Please find the most up to date notices from the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
The Governor has announced that the Department of Financial Services staff will be deployed to provide insurance assistance to residents affected by the flooding.
Representatives can answer any insurance-related questions and direct homeowners and small businesses on how to file a claim through the National Flood Insurance Program. Individuals can also call the DFS Disaster Hotline at (800) 339-1759 or visit https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/disaster_flood.
Orange County DFS Onsite Support:
• Friday, July 14 from 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Location: Sacred Heart of Jesus Covenant School, 7 Cozzens Avenue, Highland Falls, New York
• Note: GPS may list this as the Holy Angels of Hudson Valley School
April 19, 2022
Mayor’s Message (Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Department Edition):
Dear Cornwall-on-Hudson residents, neighbors, and friends:
In this edition, we would like to highlight our intrepid police department and showcase some members of our force. As recent events in Brooklyn so perfectly highlighted last week, our nation is beyond blessed to have men and women in blue who selflessly run to the sounds of the guns. Our department is located on the backside of Village Hall, 325 Hudson Street, and remains poised to always to “protect and serve.” We are supremely proud of our police department’s rollout of the body-worn camera initiative last month.
PHOTO #1: P.O. James Lynch
PHOTO #2: P.O. Theo Dawydko
PHOTO #3: P.O. Stephen Berean
PHOTO #4: Sgt. John Peña
PHOTO #5: P.O. Jonathan Kapczak
PHOTO #6: P.O. Antinori and Chief Dixon (along w/German tourists visiting COHPD HQ).
PHOTO #7 P.O. Thomas Moran
IMPORTANT NOTE: Village Hall just received a limited allotment of COVID-19 rapid test kits. Available on a first-come-first-served basis. Residents may simply stop by Village Hall M-F during normal business hours (8:30AM-4:30PM) and receive two kits.
Special Thanks to the Water Department last week for working 56 straight hours to mitigate a major water main leak and ensure faulty pipes were repaired and replaced, and to the Department of Public Works for handling multiple clogged storm drains across the Village after a number of heavy rainfalls.
On behalf of your Village Board,
James A. “Jimmy” Gagliano
Mayor
For Immediate Release May 19, 2022
Subject: Proposed 3-Year Contract Between Cornwall and the New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Services
As most residents understand, individual municipalities are responsible for providing and maintaining an effective and sustainable ambulatory service to their communities. Of recent, it has become more difficult to provide this critical volunteer service due to soaring costs and the dwindling number of available volunteers. This issue has been a topic of debate within the New York State legislature recently, with legislation introduced to establish EMS (the provision of urgent pre-hospital treatment and transport for medical care) as an “essential service.” Long overdue, this effort could potentially reconfigure how ambulatory services are administered across New York State. Unless and until the County and/or State elect to make certain changes, municipalities must seek effective methods to sustain and improve services. Experts contend that the paradigm is evolving and that mergers, or consolidation, exist as an intermediate solution.
For over a year, New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) has contracted with the Town and Village to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to Cornwall residents for a fee, while Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COVAC) provides Basic Life Support (BLS) coverage for a fee, as well. ALS includes the highest level of emergency medicine – paramedic-level treatment – and NWVAC (or another EMS provider with ALS capabilities) has long answered calls within Cornwall for mutual aid, bereft of a contract. COVAC, staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians, or EMTs, has remained a fixture in our community since 1955.
A number of years ago, COVAC made the request to bill patients directly and a decision was subsequently reached to dissolve the “ambulance district” overseen by the Town. By billing insurance providers directly, this was to be a more efficient process that allowed for the Corps to remain solvent without monies allocated from Cornwall. The global pandemic and an attendant paucity of available volunteers has made staffing across the past several years a concern. This, coupled with significant debt accrual resulted in COVAC’s appeal for subsistence from the taxpayers – which the Town and Village jointly agreed to support.
Despite the provided financial support, there continue to exist a number of issues that have not been resolved, as relates to the professional administration of ambulatory services to our residents. Public safety is of paramount concern. Both the Town Supervisor and Village Mayor have met privately with COVAC leadership and members of COVAC’s elected board and operational membership appeared before a joint boards’ special meeting on January 11, 2022.
While COVAC maintains they have mitigated their insolvency issues and improved their first-call response rates, it is the consensus of both boards that NWVAC – widely regarded as the “gold standard” for local ambulatory care – will be contracted to cover both BLS and ALS responsibilities for Cornwall residents. This assumption of responsibilities can be considered a consolidation. Current COVAC members who wish to continue to serve Cornwall residents may interview with NWVAC, and be afforded opportunity to operate out of 1 Clinton Street location, be attired in Cornwall EMS uniforms, and respond to Cornwall service calls in a Cornwall-branded ambulance. This serves both professionalization and training standardization efforts.
On balance, we believe that this decision for establishment of a contemporary public/private partnership model -- created and supported by multiple municipalities, including Town of New Windsor, Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson -- will ensure our residents receive the high-quality emergency medical care they deserve. NWVAC enables Cornwall leadership to remain confident in the model’s financial viability and sustainability, administrative transparency, leader oversight, and accountability while serving as an example for the region.
This was not an easy decision. Careful consideration was given to all impacted equities. Town and Village elected officials reflected deeply on the many decades of selfless service that COVAC and its volunteers have provided to our community; indeed, it is an honored local institution. But the primary responsibility of public officials is ensuring their constituents are afforded best available services for their hard-earned tax dollars. In our estimation, the proposed three-year contract with NWVAC ensures this. Know that we have explored innumerable options to guarantee confidence in the provision of EMS. And we have reviewed a number of similar municipal consolidated-services agreements. This is the best path forward for Cornwall.
On Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., inside the Edward C. Moulton, Jr. Village Board Room, located at Village Hall, 325 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York 12520, the Town and Village boards will convene a joint special meeting to address this matter publicly. Meeting will be publicly-noticed and contract provisions will be disclosed. The public will be afforded an opportunity to speak and boards will address some factors that led to this decision.
On behalf of the Town and Village Boards,
Joshua Thomas Wojehowski Supervisor
James A. Gagliano Mayor
Dear Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson residents,
It is with heavy heart that we share in announcing the passing of Cornwall resident and Medal of Honor recipient, Captain Paul “Buddy” Bucha. Captain Bucha was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (MOH) for his gallantry in action in the Binh Duong Province of the Republic of Vietnam between March 16th and 19th in 1968 – the peak of combat operations and U.S. force deployments during the Vietnam War. The MOH also represents the nation’s highest award for conspicuous courage and heroism. For details related to Captain Bucha’s uncommon valor while serving as commanding officer of Company D, please visit the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s webpage. Reading his citation will leave you humbled and appreciative of the sacrifice and courage exhibited by him and his men during fierce combat actions near Phuoc Vinh.
I was honored to first meet him during the mid-Eighties when he spoke at a formal cadet company dining-in. As a young cadet, to me his prepared remarks and words of encouragement were beyond inspiring and were, in part, the reason I decided to join the Infantry. West Point’s natatorium (indoor pool) is also named in his honor, as he served as captain of the Division I intercollegiate Academy swim team before his graduation in 1965. A longtime resident of Ridgefield, CT, we were lucky to share him in the greater Cornwall area when he returned to a family home near his beloved alma mater several years ago. It was then that he stopped in to the mayor’s office to visit with me and yet again leave me humble and inspired. His famous words resonated yet again. “The Medal of Honor, he once said, “is proof that ordinary men and women have within them the potential to challenge fate and literally change the course of history. It only requires the courage to try.” What a sober challenge and one he more than answered in 1968.
President Lincoln famously challenged our fledgling democracy that “[a]ny nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” With this in mind, I have ordered all flags on Village properties to be lowered to half-mast position today, Friday, August 2nd until Tuesday, August 6th. I have also spoken with Supervisor Josh Wojehowski and members of the “Hometown Heroes” committee for Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson. In coordination with American Legion Post 353, we will seek to have Captain Bucha be our first nomination for recognition via banner along our main streets when the first batch of nominees is considered and selected.
Please keep Captain Bucha’s family – especially his wonderful wife Cynthia – in your thoughts and prayers. And reflect on Captain Bucha’s humility when he was presented the MOH from President Nixon and flatly advised the president that “[t]he medal that I wear, I wear on behalf of others, not myself.” Stirring words indeed. Rest in peace, Captain Bucha. A grateful nation and your greater Cornwall community will never forget your heroism and sacrifices on our behalf.
NYS requires address identification for all buildings to facilitate 911 emergency responses. The displayed numbers shall be installed on the front of the building and shall contrast with their background. Characters shall not be less than 4 inches in height with a stroke width of not less than ½ inch and must be visible from the street. Address numbers shall be alphabetical letters and Arabic numbers. Numbers are not to be spelled out. Where access is by means of a private road and the building address cannot be viewed from the public way, a monument, pole or other sign or means shall be used to identify the structure. Address identification shall be maintained. Please comply within 90 days Reference NYS building code R319.1
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