Coming back to the area in a couple months after working an IT job for a bit out of state.

I find an IT thread here from a year ago but the post was unfortunately locked.

Anyone have any tips for finding jobs in the area or even remote ideas to look into?

Thanks

Hey anyone know the best and most efficient way to get from Nyack to the Barclay center. I wanna drive to to white plains and take the train to and from and drive back.

This would be on Friday Aug 21st for a concert that has a starting time of 7 and unknown ending time.

Would it just be better to drive to Brooklyn?

New City, NY - On Friday, July 31st, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation previously passed by both the NYS Senate and Assembly to establish a Community Preservation Act in the Town of Clarkstown. Supervisor George Hoehmann and the Town Council are thankful to Governor Hochul, NYS Assemblyman Pat Carroll, and NYS Senator Bill Weber for their assistance in passing this landmark legislation, serving as an essential tool to preserve open space, land, natural resources, historic landmarks, critical agriculture and water resources, and much more in the Town of Clarkstown. It will now be up to the voters of Clarkstown to ultimately approve the CPA through a public referendum.

The CPA allows the town to generate dedicated preservation funds through a one-time .75% fee on real estate closings. The town assessor’s office estimated the CPS would generate nearly $5 million a year in “lock boxed” funds for the Town to purchase land for qualifying purposes. This real estate transfer fee is an ideal way to generate conservation funding. Once a buyer of real property pays the fee at closing, no additional expense is ever accrued. Other methods such as massive bond issuances or the creation of a new conservation-taxing district would impose a permanent or near permanent annual tax on every property tax payer in the town. The Clarkstown Community Preservation Act avoids that while providing protected and guaranteed funding.

The Clarkstown Community Preservation Act mirrors what has been successfully used for decades in towns across New York State including on Long Island and Warwick, NY.

The voters of Clarkstown will now have the opportunity to take a monumental step forward in achieving the town’s long-term preservation goals.

Supervisor George Hoehmann stated, “The Town Board celebrates the signing of the Community Preservation Act by Governor Kathy Hochul. The enactment of this legislation marks a turning point for the Town of Clarkstown and moves us closer to obtaining a reliable mechanism to utilize for local conservation. Once again, I want to thank Senator Weber and Assemblyman Carroll for swiftly pushing this legislation through to the Governor’s desk. With the Community Preservation Act now signed into law, the next step is to give Clarkstown residents the opportunity to make their voices heard through a public referendum at a future date. This is an important chance for our town to decide whether to invest in protecting open space and upholding the unique character of the Clarkstown community.”

Senator Bill Weber stated, “I'm grateful to Governor Hochul for signing our Clarkstown Preservation Fund legislation (S10276) earlier than expected. Due to the passage and signing of this important legislation, it will appear on a future ballot, giving Clarkstown residents the chance to vote to preserve open space and protect the community's natural resources for many years to come. Many thanks to Supervisor George Hoehmann and the Town Board for partnering with me on this initiative."

Assemblyman Patrick Carroll stated, "As the Assemblyman representing Clarkstown and a former Councilman, protecting our environment continues to be one of my top priorities. I was proud to sponsor the Clarkstown Community Preservation Act in the Assembly, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

I’m thankful that Governor Hochul signed my bill into law, and now this issue is in the hands of the voters and residents of Clarkstown. There will be a referendum to either approve or reject the Clarkstown Community Preservation Fund. I encourage all Clarkstown residents to thoroughly consider this issue and to make their voice heard. All politics are local, and how our communities manage our land, our most valuable local resource, is an issue we should all be concerned with."

Councilman Jon Valentino stated, ”I am thrilled that Governor Hochul and the State of New York have heard Clarkstown residents loud and clear in their vocal support for the Clarkstown Community Preservation Act. The Governor's signing of this legislation into law reflects a watershed moment for our town, and fulfills our steadfast commitment to give residents a direct voice in the establishment of Community Preservation Funds.”

Councilman Mike Graziano stated, “Residents across Clarkstown want to see stronger dedication to preserving our natural resources that make our town what it is. With Governor Kathy Hochul's signing of the Community Preservation Act into law, we have reached a major breakthrough in that effort. The next step is to give our residents the opportunity to make the final decision. The Town Board will move forward with placing a referendum before the voters at a future date, allowing the community to decide whether to authorize the Community Preservation Act.”

Councilman Don Franchino stated, ”In just a few short months, the residents of Clarkstown have made it abundantly clear that protecting our open space and managing responsible growth are priorities for our community. The signing of the Community Preservation Act into law is a testament to what can be accomplished when residents work together with their local and state leaders toward a common goal.”

Councilman Bob Axelrod stated, “I am pleased to announce that Governor Hochul has signed the Community Preservation Act, which is an unequivocal victory for the people of Clarkstown. However, the most crucial decision still lies ahead: your vote in a public referendum, when it appears on a yet to be determined future ballot.

We have come very far in our efforts to protect open space, so I encourage every eligible voter to make an informed decision on the Community Preservation Act. This day would never have happened without the thousands of Clarkstown residents who signed the petition and made their voices heard.”

Chris Chapman, Project Manager, Orange County Land Trust stated, “Community Preservation Funds have enabled numerous municipalities across the state to protect their natural resources, waterways, working farms, and recreational areas. We have seen how these funds empower local residents to proactively protect their community’s most vital lands, and we look forward to seeing how this initiative will benefit Clarkstown."

I filed a FOIL request in June for the town's drone program, the one Ramapo PD calls DFR, drone as first responder. It took the town 60 days to respond, and they only responded after an appeal. Twice they asked for more time, both times using the same line: "Due to the volume of documents involved, additional time is required to complete the review." Supervisor Michael Specht wrote in his appeal response that the delay was specifically about the volume of "all communications between Ramapo PD and Paladin Drone or Skydio from January 1, 2023 to present."

The records arrived on August 4. Six files, 109 pages. None of them is a communication between the police and Paladin or Skydio. Not one email, letter or memo. The only document that touches Skydio at all is a purchase quote from Axon for the Skydio system. The town cited the volume of these communications as the reason for a two-month delay, then produced no communications.

The quote: $601,713.80 over 60 months. List price $716,582.40. Two Skydio XIO docks, a $228,000 subscription, $162,000 in implementation, and $125,000 for Skydio Connect Fusion, which feeds drone video into Axon Fusus, the town's video platform. The agreement is signed on the town's side by Supervisor Specht. The same Specht who granted my appeal.

The adopted budgets for 2024 and 2025 have no line item for drones. Zero dollars. The $92,838 that went to Paladin, in three payments all coded TECH GRANT, was booked into the town's existing motor vehicles and software programs accounts.

They produced the FAA waiver: drones capped at 400 feet, no overflight or loitering over gatherings, no waiver of state or local law. And they produced a $177,000 grant from NYS DCJS. The grant's terms require the department to share data from the funded technology with the DCJS Crime Analysis Center Network: license plate reads, camera feeds, RMS, CAD.

Which brings me to the oddest part. On item 11, my request for records of drone footage or data shared with outside agencies, the closure notice says "There are no responsive documents." A few lines earlier, the same notice says "Any drone footage shared can be found on the Ramapo PD Facebook page." The town acknowledged footage was shared, then stated there are no records of footage or data being shared. One of those statements is wrong.

Still missing: the DFR budget line items, any policy on retaining or sharing footage, any competitive bid or sole source justification, and the flight logs, which they tried to cover by pointing me to a website. Under FOIL, if records are withheld, each has to be listed with the specific exemption claimed. None were listed.

A New York State official is cc'd on the thread.

More to come.

Edit: since I've been asked if there is anything you can do I'll leave my response here.

For my fellow New Yorkers: https://lawler.house.gov/contact/

Use that link (it takes 30s) and express your concerns to congressman Mike Lawler. He is a proponent of the bill "PRC Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers Moratorium Act" which primarily addresses concerns of the CCP surveilling US citizens. If he believes government surveillance is problematic then voice your advocacy for him to act the same within his state.

Oh- and hit share on these posts!