Message From Mayor Merandy Regarding Garbage Pick Up
Dear Neighbors, hopefully this email finds everyone well. As you know, we are in trying times and we all need to do our part to contain this virus. As your mayor, your health and safety and that of all the Village employees is my main concern, responsibility and number one priority. Information relating to COVID-19 changes constantly. What you hear from experts one day, more than likely will be contradicted and changed the next. As more data is collected we come closer to understanding the virus and how to act accordingly. Until then, we do the best with the information we have.
That said, Robert Downey Jr. (aka Bugsy), the Highway Crew Chief, and I talked late yesterday about the health and safety of his men as we get deeper into this pandemic. The consensus was that we should err on the side of caution and not proceed with the scheduled garbage and brush collections until we contacted the Board of Health and the Village attorney to better understand new regulations, recommendations and laws recently instituted by Governor Cuomo regarding essential services and employees of those services.
The decision to cancel collection just the day before scheduled, came very late in the day. In an effort to give residents as much notice as possible I posted on social media, something I reluctantly and seldom do. Subsequently, the cancellations were posted on the Village Website. Unfortunately, there was no time to post notification in the local papers and most residents don’t regularly go to the Village Website so I posted on social media pages. If there is any upside to social media it is that word travels, albeit distorted many times, quickly.
I apologize for not adding more information to my post. I wanted to get the word out regarding the cancellation of collections for the week and did not want to add more information until I spoke with the professionals the Village relies on.
The good news is that we will resume collections and garbage will be picked up tomorrow (Wednesday, April 1st) and recycling will be picked up Friday as usual. Leaves and Yard Debris will be picked up on Thursday, April 2nd.
The Highway Crew will be wearing gloves and possibly masks as a precaution but if you are at all concerned about your trash or recycle receptacles being contaminated after they are emptied, please disinfect the handles before moving them back onto your property.
My personal thanks to the Highway Crew and Crew Chief along with those on the front lines of this epidemic. Special thanks to our friends at Foodtown and the healthcare workers who put their lives and those they love at risk every day.
Please be safe and observe Social Distancing. This pandemic is not a hoax. It’s real and we need to do everything in our limited power to contain and end the threat.
Sincerely,