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work to build resiliency to extreme weather.  Most thoughtful people know that reliance on fossil fuel makes us weak and vulnerable and that addressing climate change is the right thing to do.

I will continue to keep my commitment to transparency, planning and community engagement.  This has not been as easy as I hoped.  Cost over-runs in renovations of Delancey Hall and the lack of meaningful public engagement regarding the proposed sewer project in Croton Falls are just two examples.  The Town Board must do a much better job of planning!  We must do our homework first, ask all residents what they want and build consensus . . . as opposed to simply telling people what the Board wants to do.  I pledge to keep working on this.

Perhaps most importantly, I will do my best to hold our representatives in Washington accountable for their actions or lack thereof. 

I appreciate the opportunity to serve you on the Town Board and I hope you will continue to support me in that role. 

Sincerely,

Katherine

I am an attorney, and have spent most of my career in public service. I was a member of the Executive Staff of the NY State Organized Crime Task Force. I was also an Assistant Division Chief in the NYC Law Dept. and an Executive Staff member of the Inspector General for NYC School Construction. This has given me a wealth of experience in government service. When I left public service, I became a Managing Director with Thacher Associates, LLC, and subsequently with K2 Integrity LLC; I advised the Firms’ government clients on integrity and compliance issues. I am now retired from the practice of law.

As a member of the Town Board, I have scrutinized each of the many contracts that the Town enters into, looking for ways to protect the Town’s interests. I wrote a new ethics code, to safeguard the Town’s integrity, and a new social media policy, to promote transparency.

Among my priorities as a Town Councilman are promoting the North Salem Hamlet of Croton Falls; protecting the Town’s environment; preserving the Town’s unique historical character; creating new opportunities for recreation; and supporting the Town’s fine police department. I was the Town Board’s liaison to the Committee drafting the master plan for the Croton Falls Hamlet. In addition, the Town Board has acquired property in Croton Falls and has been planning a sewer system, to be implemented in phases; I have scrutinized these acquisitions and plans to make sure that they are responsive to the current and future needs of the Hamlet.

To achieve the other purposes stated above, I have served, and continue to serve, as the Town Board’s liaison to the Conservation Advisory Committee, the Recreation Committee, and the Historic Preservation Commission, and one of the leaders of the Town Task Force that reviewed the procedures and policies of the Town Police Department and made recommendations for its betterment.

In 2023, the Town acquired Three Owens Road so it could serve as a community and recreation center.  I have worked extensively with the Town’s Recreation Department to make sure that the use of this facility is responsive to the needs and desires of our local residents, and wrote the policy and procedure for the facility (adopted by the Town Board) to make sure it serves these purposes. I also took on the job of writing another policy and procedure (also adopted by the Town Board) to encourage and regulate events on other Town properties, and it has proved successful, resulting in events that were popular with and well-attended by the public. The latter has helped guide the use of the pocket park in Croton Falls in 2021 and 2022 for arts festivals that were held there, and the use of the Croton Falls commuter parking lot for farmer’s markets that were held there in the summer and fall of 2024. (Hopefully, you enjoyed the music that my jazz duo played at those events!)

Going forward, I will be working with the Town’s Recreation Advisory Committee as it takes on an exciting new project: an update to the Town’s Recreation Master Plan.

I enjoy my service on the Town Board. We conduct the Town’s business in a civil, non-partisan and effective manner. The most important task that we are confronting is protection of North Salem’s rural character and open spaces, while keeping our taxes down and our property values up. I will continue to be a strong advocate who will protect North Salem from over development.

It is of paramount importance that the Town Board fulfill the wishes and goals of the entire community – its residents, property owners and business operators – in everything we do.  I draw on my knowledge of the Town’s affairs from my Town Board service and from my participation in local civic groups to accomplish these goals. But I need your help. Please contact me at 914-276-0212 (my home phone) or at maronchick@northsalemny.org (my Town email) or at mnrj@optonline.net (my home email) to share your ideas about what the Town should be doing or if otherwise you wish to speak to me about any aspect of Town business.

The Town needs your help as a volunteer as well. The diverse array of Town committees provides a means of getting involved in the Town’s affairs in a manner that appeals to your specific interests. Please contact me if you wish to explore being a Town volunteer.

It is a privilege to serve as a Town Councilman, and I thank the voters of North Salem for giving me the opportunity to do so!

Martin C. Aronchick