The Irvington Green Team

06/03/2026

Sing with Nick Demeris Wed night at the Irvington Presbyterian church. Get tickets at chaosandcatharsis.com

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wekfq4bmrat6qq80btty4/Nick-Demeris-Voice-Highlight.mov?rlkey=ksap2udgdmaoohn9h81mkkzhd&e=1&st=2cdl1wva&dl=0

Shared with Dropbox

06/02/2026

I am happy to report that we have completed our Climate Smart Communities submission for the current round. WOOT WOOT.

We earned Silver Status in 2024 with 379 points (300 were required). Many expire however, so we are back down to 186 and would lose our Silver status if we were not now submitting 302 (additional and updated) points for total of 488 points. Not all of those will be approved, but we have plenty of cushion. Typically, the review process will be complete by October. The next submission opportunity is January of 2027.

Since NYSERDA has yet to release a Gold level, we have set ourselves the humble goal of no. 1 in NY State. It will require a lot of significant planning development and policy progress over the next 7 months, but I believe we can do it.

Working through the Climate Smart Communities process helps us to:
Organize and document our extensive and impressive history of environmental work into narratives, educating the participants more deeply into our Village work along the way
Show us a roadmap for most all actions we can take to become a more environmental and resilient community
Motivates with weighted points and deadlines
Helps us to advance policy and programming that might otherwise not take priority
Helps to qualify us for grants

Thank you to Bruce Bell (or MVP this round), John Cossins, Lisa Antonelli, Chet Kerr, Sachin Hardas, David Zweibel, Leola Specht, Alayne Katz, Bill Estes, Nikki Coddington and Sara Rubinow!

And, of course, thank you to our Village staff Charles Hessler and Karen Bucheri for providing needed documentation and supporting our disparate and time sensitive needs.

These were the tasks that we submitted, either as updates or new documents. Some of these tasks involved dozens of meetings and are as many pages long.
CSC Task Force
CSC Coordinator
National/Regional Climate Program
Interior Lighting Upgrades
HVAC Upgrades
Advanced Vehicles
LED Street Lights
Heat Pumps
Electric Landscaping Equipment
Organics Management Plan
Recycling Bins in Government Buildings
Residential Organic Waste Program
Green Purchasing Communities
NYStretch Energy Code
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Traffic Calming
Climate Vulnerability Assessment
Evaluate Policies for Climate Resilience
Climate Adaptation Plan
Cooling Centers
Conserve Natural Areas
Watershed-based Flood Mitigation Plan
Green Infrastructure
Farmers' Markets
Community Campaigns
Climate Change Education & Engagement
Climate Related Public Events
Local Climate Action Website
Social Media
Climate Adaptation Case Studies
Rivertowns Scavenger Hunt
Gas Powered Leaf Blower Transition
Innovative Approaches to Existing CSC Actions
Deer Management for Conserve Natural Areas
Pollinator Butterfly Exhibit for Climate Education and Engagement
Reduce GHGs from Government Facilities

06/02/2026

Two yards. Same street. Same night.

The one on the left looks finished — lit from every angle, bright and visible. The one on the right looks dark and quiet.

🌿 The dark yard has fireflies flashing in the grass. A sphinx moth pollinating the flowers. A toad hunting under the porch step. Migrating birds passing overhead without circling.

The bright yard has insects spiraling at the bulbs. No fireflies. No moths at the flowers. The same species that filled the dark yard are absent from this one.

The image shows why — and what a warm shielded light with a motion sensor changes.

The yard that stays dark is the one where the night still works 🐾

06/02/2026

"A large number of communities in Westchester County have passed us by and enacted full year bans on gas powered leaf blowers with few if any exemptions. They include communities as diverse in size as small, exclusive Larchmont, and bustling county seat White Plains, with many in between.

Other municipalities, including Hudson rivertowns such as Hastings and Dobbs Ferry, are well on their way to total bans, while some others, such as Peekskill, are just now getting serious about taking up the issue.

But perhaps the leader of the pack is Irvington, which, after a carefully planned transition over three years that included public education and close engagement with landscapers and other stakeholders, enacted a total ban effective December 16, 2023."

Thanks for this coverage from the Croton Chronicle

The village of Irvington has gotten so many inquiries from municipalities about how they did it that they put together a "case study for others to learn from.

05/26/2026

Did you know…?

Besides food scraps, you can compost cut flowers, paper towels, coffee grounds and tea bags!

05/22/2026

https://www.rivertownsdispatch.com/eco-scavenger-hunt-crowns-winners/

A pair of seventh-graders from Dobbs Ferry topped all participants — local mayors included — in the inaugural Rivertowns Earth Month Scavenger Hunt. From March 29 to May 3, about 200 teams of residents from Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow earned points for...

05/20/2026

Monday night, the board of trustees approved our Organics Management Plan, created by Lisa Antonelli. Lisa also created a Sustainable Events guide for the Village which can be found here, where you will also find an example report of a Zero Waste event - the Village volunteer appreciation gathering, which used compostable serviceware and tablecloths and was carefully sorted by Lisa and the Irvington Green Team. Thank you Lisa Acharekar for your incredible work on waste mitigation in Irvington and for showing us how it can be done!
https://www.irvingtongreen.org/events/sustainable-events

05/19/2026

Irvington has a new Little Free Pantry.

This pantry is an easy way for neighbors to help neighbors who
need food, hygiene, or paper items.

Please take care of it and the space around it:
Tidy when you can and please don’t litter.

For questions or concerns, please contact:
Irvington Little Free Food Pantry at
[email protected]

Take what you need. If you find items inside and you need them, take them and know that we care about you. Please remember that the pantry belongs to all of us and take only those items you need, trusting the mini pantry will be here for you again.

Give what you can by placing food, hygiene, or paper items inside the mini pantry. Give what you would want to receive. An easy rule of thumb: buy extra of what you buy for your household. No gift is too small. Items should be unexpired, in good condition, shelf-stable, sealed, and able to withstand high temperatures.

Location: Irvington Presbyterian Church 25 N Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533 in the southeast corner How Does This Mini Pantry Work? This pantry is an easy way for neighbors to help neighbors who need food, hygiene, or paper items. Please take care of it and the space around it: Tidy when...

05/13/2026

Congratulations to our new Rivertowns Mayor!

Mark is still showing up to local stewardship events even though the game has ended. I see a future leader here. Give him a high five if you see him.

And you can buy his super cool 3D printed fidget toys at Butterflies and Dreams in Dobbs where he resides.

05/12/2026

Help us clean up Halsey Pond and remove invasive species Sat May 16th 10am - 12pm

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hgmYmPa6W6UFflcQ216tZYcmRVQD2uWJuww2P43hxfw/edit