The Common Council held a combined work session and regular meeting on June 22, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Common Council Chamber. The meeting began with a Pride Month recognition ceremony honoring four community members, followed by work session reports on CDBG funding, police locker room plumbing, a religious procession, the summer youth employment program, and a full moon walk. The regular meeting included a police officer promotion, public comments on a proposed development at 418 N. Division Street, a public hearing for a special permit at 301 N. Division Street, and the adoption of 14 resolutions. The meeting concluded with an executive session.
Is this the rowdy group? Is this the rowdy group? Is that who we have here today? Folks, can I have your attention? We need to begin. Mr. Shooter, did you say no? This is the Rowdy group. So good evening, everyone, and welcome to our committee of the whole meeting for today, June 20. Folks, I'm gonna need you to calm down so we can get started. Ladies and gentlemen, please. Thank you. All right. I'm gonna name you guys the rowdy group. This is it. All right. So good evening and welcome to our committee of the whole meeting for today, June 22nd, 2026. At this time, we're going to start with our meeting, and we're here for our Pride Month recognition, and we're gonna get right in and start with that. So, whereas the month of June is known as Pride Month, a month-long up observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ plus pride and honoring the achievements and contributions of the LGBTQ plus community to our society. This year's theme for New York State focuses on for us all and highlights the importance of community, liberation, and resistance. It is with honor and distinction that the city of Peakskill acknowledges the outstanding service of Carla Ray Johnson for her commitment to the arts, civic engagement, and inclusion. And whereas Carla Ray is surrounded by the lover of her devoted partner, Cynthia Knox, family and friends, and whereas for more than three decades, Carla Ray has enriched the city of Peakscale through her artistic vision and generous spirit. Following the tragic attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016, she responded with compassion and determination by creating the Peakskill Pride flag, a parable powerful symbol of strength and hope of the LGBTQ plus community. And whereas Carla Ray has developed and hosted the monthly First Tuesday salons at Bean Runner Cafe, providing a free and welcoming gathering place where community members can share ideas and inspire one another. And whereas her most recent endeavor, the democracy project, reflects her steadfast belief in community engagement, bringing together more than 50 local residents to contribute quilt squares, expressing their vision of democracy as part of a larger national initiative. And whereas through her collaboration with Marcy Friedman of Thunder and Light and publishing The Artistic License, a thought-provoking newspaper featuring articles on art, poetry, politics, and culture. And now therefore I, Vivian McKenzie, Mayor of the City of Peaksgale, on behalf of the Common Council and residents, do hereby extend great congratulations to 2026 Pride Month honoree, Carla Ray Johnson, for her humility and creativity, which enriched the culture and civic life of the community. Congratulations. Uh oh, the mayor just gave me the mic. Uh-oh. Thank you, Mayor McKenzie and the Peakskill Common Council. And thank you, City Clerk, Cassandra Bread, because you took care of all the details. The cake. For always supporting and never saying what? Another song? Thank you for to everyone for being here. And thank you to the city of Peakskill for fostering the arts as well as for celebrating pride with us. But really, I just want to talk about pride. Okay, as you may or may not have guessed, we are taking over. Um the month of June is already ours. It's a beautiful month of the year, and we we've got it. Um we already have commandeered your colors, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, baby blue, black, white, brown. And we've uh we're taking over the alphabet too. You know that. L, G, B, T, Q, I, A Plus, that means we're coming for more. Um, and we're coming for your words too, pride. Now, my mother, I I am convinced if she were alive today, um, she would be not only fine, she'd celebrate with us in terms of pride, but in in the early 1970s, I remember her lamenting that they had taken over a perfectly good, usable word, and she could no longer say gay. And I said, Oh, you mean like the same way that they took over the words faggot and dike. But uh, most important of all, we're coming for fears. The ones who divide, the ones that demand silence and complicity.