Citizen Of The Year; Vets Day Parade: Harrison Mayor's Column

From Mayor Ron Belmont

Last weekend, Harrison held its 41st “It's Great to Live in Harrison/Columbus Day” Celebration. Our community takes tremendous pleasure in this yearly tradition as our nation honors the culture and heritage of Italian-Americans. In addition to recognizing the many achievements of Italian-Americans, Harrison residents and visitors participated in a weekend of exciting events. The fireworks display was spectacular and the Open House at Police Headquarters, featuring a display of emergency apparatus and tours of the Police Station, was well attended. It was great seeing familiar friends and new faces at this highly anticipated, annual occasion.

Congratulations to Harrison Resident Eleanor Russo on being named the 2018 Harrison Citizen of the Year. Eleanor has given outstanding service to our community over many years. Her activities include, but are not limited to, Chairman for the Interfaith Congressional Laymen’s Committee, Tennis Captain of the Harrison Ladies B-Team, President of the Westchester/Putnam Columbiettes and countless other civic organizations.

It is an honor to recognize Eleanor and the significant contribution she has made to the Town/Village of Harrison.

Veterans Day will be celebrated this year on Saturday, November 10, 2018 and, as usual, we will be holding our annual parade in West Harrison. This year, the Town/Village of Harrison will be eulogizing all Purple Heart veterans from World War II to the War in Afghanistan. Family members are invited to attend the parade and ceremony and should contact Kerry Marrano in the Mayor’s Office (670-3005). I look forward to celebrating our veterans and acknowledging those who have bravely served to protect our freedom.

I would like to take this time to congratulate our Library Director, Galina Chernyk on a wonderful and well deserved achievement. Ms. Chernykh has been honored by the NY Library Association (NYLA) for her work in transforming the library into the centerpiece of the Harrison community. She will receive the Mary Bobinski Innovative Public Library Director Award at the NYLA Annual Conference in November. According to NYLA, The Mary Bobinski Innovative Public Library Director Award is given to a public library director who, during the past two years, developed or implemented an innovative program leading to an increase in financial support and/or usage of their library.

On a related note, be sure to mark your calendars for the Meet the Authors event taking place at the Harrison Public Library on Saturday, October 20 th from 10 am to 5 pm. This event will feature 15 best-selling and debut authors, from the tri-state area, and is the first of its kind. In addition to several other events scheduled in honor of Italian American Heritage Month, Family History Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Harrison Library has partnered with “Jazz at Lincoln Center” and will be showcasing a new jazz concert, each month, for patrons to enjoy.

With great pleasure, I recently attended the ground breaking ceremony for the new Harrison Playhouse Lofts in downtown Harrison. This project is an adaptive reuse of the old Harrison movie theater that has been closed for decades. This is a wonderful example of a mixed-use, transit-oriented development. The project includes plans for 36 luxury rental units, a new street-level café on Purdy Street and updated commercial space on Harrison Avenue. I would like to take this time to thank John Verni and Verco Properties for their interest in and commitment to the Town of Harrison.

Harrison Playhouse Lofts highlights the importance of providing high- quality, multifamily housing options with great attention paid to eco-friendly design elements. The features of this building include state of the art materials and I’m sure that it will be regarded as a premier property, in our community, advancing our slogan, “It’s Great to Live in Harrison”.

In closing, my next “Lunch with the Mayor” will be on Friday, October 12 th and I will be at Emilio’s Ristorante located at 1 Colonial Place in downtown Harrison. On Friday, October 19 th , I will be at Delfino’s located at 60 Halstead Avenue in downtown Harrison. I will be at these locations from 12:30 to 1:30 and look forward to meeting with residents and talking about issues facing our community.

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