprofits that are helping to keep food on the table for area families in need. The Putnam County Legislature voted unanimously during its Aug. 4 meeting to release $150,000 from the county’s subcontingency budget and transfer it to Cornell Cooperative Extension-Putnam and Second Chance Foods, to fight food insecurity. In 2025, the Legislature voted to dedicate the funds to support agencies that help feed the hungry, moving the mo

The Carmel Police Department has released the name of the suspect involved in a stabbing at the U.S. Post Office in the Carmel on July 30. Howard McNiff, 38, of Nanuet, was taken into custody at the scene and has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and two counts of second-degree assault, felonies; as well as fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Shortly before 3 p.m. July 30, Putnam County 911 received a report of a disturbance at the loc

Members of the Carmel Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported stabbing at the U.S. Post Office in Carmel on Thursday, July 30. At about 3 p.m., Putnam County 911 received a call reporting a disturbance at the location. Updates from the dispatch center indicated that an assault had occurred and that a victim had sustained multiple stab wounds. Sheriff’s deputies arrived almost instantly to the assault in progress and deployed a Taser, and t

The Town of Putnam Valley declared a state of emergency due to the heavy rain and significant flooding that closed many roads and bridges. Photo provided by the Town of Putnam Valley. By Holly Crocco Heavy rains last week caused flash flooding across the region, with the Town of Putnam Valley declaring a state of emergency July 29 due to numerous road and bridge closures, and other impacts from the torrential rainfall. The state of emergency was set to last 30 days, unless re

By Rob Sample The Putnam County Coroner’s Office recently provided legislators with a mid-year snapshot of their work – in addition to clarifying the sad circumstances that call for their involvement and how such deaths get classified. The briefing by John Bourges, one of the county’s three elected coroners, took place July 22 during the County Legislature’s Protective Services Committee meeting. Dr. Michael Nesheiwat and Wendy Erickson, RN, are the other two coroners. Suicid

By Holly Crocco With state benefits being sliced last year and the current state of the economy, Putnam lawmakers are discussing ways to fill the gap and make sure those who are food-insecure don’t go hungry. Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, recently proposed a resolution that would allow the Legislature to move $150,000 from subcontingency into the budget, to be allocated to agencies that can get the funds to local food pantries throughout the county. “There have

Joseph Petti of Putnam Valley died July 24. A Putnam Valley man was killed Friday in a reported construction equipment accident. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office has identified Joseph Petti, 56, as the victim. According to the police report, just after 5 p.m. July 24, deputies responded to a residence on Park Drive to assist emergency medical personnel with a reported construction equipment accident involving a skid steer. Petti was found deceased at the scene when the firs

The results are in, showing that Putnam County residents are most concerned about economic stability, mental health, and children’s health services, according to the county’s Community Health Improvement Plan. After nearly six months of preparation and discussions with community members, a plan to improve the health of Putnam residents has been completed. It can be viewed at www.putnamcountyny.gov/health/community-health#Assessments. The final 15-page document outlines three

By Holly Crocco Carmel Town Hall and the Carmel Police Department were transformed into the Ray Brook New York State Police Barracks last week, as crews filmed scenes for a new Netflix mystery-thriller series. On July 28, a permitted filming project for “The God of the Woods” took place, following weeks of discussions between the town and the network. According to Carmel Town Councilman Robert Kearns, who spearheaded the negotiations, the filming brought in $30,000 of revenue

A rendering provided by former County Legislator Richard Othmer shows what the property at 34 Gleneida Ave., Carmel, could look like, if the current building is demolished and a greenspace for a park (left) is created. By Holly Crocco The topic of what to do with the dilapidated county-owned building at 34 Gleneida Ave., in Carmel, is back up for discussion and while options for that space are varied, one thing is absolute – a new home for United For the Troops must found bef

By Rob Sample The Putnam County Legislature recently approved the addition of eight farms from five towns to the countywide agricultural district – which aims to help preserve the local agricultural industry and protect farmland from non-agricultural development. The Legislature’s approval came after a public hearing July 7 and followed a robust series of public comments for and against the proposals, as well as similar discussion by the legislators during a subsequent meetin

By Holly Crocco The Brewster Village Board has approved a local law that changes the zoning code in the district where the former Garden Street School resides, allowing for the development of affordable housing. A concept for the property has been proposed by Covington Development LLC and WBP Development LLC, which owns the property. It was brought forward around February, and the zone change was necessary to entertain the concept further. The motion passed 3-0 during the vil

The top two candidates running for Putnam County executive in November recently announced the amounts their campaigns raised in the most recent filing period – which is often used as a barometer to gauge support for a candidate who has received contributions from political parties, businesses big and small, residents, and various organizations. The campaign to elect Brett Yarris as Putnam County executive announced July 17 that it raised more than $92,700, claiming that numbe

By Holly Crocco Putnam County is poised to approve a tax exemption for surviving spouses of police officers who are killed in the line of duty. During its July 14 meeting, the county’s Rules Committee unanimously approved a 50 percent tax reduction on the assessed property value of the qualifying primary residence for a homeowner in Putnam County whose spouse has been killed in the line of duty as a police officer. The exemption is provided under Real Property Tax Law Section