Residents Engage In Irvington’s Ongoing Facilities Exercise

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More than 90 residents engaged in Irvington's latest facilities planning exercise

May 5, 2026

By Jeff Wilson—

People stood or sat over an outsized “game board” – a large map of Irvington – spread across eight tables in the middle of Main Street School’s gymnasium, studying a replica of the village like generals examining a battle plan. Wooden blocks representing village government buildings, play money and “chips of consideration” resembling checkers sat at the edge of the map. Participants placed blocks on specific locations, pointing to particular sites and making a case for or against their suitability for relocating a municipal department (i.e. police or fire). Others weighed in with their own ideas on where a new station house might go. There wasn’t always consensus – but there was definitely engagement.

Such was the scene at the April 30 workshop, “Sites and Scenarios Exploration,” organized by the architectural consulting firm Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB). The event attracted nearly 90 engaged residents who gathered there to discuss (while having fun they may not have expected) the logistics of moving and/or modernizing Irvington’s municipal facilities: Fire, Police, Public Works (DPW), Parks and Recreation, village administrative offices and the Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps (IVAC). Accomplishing that task has been a years-long challenge involving multiple entities with conflicting priorities.

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The interactive workshop was led by Neil Kittredge and Rayna Erlich, representatives of BBB, a New York City-based firm hired in October 2025 by Irvington’s Facilities Planning Committee. After holding over 30 meetings since it was formed in April 2024, the FPC, a citizens committee, realized that it couldn’t manage the mammoth undertaking of transforming all the village’s services without some professional help.

Before beginning her power point presentation to the assembled citizenry, Erlich made it clear that the intent of the workshop was not to make final decisions but to engage the community in productive conversations and consensus-building. The power point highlighted some of BBB’s planning to date: department discussions, traffic and civil engineering review and work yet to come, such as architectural studies and cost estimating. Kittredge then took the floor and summarized the objectives facing Irvington: how will the facilities be modernized, where will they be located (or stay in place), and how will they be paid for.

Erlich reiterated that the game (which Kittredge referred to as “a combination of chess and monopoly”) was “an exploratory exercise.” As play got underway, Kittredge circulated to help facilitate the process. Citizens weighed in. Said Janice Silverberg, a former village trustee, “My table clearly wanted to group [the police department], fire and ambulance corps and saw the firing range [on Harriman Road across from the reservoir] as a likely site for DPW,” she recounted. “There was a general interest in incorporating affordable housing in the planning.”

At the end of the exercise, representatives from each table offered these suggestions:

Potential relocation of the DPW to the area of Cyrus Field Road where the police firing range is today;
Redevelopment of the DPW site on South Astor Street for housing or mixed-use as part of a possible “Transit-Oriented Development” district, which would provide revenue to the Village to help pay for new facilities;
Multiple possible options for the firehouse including expanding and rebuilding in place (requiring a temporary firehouse during construction), or relocation to a new building on alternate sites including the village parking lot on Broadway at Main Street, or the Station Road area on Rt. 9;
Opportunities for shared facilities where it would be beneficial to services and space efficiencies, such as potentially between Police, Fire, and IVAC;
Many good ideas for improving or rethinking the Recreation & Parks, Main Street Community Center and Senior Center, Village Administration, and the Justice Court.

The workshop drew praise from both BBB (“… a fantastic turnout and a high point for Irvington!” raved Kittredge) and attendees. “Overall, I thought it was a strong example of meaningful public engagement. The structure encouraged participation, collaboration, and transparency, and it was a valuable exercise for a community thinking about its future needs,” said Barry McGoey, an Ardsley trustee who was “eavesdropping.”

“BBB was impressive. They really worked the room and kept the meeting on target,” commended Silverberg. “It was a very well-attended, positive meeting with many different people committed to work on this challenge together, as a community.”

Kay O-Keefe remarked on her pride in living in a town “that even with differing opinions can get together and have a healthy and civil debate.”

Village Administrator Charles Hessler was equally impressed but in an email reflected soberly on the importance of getting it right. “As this process moves forward,” he said, “we will need to confront difficult decisions regarding where facilities should be located and how they will ultimately be financed, while also ensuring these facilities are not only brought up to current standards, but thoughtfully designed to meet the Village’s future needs.”

BBB plans to return in June with its final report and recommendations. The Board of Trustees will hold its vote in July.