By Barrett Seaman–
With Washington Irving’s portrait on the wall behind him, Martin Rutyna took the oath of office as the new mayor of Sleepy Hollow on April 3rd, which as he noted, happened to be the famous writer’s 240th birthday.
A political novice, a village resident for five years, surprised many by defeating seven-term incumbent Ken Wray in the March 21st election, Rutyna will preside over a board made up of trustees who ran alongside Wray under the Unite Sleepy Hollow banner. The ceremony took place at noon. That evening, three of those trustees, Deputy Mayor Denise Scaglione, Jared Rodriguez and Tom Andruss—all of whom ran unopposed in March, were themselves sworn in. Mrs. Scaglione will retain her position as Deputy Mayor in the new administration.
After taking the oath administered by Village Clerk Paula McCarthy, Rutyna thanked a full house gathered in the Trustee Meeting Room, joking that he had “thought it would be four people on the side of the room” witnessing the ceremony. Many of those who vigorously applauded his remarks were fellow members of the Sleepy Hollow Fire Department, one of whom asked facetiously whether the newly-elected mayor, who is a captain, would “still be driving the [fire] truck at three a.m.”
Rutyna takes office at a time of significant transition for the village. While the 1,177-unit Edge-on-Hudson housing complex on the waterfront is well on its way to completion, the second phase in which 28 acres will be re-purposed into a park to be called “the Common” is still ongoing. So too is an ambitious effort to revitalize the inner village along the Beekman Avenue corridor. All these projects carry with them issues of affordability, diversity and fiscal management.
Read or leave a comment on this story...
Share
Print
