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The Public Gets A Glimpse Of Irvington’s Ongoing Facilities Overhaul

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Irvington residents examine displays of possible facilities relocations at the public library

February 27, 2026

By Barrett Seaman—

It will soon be two years since the Irvington Board of Trustees launched a Facilities Planning Study, naming an 11-member citizens panel and challenging them to “evaluate the long-term needs of multiple municipal departments and outline strategic options to ensure village facilities remain safe, functional, adaptable and fiscally responsible for years to come.”

A public presentation of the status of that effort took place on Thursday, February 26 at the Irvington Public Library, providing some reassurance that the committee’s work is progressing on a schedule to deliver a detailed list of options sometime this summer. Aided by the architectural expertise of consulting firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the group has identified the needs but more importantly is offering up a comprehensive list of places where certain departments might relocate, should they need to. And some will surely need to.

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A timeline for completing a new configuration of village facilities

Those who might be underwhelmed by these modest results after two years of committee work need only review the history leading up to the November 2023 rejection of the $18.2 million bond issue. Slow and steady, as it turns out, just might be a good thing. (see: https://thehudsonindependent.com/irvington-asks-residents-to-approve-record-18-million-bond-for-new-municipal-complex/)

The hefty bond proposed by the board in 2024 would have funded a wholesale reconfiguration of public buildings, embracing the Main Street firehouse, headquarters of IVAC( the volunteer ambulance corps), the police station and its adjacent courthouse/trustee meeting room, the Rec Department, the Village Administrator’s office, a police firing range currently tucked away in the woods off Harriman Road, and a Department of Public Works complex that occupies nearly two acres of prime riverfront real estate.

To be sure, the village’s public buildings needed—and still need—work. Most of them are between 60 and 100 years old. The firehouse can no longer accommodate the latest firefighting equipment; the police station, to put it politely, is a rabbit’s warren of tiny rooms, inadequate holding cells and, like other village buildings, devoid of women’s rooms. The DPW, understandably less than picturesque, sits on land that might otherwise be sued for the much-needed housing sought in a separate re-zoning project for the Astor Street corridor.

In retrospect, the bond issue and the plan to spend it were done in haste—in part, it has been said, because the mayor at the time, Brian Smith, a member of the fire department himself, was perhaps too optimistic about prospects for public passage. The package of proposals included putting the police department as part of an administrative center on the current site of the firehouse, with its firearms practice range in its basement—right across the street from the Main Street School. That had many parents up in arms (as it were).

Others questioned the need to move the Rec Department, while still others asked why the plan included reconfiguring the main floor of Town Hall so as to utilize the grand staircase as an eloquent entrance to the upstairs theater. All specific elements of the proposal aside, Irvington voters seemed suspicious of a hastily prepared plan that would have generated a $795-per-household property tax increase. The bond went down to defeat by a margin of four-to-one.

A map indicate properties that are candidates for relocation

Now in the midst of the second of three phases it has assigned for itself, the Facilities Committee has to date conducted site tours and identified needs. They have articulated pros and cons for individual sites and explored implications for traffic and civil engineering consequences.

The recent community event at the library was one of three designed to solicit public input on site selection. Seven dark patches covered specific properties displayed on oversized maps of the village. If nothing else, they highlighted the overall dearth of open space in Irvington, and several of them were in or close to wooded areas prized by residents (see map above).

Between now and summer, more refinement will take place, site comparisons will grow more detailed, and toward the end, cost estimates will inevitably alter the thinking on what is feasible as well as functional. If all goes according to schedule, BBB will deliver a formal proposal by mid-summer and the board of trustees will then determine whether they can sell it to Irvington voters.

Facilities Planning Committee members:

Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) Consulting Team
Michael Aziz (Committee Co-Chair)
Arthur Chabon (Committee Co-Chair)
Michael Hanna (Community Communications Coordinator)
Charles Hessler (Village Administrator)
David Zweibel (Trustee Liaison to the Committee)
Arlene Burgos (Mayor)

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The Public Gets A Glimpse Of Irvington’s Ongoing Facilities Overhaul

Facilities Planning Committee members:

Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) Consulting Team
Michael Aziz (Committee Co-Chair)
Arthur Chabon (Committee Co-Chair)
Michael Hanna (Community Communications Coordinator)
Charles Hessler (Village Administrator)
David Zweibel (Trustee Liaison to the Committee)
Arlene Burgos (Mayor)

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