225 anniversary...lots of changes in past 25 years

A live goat will attend the ceremonial Town Board meeting on Thursday night-around 8 PM. A reception in honor of our 225th anniversary begins at 6:30 PM.

During the days of early town government, the Town Clerk kept a record of lost animals – a major concern to residents at that time. The Clerk would also inform residents of animals that were recovered.

Join us on Thursday, March 7, 2013 for a re-enactment of an early Town Board meeting as Town of Greenburgh officials, residents and guests “kick off” a season of celebrating the Town’s 225th year. Our town was formally created and chartered on March 7, 1788. Members of the Town Board will dress in colonial outfits tomorrow evening.

The Town of Greenburgh’s Anniversary “Kick-Off” will be held at Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue and will begin with a 6:30pm reception to include music, entertainment and refreshments including food and beverages made possible by Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery, Sam’s Club of Elmsford, ShopRite of Scarsdale/White Plains and Sun Splash Caribbean Bakery of Elmsford. At approximately 8:00pm, activities will transition to a re-enactment of a late 1700’s/early 1800’s Town meeting, based on original meeting minutes, and the “Town Crier” to bring everyone together. A major highpoint of the evening will be the unveiling of the “Supervisors’ Gallery,” a wall of pictures and names of the past thirty-five known Town Supervisors . Activities will culminate with the sharing of the 225th Anniversary Cake donated by Riviera Bakehouse of Ardsley.For further information, please contact Judith Beville, Greenburgh Town Clerk and Co-Chairwoman, Town of Greenburgh’s 225th Anniversary at 914-993-1504.

The last time the town celebrated the chartering of the town was 25 years ago -when we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Greenburgh Much has happened in the past 25 years. There were no DVDs. No web. No google. Gas prices were about $1 a gallon (not $4). Most people listened to music on cassette tapes. Record players (what is that?) were still common place. No one ever heard of a smart phone. An apple was something we ate! No apps. Almost no one had desk top computers. Cell phones were exotic, most people didn't have them and they were big. Pay phones were easier to find.

In the past 25 years the town went from typewriters to computers and to smart phones. Our parks increased by more than 300 acres. The towns bond rating increased a few times to AAA, the highest possible rating a community can receive. We have a new Town Hall,a new library, an expanded police station, a new multipurpose center at AF Veteran town park, a new highway garage, a 2nd floor at the Theodore Young community center, 3 Town Judges (instead of two) and a court administrator. The police started community policing, crime continues to be lower than it was 25 years ago. We built in the past 25 years many new playgrounds. There is a a new interactive kiddy pool. Town Board meetings can be viewed live on internet and one can watch, on demand, old bd meetings (which are archived on the web). We approved more affordable housing around town. Our Town Hall is powered, in part with solar energy. And, our library uses geothermal. we're starting to convert lights to energy efficient led lighting. 25 years ago greenburgh had a number of homeless shelters. Today, they have been shut down. Greenburgh today has become the bio tech capital of the region - with major bio tech companies in our town. The NY Knicks & Rangers have built a training facility in our town. And, Dannon Yogurt's headquarters are across the street from our Town Hall.

Alot has happened in 25 years!

PAUL FEINER