Appointments, Approvals, and Celebrations in Orangetown

The town board of Orangetown met on the evening of January 20th to approve several appointments, plans for funding, and congratulate local youth athletes. Several local officials were appointed or reappointed to their positions on the traffic advisory board, senior citizen advisory committee, as well as the office of emergency management, among other appointments. 

The beginning of the meeting saw the Blauvelt Volunteer Fire Company present the town with a $5,000 check for the town’s parade celebrating America’s 250th birthday. Shortly after, the Orangetown Patriots Junior Cheer team was congratulated and awarded by the town with certificates to celebrate their recent first place victory at the 2025 Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championship. Congratulations to the team! 

As part of the agenda several members of boards and committees serving Orangetown and its residents were appointed for one-year terms including the Traffic Advisory Board, Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, and the Office of Emergency Management. Kristy Bauman was recognized as the chairperson for the town’s Board of Ethics for a one-year term and Thomas Hyland was reappointed to the same board for a five-year term. Charles Vezzetti and Denis O’Donnell were both reappointed to the Sanitation Commission for a one-year term and a five year term, respectively. 

Orangetown residents can expect standard road pavement improvements in the near future on several roads throughout the town. $1.2 million dollars was set aside to repair almost 18.5 miles of road in the villages and hamlets of Pearl River, Orangeburg, Nyack, Blauvelt, Sparkill, Tappan, and Grandview. 

Several Pearl River residents who live along Mountain View Ave came up to express their concerns over speeding and other disregarded traffic laws along their street. Mountain View Ave is a one-way road often used by drivers to access Pearl River High School and Shoprite. Residents say that despite a sign posted demarcating at least part of the area as a school zone and the entire street as one-way, residents often see cars speeding, going down the road in the wrong direction, and speeding down the road in the wrong direction. Residents also complained that many students from the local high school were blocking driveways with their parked cars. 

A study was previously done on the street which found that the average speed of drivers in the area was 26 miles an hour, despite the speed limit being 15 mph. One local resident said he had even lost his dog to a reckless speeding driver with his daughter being forced to discover their pet on the road on her way home from school. The town of Orangetown expressed their concern to the residents and promised to look into the matter further.